Michelangelo saw himself first and foremost as a sculptor, which makes it all the more remarkable that one of the greatest paintings in history came from his brush. He carved his David from a block of marble other artists had abandoned, and finished it while still in his twenties. The Sistine Chapel ceiling took him around four years of gruelling work on scaffolding high above the floor. Later in life he also turned to architecture, designing the great dome of St Peter's Basilica in Rome. Few artists have mastered so many disciplines at such a towering level.
Key Milestones
1496: Moves to Rome
1499: Completes the Pietà
1504: Completes the statue of David
1512: Finishes the Sistine Chapel ceiling
1541: Completes The Last Judgement
1546: Becomes architect of St Peter's Basilica
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. He was born in the Republic of Florence but was mostly active in Rome from his 30s onwards.
Michelangelo's birthday is March 6. He was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese Michelangelo, Italy.
How old was Michelangelo when he died?
Michelangelo died on February 18, 1564, aged 88.
Who shares a birthday with Michelangelo?
Famous people who share Michelangelo's March 6 birthday include Gabriel García Márquez, Valentina Tereshkova, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Shaquille O'Neal.
