Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, commonly known as Michelangelo, was one of the leading artists of the Renaissance, today recognized as one of the greatest creators in the history of Art. He is the only artist of his time whose biography was published before his death, in the Lives of Giorgio Vazari, who called him by the nickname “Divine” (Il Divino), thus placing him at the top of artists.
Among his most popular works that stand proudly over the centuries, impressing the public to this day, the famous frescoes in Sistina hats, the papal chapel of the Vatican, the statue of David, one of the most famous statues in the history of sculpture – a symbol of strength and youthful beauty and of course the magnificent Pieta (Apostasy), the first work of the artist who was then just over 20 years and the only one he has signed – perhaps one of the most important works of art in the western world – which is housed in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
What certainly interests everyone, however, is how this great career for the Italian sculptor, painter and architect began. One would say that his beginning, then, was rather episodic, as according to history.com, his whole career is due to a scam. And in fact a fraud he committed.
In his first steps, then, Michael Angelos carved a, lost today, statue of Love in the style of the ancient Greeks. After seeing his creation, Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de ‘Medici’s protector suggested that he take part in a small scam. “If you could make it look like it was buried I could send it to Rome, pass it as an antique and sell it at a much higher price.”
Michael Angelos agreed, and the fake Eros was sold to Cardinal Rafael Riario on the pretext that it was a recently recovered archaeological find. Riario was later informed of the fraud and got his money back, but he was so impressed by Michael Angelo’s ability that he invited him to Rome for a private meeting.
The young sculptor would remain for the next years of his life in Rome, finally winning a good reward for creating “Pieta”, the work that made his name widely known and established him in the pantheon of the most important artists not only of the Renaissance, but of Art in general.
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