AllMovie

This edition of Biography, the long running documentary series from A&E, explores the life of sculptor, painter and poet Michaelangelo. As a boy, he was placed in the care of a stone mason at Settignano where he learned how to sculpt. He received the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici, and after his death spent three years in Bologna. His "Cupid" was bought by Cardinal San Giorgio, who summoned him to Rome, where he stayed for four years. He then returned to Florence, where he sculpted his most famous work, the marble "David". In 1503, Julius II summoned him back to Rome, where he was commissioned to design the pope's tomb; but interruptions and quarrels left the piece unfinished. Instead, he was ordered to decorate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel with paintings, which he did with reluctance. In 1528, political unrest in Florence forced him to the science of fortification, and when the city was besieged, he was active in its defenses. His last achievement was "The Last Judgement," and the next year he was appointed architect of St Peter's, to which he devoted himself until his death. This biogrpahy successfully documents the extraordinary life of a true renaissance man, and how he was so adept at different artistic mediums.