Michelangelo Buonarroti

Italian sculptor, painter, and architect
Italian, (1475–1564)
Michelangelo's father was the administrator of the small Florentine dependent town, Caprese. In Florence at age 13 (which was relatively late), Michelangelo became an apprentice to the city's most prominent painter, Domenico Ghirlandaio. At a young age, his patron was the leading citizen and ruler of Florence, Lorenzo de' Medici. In his time, Michelangelo was famous as a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. He is remembered today as one of the chief creators of the High Renaissance in Florence and Rome, particularly in the arenas of sculpture and fresco painting. His professional career lasted over 70 years and included many stylistic changes. He was enormously influential to other artists. He was typical of his period in that he excelled at and regarded the three arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture as manifestations of the fundamental discipline of "disegno" (drawing), which was itself based on a profound knowledge of the male human form.