All the Michelangelos in Florence

Where to find all the major works—sculptures, paintings, architecture—by Michelangelo Buonarotti in Florence

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Michelangelo Buonarotti, by Danile da Volterra.
Michelangelo Buonarotti, a bust by Daniele da Volterra in the Bargello.Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475–1564), born to an exceedingly minor Tuscan noble and nursemaided by stonecutter's wife in the hills near Florence, was being acclaimed as the greatest artist of his age while still a teenager.

Supremely talented, divinely inspired, both a great craftsman and insightful innovator, seemingly able to master effortlessly any artistic pursuit he attempted, he would become the High Renaissance's greatest painter and sculptor, and renowned architect, and trusted military engineer. He also wrote excellent poetry.

His fresco palette broke from the staid tradition of primaries-plus-gold and plunged painting into a festive new world of vibrant color. His figures—carved or painted—twisted and turned and carried their weight believably. Every face he created had a character behind it.

His proportions were mathematically precise and his creations exactingly naturalistic—except where they weren't; Michelangelo knew how to distort or exaggerate the rules to achieve an even greater artistic effect (study The David's hands and head sometime; they're all outrageously oversized, yet somehow they look right).

He was also temperamental, whiney, sycophantic without loyalty, and all around a bit of a jerk. On the Sistine Chapel ceiling job, he was utterly dissatisfied with his assistants and ended up firing all of of them save one he kept on to help grind pigments (and, possibly, to help warm his bed at night; though he maintained a deep and spirited friendship with a woman later in life, that relationship was, by all accounts, utterly platonic and Michelangelo was, by all innuendo, gay).

Michelangelo's report card would definitely have read "Does not play well with others." These character faults were unfortunately indulged or endured by those around him because he was so incredibly good at what he did. He was the first artist to be treated like a rock star rather than a common laborer or simple craftsman, and might well be counted as the art world's first true prima donna and enfant terrible.

We forgive him, too, because—hey, we all have faults; we're all human. Michelangelo just also happened to be, quite simply, the greatest artist who ever lived.

Works by Michelangelo in Florence

*** The Accademia - So much more than just Michelangelo's David (but, yes, also that), also contains his remarkable unfinished Slaves, and a (disputed) Deposition... More

*** The Uffizi - This gallery of Renaissance painting 101 contains Michelangelo's Holy Family (a.k.a. the Doni Tondo), plus works by the Mannerists who were inspired by Michelangelo... More

** The Bargello - What the Uffizi is to paintings, the Bargello is to sculpture; by Michelangelo are a tipsy Bacchus, a brutish Brutus, the delicate Pitti Tondo, and a lithe Apollo-David... More

* Medici Chapels - The tombs of the ruling Medici clan in their own ornate chapel complex behind San Lorenzo include a trio of early tombs decorated with sculptures by Michelangelo, including his famous Dawn/Dusk and Day/Night reclining figures... Full story

** Museo dell'Opera del Duomo - A small museum dedicated to works that once decorated the cathedral, including a much-argued-about Deposition group that was, at least in part, carved by Michelangelo... More

Casa Buonarotti - A house once owned by Michelangelo's nephew and his descendents, now filled with a few of his earliest, teenaged works. Not a hugely important sight, but an interesting window into the development of the artist as a young man... Full story

Sights connected to Michelangelo (but containing none of his works)

*** Santa Croce - This big ol' Franciscan barn of a church has Michelangelo's tomb (along with those of Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini), plus Giotto frescoes and a fine leather school in the back...

** Santa Maria della Carmine - The church's Brancacci Chapel—painted by Masolino and, more importantly, by his innovative student Masaccio—is where a young Michelangelo came to study great art... Full story

* Piazzale Michelangiolo - The best postcard views across Florence are from this panoramic piazza high above the Oltrarno that was named for the great master (though using an odd, alternate spelling of his name), and is decorated with a bronze replica mashup of several of his works... Full story

*** Piazza della Signora - A replica of The David now stands before the Palazzo Vecchio on the site where the actual David stood for many years before being moved to the Accademia... Full story

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This material was last updated January 2011. All information was accurate at the time.

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