Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was a true “Renaissance Man”—a polymath whose influence on Western art remains unparalleled. Born in 1475 in Caprese, Italy, he spent most of his life in Florence and Rome, working under the patronage of the Medici family and several popes. While he considered himself a sculptor first and foremost, his genius spanned painting, architecture, and poetry. Michelangelo’s style was defined by terribilità—a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur and emotional intensity. He had a profound understanding of human anatomy, often spending hours dissecting cadavers to ensure his figures possessed a lifelike muscularity. He famously described his process not as creating something new, but as “liberating” the figure already trapped within the stone.
Portrait by Daniele da Volterra, c. 1545
Despite his immense fame, he was known for being a solitary and somewhat prickly character, often clashing with his rival, Leonardo da Vinci. Nevertheless, by the time he died at the age of 88, he was the first artist to have a biography published while he was still alive, cementing his status as a living legend.
While the image of the “starving artist” is popular, Michelangelo was incredibly wealthy. When he died, he left behind an estate worth roughly 50,000 gold ducats—a staggering sum that would be worth tens of millions of pounds today. Despite this, he lived like a pauper. He rarely changed his clothes, often slept in his boots to save time, and ate only out of necessity. He famously said, “However rich I may have been, I have always lived like a poor man.”
Early in his career, Michelangelo actually committed a bit of art fraud. He sculpted a “Sleeping Cupid” and treated it with acidic earth to make it look ancient, then sold it as an authentic Roman antique to a cardinal in Rome. When the cardinal discovered the ruse, he was so impressed by the young artist’s skill that he didn’t demand his money back—instead, he invited Michelangelo to Rome, which effectively launched his career.
“Vostro Michelagniolo, in Roma” (Yours, Michelangelo, in Rome)