As an infant, Michelangelo lived with a wet nurse in the village. It was common practice in Florence at that time to place a child with a nurse for his or her first few years.
In 1485, he was sent to Latin school to learn reading, writing and mathematics.
In 1488, Michelangelo entered the workshop of Domenica Ghirlandaio in Florence, where he remained only one year. He was attracted to the artistic and intellectual circles surrounding Lorenzo de’Medici.
Having recognized the boy’s talent, ‘Lorenzo Magnificent’ de Medici invited him to join the informal sculpture school he set up in his garden. His new life as a sculpture in the Medici garden truly inspired Michelangelo. Michelangelo studied classic Greek and Roman sculptures in the Medici garden.
Among the works Michelangelo created in these years were his Madonna of the Stairs (1480-192), begun at the age 14, and the Battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs (1492).
In 1492, Lorenzo died and Michelangelo moved form the Medici household. From 1536, he dedicated himself entirely to the execution of the Last Judgment on the wall over the altar in the Sistine Chapel.
In 1504-1506, Michelangelo worked alongside Leonardo da Vinci in the Sal del Consiglio of the Palazzo Vecchio, where he painted his Battle of Cascina and Leonardo Battle of Anghiari.
Michelangelo painted the Conversion of St. Paul and The Crucifixion of St. Peter in the Pauline Chapel in 1542 a commission given to him by Paul III.
Biography of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
