Michelangelo Buonarroti
Michelangelo Buonarroti came into this world on 6 March 1475, between the hours of 4 and 5 in the morning, according to his mother, Francesca Neri, in the small village of Caprese, in Tuscany. ... Michelangelo would later recollect that he "sucked in the craft of hammer and chisel with my foster mothers milk. ... " Michelangelo Buonarroti (http://www.michelangelo. ... Around six years old, Michelangelo’s mother died, leaving him to be raised by his father. ... Francesco was six years older than Michelangelo, and was studying the art of painting in the studio of Ghirlandaio. He encouraged Michelangelo to pursue his own artistic calling, much to the chagrin of his father. ... He wanted Michelangelo to become a successful businessman, thereby preserving the Buonarroti position in society, but even at the age of 13, Michelangelo had different plans. ... Here, Michelangelo was introduced to many of the leading scholars and intellectuals of the day, such as the humanist Marsilo Ficino and the poet Angelo Poliziano. ... Albeit forbidden by the Catholic Church, Michelangelo found a way to study the human anatomy through the use of corpses. ... As sort of a payment for being allowed to study these dead bodies, Michelangelo gave as a gift a carved wooden crucifix to Niccoḷ Bichiellini, the prior of the church of Santo Spirito. Later scholars have expressed some doubt of this carving being attributed to Michelangelo, because the body on the cross is too slim, too elongated, and the muscles not correct, which is contrary to the style in which he worked. By age 16, he had already produced at least two relief sculptures; the Battle of the Centaurs and the Madonna of the Stairs (both 1489-92, Casa Buonarroti, Florence). ... " Michelangelo Buonarroti (http://www.michelangelo. ... Michelangelo had long since fled the city, first going to Venice and then Bologna, where he received a commission to complete a tomb started by another artist, Nicola Pisano. It was this commission where Michelangelo carved the Angel with Candlestick from 1494-95. ... Around this same time, Michelangelo was working on another piece, “the Pieta”, which is still standing in its original location in Saint Peter’s Basilica. ... This sculpture was probably completed before Michelangelo turned 25. Just days after its installation, he overheard a pilgrim state that this work had been done by Christoforo Solari, a fellow citizen from Lombard, and not Michelangelo. This infuriated him so much that later that same night he went in to the sculpture and carved MICHEL ANGELUS BONAROTUS FLORENT FACIBAT (Michelangelo Buonarroti, Florentine, made this) across the sash Mary was wearing. ... 4 August, 1501 brought the declaration of a new republic back to Florence, and within 12 days of that, Michelangelo received his commission to produce a statue of David. ... David symbolizes the high point in Michelangelo’s early style. ... Michelangelo proved that he not only exceeded all of his contemporary artists, but also the Greeks and Romans, with this sculpture.