MichelangeloMichelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese, Tuscany. His father was Lodovico di Buonarrotto and his mother was Fracesssca Neri. Michelangelo was also the second of five brothers. His mother was unable to raise Michelangelo, so his father let a stonemason's wife raise him. Unfortunately, Michelangelo's mother died when he was six years old (Bonner Par. 1-13). Michelangelo's family moved to Florence, Italy, a month after his birth. Although his family was not wealthy, Michelangelo went to school in 1482. When Michelangelo began to excel in the arts, his father was not happy. He wanted Michelangelo to become a government or military figure. He beat Michelangelo to distance him from the arts. Finally, at the age of 13 Michelangelo's father gave up and let Michelangelo begin an apprenticeship with Domenico Ghirlando to learn (McNeese 11-21). Michelangelo's first sculptures were made when he was around 16 years old. These sculptures were the Battle of the Centaurs and the Madonna of the Stairs. The battle of the centaurs consisted of naked Greek men fighting centaurs. Centaurs are creatures that have the upper half of a man and the lower half of a horse. These sculptures are what he told Giovanni de Bertoldo, Michelagelo's second teacher, that he had a unique vocation for sculpture (Bonner Par. 1). Shortly after arriving in Rome, Michelangelo was hired to make a sculpture of a Roman god. Michelangelo chose to sculpt the Roman god of wine, Bacchus. Michelangelo spent a year on the project. The original customer was not satisfied but Jacopo Galli, a Roman banker, purchased the piece. This sculpture is what led Michelangelo to become more famous (McNeese 34). The next sculpture Michelangelo created was for a French cardinal, Jean Villiers de Fezencac. The cardinal wanted a sculpture of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. Michelangelo signed a contract to be paid 450 ducats if he completed the sculpture in one year. Gladly, he finished the sculpture successfully. The sculpture was called the Pietà and consisted of the position of the Virgin Mary with the dead body of her son Jesus on her lap (McNeese 35). In April 1508 Pope Julius II hired Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (McNeese 87). The Sistine Chapel was where major papal ceremonies took place (Summer 11). Although Julius II simply wanted Michelangelo to paint the chapel ceiling, Michelangelo had bigger ideas. In 1513 Michelangelo had approximately 340 figures on the chapel ceiling.