Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in 1475 in Caprese, Tuscany, and apprenticed in Florence under Domenico Ghirlandaio before studying classical sculpture in the Medici garden. Patronage from Lorenzo de' Medici placed him among humanist scholars early. He traveled to Rome in his twenties and carved the Pietà for St. Peter's Basilica, displaying technical mastery that belied his age.

Returning to Florence, he created the colossal David (1501–04) from a flawed marble block, symbolizing republican virtue. Pope Julius II summoned him back to Rome, where from 1508 to 1512 he painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling—Creation, prophets, and sibyls in a revolutionary architectural illusion. Later he completed The Last Judgment on the chapel altar wall and served as chief architect of St. Peter's, refining Bramante's plan for the basilica dome.

Michelangelo also wrote sonnets, designed the Medici Chapel tombs in Florence, and worked until his death in 1564 at nearly eighty-nine. Competitive, devout, and fiercely independent, he redefined what a single artist could accomplish across sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry.

1. 1475

   Birth in Caprese

   Michelangelo was born while his father served as magistrate; the family soon returned to Florence.

2. 1498

   Roman Pietà

   Commissioned by a French cardinal, the sculpture was installed in St. Peter's and won immediate acclaim.

3. 1504

   David Unveiled

   The statue was placed outside Florence's Palazzo Vecchio as a symbol of civic readiness against larger powers.

4. 1512

   Sistine Ceiling Completed

   After four years on scaffolding, Michelangelo finished frescoes that drew pilgrims and artists from across Europe.

5. 1564

   Death in Rome

   He died in Rome and was buried in Florence's Santa Croce, mourned as il divino—the divine one.