17 Interesting Facts About Michelangelo

The Renaissance era gave the world many talented artists, but Michelangelo Buonarroti is undoubtedly one of the most famous among them. This truly genius individual excelled in numerous fields, and the masterpieces he created, which have survived to this day, are rightfully considered invaluable cultural treasures.

Although he lived about 500 years ago, enough facts about Michelangelo’s life have reached us to form a good understanding of his personality.

Facts from Michelangelo’s Biography:

1. The great artist came from a family of impoverished Florentine nobility.
2. Michelangelo’s mother died when he was only six years old. Despite being an active letter-writer as an adult, with much of his correspondence preserved, he never once mentioned his mother.
3. Since Michelangelo had many siblings, his father could not support them all and sent the future artist to be raised by another family in the same village.
4. As Michelangelo’s foster family was involved in pottery, he learned to mold pots and decorate them with intricate patterns in childhood, even before he learned to read.
5. Michelangelo’s biography notes that during his school years, he was not a diligent student. He preferred not to sit in class but to spend all his time with local artists and drawing.
6. When he was 13, his father reluctantly accepted his passion for painting and apprenticed him to a fairly well-known local artist.
7. At 14, Michelangelo was incredibly fortunate—his talent was recognized by Lorenzo de’ Medici, the head of all Florence, who became his patron. This opened the doors to the world of great art for the young genius.
8. In addition to being a sculptor and painter, Michelangelo was also a brilliant architect. He was the chief architect of St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest building in the Vatican. Remarkably, he did not accept any payment for this work.
9. Michelangelo spent his entire life in Italy, living in Florence and Rome.
10. Michelangelo’s last work, a sketch of one of St. Peter’s Basilica’s domes, was accidentally discovered in the Vatican archives in 2007.
11. It is well-known that Michelangelo wrote poetry, although it did not bring him widespread fame. Around 300 of his poems have survived, although there were more—he personally burned most of his early poetry manuscripts.
12. Some of Michelangelo’s poems were set to music during his lifetime.
13. Michelangelo’s biography was written while he was still alive. He lived a long life, reaching the age of 89.
14. His most famous work is the statue of David, a priceless 5-meter (16.5 feet) sculpture now housed in the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence.
15. Many of Michelangelo’s caustic judgments about the works of other artists have survived. He was not shy about criticizing other artists.
16. He met his first love when he was already over 60 years old.
17. One of his greatest works is the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which he worked on for four years. The work consists of individual frescoes that together form a massive composition on the ceiling. Michelangelo kept the entire painting and its parts in his mind, without any preliminary sketches or drawings. During this time, he allowed no one into the space, not even the Pope, who was the patron of the work.