Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor whose marble figures combine close observation of anatomy with religious devotion and civic meaning. The Pietà presents Mary supporting the dead Christ in a composed devotional group, while David turns the biblical hero into a figure of watchful strength. Working directly in marble demanded decisions about pose, weight and the stone surrounding each figure. His finished surfaces and surviving unfinished sculptures offer different views of that process. Although he also worked as a painter and architect, sculpture remained central to his artistic identity, from youthful commissions to the religious subjects of his later years.