Pietà by Michelangelo in St. Peter's Basilica
Michelangelo born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March1475 – 18 February 1564) was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect and poet. He was one of the most famous artists of the Italian Renaissance.
Some of Michelangelo’s famous works include the statue of David, Pietà and paintings in the Sistine Chapel including the Last Judgement. At a young age, when he was sent to study grammar, Michelangelo showed no interest in school. He was instead interested in copying paintings from churches and watching painters work. When he was thirteen he became an apprentice to a painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. After a year he was offered an opportunity to study classical sculpture in the Medici gardens under the sculptor Bertoldo di Giovanni. While there he was also exposed to brilliant poets and scholars. These combined influences laid the groundwork for what would become Michelangelo’s distinctive style.
The Pietà carved between 1498 – 1499 when Michelangelo was 24 years old, is a masterpiece and is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed. It portrays the body of Jesus on the lap of his mother Mary after the crucifixion. The sculpter was finished in less than one year and it is one of the most highly completed works by Michelangelo. The Pietà’s first home was the Chapel of Santa Petronilla which was chosen by the Cardinal as his funerary chapel. The statue has been moved five times since and is, at the present moment, at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican city
Michelangelo’s Pietà is one of his famous completed works which is a must see. It represents the body of Jesus in the arms of his mother just after he was taken down from the cross.
