Michelangelo: The Sculptor Who Painted the Sky
Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in 1475 in a small village in Italy. Even as a young child, he didn't want to play with toys or read books as much as he wanted to watch the stonecutters at a nearby quarry. He loved the way they turned rough, gray rocks into smooth, beautiful shapes. Michelangelo famously said that he didn't really 'create' his statues; he just carved away the extra stone to set the figures free.
To him, he was a sculptor, first and foremost. \n\nMichelangelo’s childhood was spent surrounded by the sound of hammers and the smell of dust. He grew up in the hills above Florence, where many of the world's finest stones were found. By the time he was a teenager, he was already an apprentice to a famous artist, though he often felt he could learn more from the marble itself.
He became famous at a very young age for carving the 'Pieta' and the giant 'David' statue, which stood over 17 feet tall. These works were so perfect that people began to call him 'Il Divino,' or 'The Divine One.' \n\nIn 1508, Pope Julius II gave Michelangelo a task that the artist did not want. The Pope asked him to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
- Quarry:
- A place where large amounts of stone are dug out of the ground.
- Apprentice:
- A person who is learning a trade or art by working under a skilled master.
- Fresco:
- A method of painting on wet plaster so that the colors sink in as it dries.
- Scaffolding:
- A temporary wooden or metal framework used to support workers reaching high places.
- Anatomy:
- The study of the structure of the human body and how its parts work together.
- methodical:
- Done in a careful, orderly, and step-by-step way.
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- 1What did Michelangelo enjoy watching as a child in his village?
- 2How did Michelangelo describe his process of creating a statue?
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About this biography passage for Upper Elementary
“Michelangelo: The Sculptor Who Painted the Sky” is a biography reading passage about Michelangelo, written for Upper Elementary. It takes about 5 minutes to read (682 words) and comes with an interactive quiz and a printable worksheet with comprehension questions and an answer key.