“I saw the angel in the marble and sculpted him until I freed him.”-MichelangeloMichelangelo by Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese, Tuscany. He is considered the quintessential Renaissance man, with a recognized talent as a sculptor, architect, painter, poet and engineer; whose impact on Western art is unparalleled in history. His family had been small bankers in Florence. When the bank failed, his father moved to Caprese where he became a judicial administrator. Many say that the young Michelangelo was scolded and beaten by his father because he spent too much time drawing. Michelangelo's mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato of Siena. Although born in Caprese, several months after Michelangelo's birth, his parents returned to Florence, where he grew up. After his mother's death in 1481, Michelangelo moved with a stonemason and his wife to a town called Settignano, where his father owned a marble quarry and a small farm. As a boy, Michelangelo was sent to Florence to study grammar. The boy had no interest in school, preferring to copy paintings from churches and seek the company of painters. During this period, the city of Florence was a center of the arts and learning in Italy. When he was only fourteen, Michelangelo was apprenticed to Ghirlandio, a master of fresco painting. It was then that his love for art and sculpture began to blossom. Michelangelo joined the court of Lorenzo de' Medici, the de facto ruler of Florence. After the death of Lorenzo de' Medici in 1492, Michelangelo set up his own business. He traveled to Venice and Bologna, to Florence and finally to Rome. In Rome he attracted the first of what would be a long list of patrons among the clergy. A P...... middle of paper ......elo's creative vigor never waned. Michelangelo Buonarroti died on 18 February 1564, after a "slow fever"; just one day before his 89th birthday. Michelangelo is considered the greatest artist of his time and today he is recognized as one of the greatest artists of all time. Many of his works are among the most famous works of art known to man. Works Cited Artchive by Mark Harden. “Michelangelo – Renaissance art”. Artchive.com. Mark Harden, 2014. Web. April 16, 2014 Getlein, Marco. Living with art – Ninth edition. Michelangelo 1475-1564. Page 371. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. “Michelangelo – Biography, Painter, Sculptor, Architect, Poet (1475–1564).” Biography.com. A&E Television Networks, LLC, 2014. Web. April 16, 2014.< http://www.biography.com/people/michelangelo-9407628#awesm=~oBPEzRWWSc6CZQ>