“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set it free”. – Michelangelo

Giorgio Vasari proposed that Michelangelo’s work transcended that of any artist living or dead, and was “supreme in not one art alone but in all three”. An Italian sculptor, painter and architect during the High Renaissance, Michelangelo was a native of Florence whose work was inspired by the classical antiquity that had fed in from the east.

Reaching fame early, two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, were sculpted before the age of 30 and from there he went on to create two of the most influential frescoes in the history of art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and The Last Judgment. The Pieta, a large sculpture showing the Virgin Mary supporting the body of Jesus after his death, was carved from one block of marble and earnt Michelangelo his ensuing reputation.

Michelangelo’s relationship with the Medicis was long and complex. Forced to leave Florence numerous times due to political events, being favoured by the Medicis meant that his fortune was intrinsically tied to their favour. In Rome, while working on a tomb for Pope Julius II, Michelangelo complained of being pulled away from his mission to work on the Sistine Chapel, and later again to create the Medici Chapels in Florence. His departure from Florence for good in 1534 came as he result of falling out with the Medici ruler, Alessandro de’ Medici.

After living to a ripe old age, Michelangelo died in 1564 and was buried in the Church of Santa Croce in Florence. Now considered one of the greatest artists of all time, Michelangelo’s work also directly contributed to the rise of Mannerism, a short-lived movement in Western art standing between the High Renaissance and the Baroque.