10 Artworks By Michelangelo You Should Know.

Michelangelo, The Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, 1536-1541

One of the most influential figures in art, Italian painter and sculptor Michelangelo remains
one of the world’s most celebrated artists today more than 450 years after his death. We
explore some of Michelangelo’s most important works from the Sistine Chapel to
his David sculpture.
 Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City, 1508-1512

The Sistine Chapel Ceiling

Mention Michelangelo and one work that comes to mind is the artist’s painting on the
ceiling of the Vatican City’s Sistine Chapel. Commissioned by Pope Julius II and created
between 1508 and 1512, the work – which shows nine stories from the Book of Genesis – is
considered one of the greatest works of art. Michelangelo himself was reluctant to do the
project, as he was a better sculptor than painter, but the work continues to surprise today
with around five million people going to the Sistine Chapel every year to see his
masterpiece.

Michelangelo, Florence, 1501-1504

David

One of the world’s most famous sculptures, Michelangelo’s David was sculpted over the
course of three years, beginning when the artist was just 26 years old. Of the biblical hero
David after his battle with Goliath, Michelangelo was the first artist to show him in an alert
position before his legendary fight. Originally positioned at Florence’s Piazza della Signoria in
1504, the 4.26 meter sculpture was moved to Galleria dell’Accademia in 1873 where it
remains today, displayed under a light specially designed for in the 19th-century.
Bacchus

Michelangelo’s first large sculpture Bacchus is, next to Pietà, one of just two sculptures that
survived from his first days in Rome, and one of the few works the artist created focusing on
a pagan, rather than a christian subject. The statue – which shows the Roman God of wine in
a drunken, stage – was originally commissioned by Cardinal Raffaele Riario but was rejected
by him; by the early 16th century, it found a place in the garden of banker Jacopo Galli’s
Roman palace. Since 1871, Bacchus has resided at Florence’s Museo Nazionale del Bargello,
and is displayed next to other works by the master including his Brutus bust and his
unfinished sculpture, David-Apollo.
Madonna of Bruges

Madonna of Bruges was the only Michelangelo sculpture to make its way out of Italy during
the artist’s lifetime; it was donated to its current home, Bruges’ Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk
(Church of Our Lady), in 1514 On two occasions, the sculpture has been removed from the
church, first during the French Revolutionary Wars, after which it was returned in 1815, only
to be stolen by Nazi soldiers during World War II.
The Torment of Saint Anthony

Texas’ Kimbell Art Museum has the pleasure of owning The Torment of Saint Anthony – the
first known painting by Michelangelo – believed to have been produced when the artist was
just 12 or 13 years old. Created under the supervision of his older friend Francesco
Granacci, The Torment of Saint Anthony has been said to be probably one of his first
paintings as a student.
Doni Tondo

The Doni Tondo (also known as The Holy Family) is the only known surviving panel painting
by Michelangelo. It was painted for the wealthy Florentine banker Agnolo Doni, most likely
to commemorate his marriage to his wife Maddalena, daughter of the Tuscan noble family,
the Strozzis. Still is in its original frame, a beautiful wooden piece designed by Michelangelo,
the work has resided at Galleria degli Uffizi since 1635 and is the only painting by the master
in Florence. The Doni Tondo.
Pietà

Next to David, Michelangelo’s late 15th–century work Pietà is considered one of the artist’s
greatest works and certainly one of his best-known. Originally made for the funeral tomb of
French Cardinal Jean de Bilhères, the evocative sculpture depicts the Virgin Mary holding the
body of Christ after his crucifixion – a common theme for funeral monuments in Italy.
Moved to St. Peter’s Basilica during the 18th century, Pietà is the only artwork Michelangelo
signed, and it has survived considerable damage over the years, mostly when christian
Australian geologist Lazlo Toth hit several times with a hammer the sculpture in 1972 .
Moses

Located in Rome’s beautiful Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, Moses was originally

commissioned in 1505 by Pope Julius II as part of his funeral monument, but it was not
completed until after his death. Made from marble, the sculpture is notable for its pair of
horns on Moses’ head – thought to be the result of a literal interpretation of a Latin
translation of the bible.
The Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel

Another Michelangelo masterpiece located within the Sistine Chapel, The Last

Judgment appears on the altar wall of the church and was made some 25 years after the
artist had painted his inspiring ceiling. One of Michelangelo’s most complex pieces, the
magnificent work shows God’s final judgment of mankind and was controversial in its
pictures of nudity; The Council of Christianity condemned the painting in 1564 and ordered a
painter to paint and cover up certain parts considered obscene.
The Crucifixion of St. Peter

The Crucifixion of St. Peter, the final Michelangelo would paint during his lifetime, resides in
the Vatican Palace and was originally commissioned by Pope Paul III in 1541. In contrast to
many other Michelangelo’s work focuses on a much darker subject, His death. A five-year-
long, €3.2 million restoration project that began in 2004 revealed a very interesting aspect of
the painting, researchers now believe that a blue turban man figure in the upper left-hand
corner of the painting is actually the artist himself, which if correct would make The
Crucifixion of St. Peter the only known Michelangelo-painted self-portrait in existence.