Michelangelo

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 to 18 February 1564) known simply as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. His work had a great effect on the evolution of Western art, particularly in regard to Renaissance concepts of humanism and naturalism. He was born in the Republic of Florence.

Michelangelo was known as Il Divino throughout his lifetime ("the divine one"). His contemporaries praised his terribilità—his capacity to inspire awe in those who saw his work. Though just a few Michelangelo paintings have survived, those have been widely regarded as among the greatest in the world. Both the Sistine Chapel Ceiling and The Last Judgement, which continue to inspire painters today, demonstrate his ability to swiftly grasp fresco painting and push it to new levels.