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Michelangelo is famed as one of the most influential renaissance men in history. Born March 6th, 1475, in a small Italian town named Caprese, Michelangelo was one of the shaping forces of the European Renaissance.

Michelangelo is known for his painting, architect, poet and engineer, much like his fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci. Some of Michelangelo's most famous work is his painting of St. Peter's Basilica and the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. His paintings and sculptures are noted for their realism and portrayed emotion.

Like Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo also studied the human body in detail. He was allowed to examine the deceased bodies at Santa Maria del Santo Spirito's Hospital in which he studied how the body moved and what was below the surface. This helped Michelangelo to create life-like figures that he is known for today.

At the age of 26, Michelangelo was commissioned to take over the sculpting of a statue that was to be one of his most famous works of art. The block of stone that was later to become the figure of David originally was started by Donatello and his assistant Antionio Rossellino. Donatello died before the completion of the statue and for 25 years, nothing was done to the unfinished stone. Michelangelo was given the contract to finish working on the stone, and Michelangelo shaped it into the famous 14ft statue that the world knows today. Michelangelo was heralded as the most famous sculpture at the time.

It is with these paintings and sculpture, as well as numerous other works, that made Michelangelo a driving force in what is now referred to as the European Renaissance.

http://www.hlla.com/reference/mb-bio.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo