Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born at Caprese, near Arezzo, and grew up in Florence. Apprenticed to the painter Ghirlandaio, he soon joined the household of Lorenzo de' Medici, where he studied ancient sculpture. In his early twenties he carved the Pietà in St. Peter's in Rome, showing Mary holding the dead Christ, and in 1504 he finished the giant marble David for Florence. Pope Julius II then called him to Rome and, though Michelangelo thought of himself as a sculptor, had him paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Working from 1508 to 1512, he covered it with scenes from Genesis, including the Creation of Adam, and prophets and sibyls. Years later he painted The Last Judgment on the chapel's altar wall. He also designed the Medici Chapel and the Laurentian Library in Florence and, in old age, took charge of building St. Peter's Basilica, designing its great dome. He wrote poetry too. He worked almost until his death in Rome in 1564, at eighty-eight, and was buried in Florence.

Faith: A devout Catholic whose faith deepened at the end of his life. Source: Wikipedia