Michelangelo
By Sarinee Vorasubin

Within his own lifetime, Michelangelo Buonarroti managed to establish himself as one of the greatest artists that ever lived. He was born in 1475 in Florence, Italy, a city to which he was intensely loyal. At the age of thirteen he was apprenticed to a Florentine artist and quickly learned all his master had to teach. Michelangelo regarded himself primarily as a sculptor but throughout his life he would expand into many area of the arts including painting, architecture, and poetry. His contemporaries spoke of his terribilitá, which means not so much as being terrible as being awesome. Michelangelo's works do inspire awe, and sometimes they even overwhelm him; many of his works remain unfinished. His works are characterized by the power and energy of the figures. Some of his most famous pieces include the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Pieta, David, and Moses.

Though not as expansive as Leonardo Da Vinci in the realms of science, Michelangelo does have some scientific relevance. For example, his fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling of the Creation of Man is an example of the Divine Proportion, the proportion of the figure of Adam to that of the figure of God being the Golden Mean. Michelangelo must have also been aware of the symmetry of a beautiful face and a beautiful body for his figures are renowned for their aesthetic quality. He was also a student of biology, much like Leonardo, and made many detailed drawings of the human anatomy. Even in the computer age, his presence is still felt: one of the most infamous viruses is the Michelangelo Virus.