(b. March 6, 1475, Caprese, Republic of Florence [Italy]--d. Feb. 18, 1564, Rome), Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, and poet who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art.

"I cannot live under pressures from patrons, let alone paint. "
-- Michelangelo, quoted in Vasari's Lives of the Artists

[source:ebeijing.gov.cn]