Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarroti was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer of the High Renaissance, with an artistic oeuvre ranking among the most famous in existence. He sculpted his two best-known works, the Pietà (1498–1499) and David (1501–1504) before he was 30. Despite his distaste for painting, Michelangelo spent several years of his life painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling and The Last Judgement (1536–1541), at the behest of Pope Julius II. Michelangelo was often referred to as “il divino” or “the divine one” by his peers, and his unique style of portraying emotion through muscular tension in his figures would influence the work of countless artists to follow.