San Marino · 550th anniversary of the birth of Michelangelo

Michelangelo Buonarroti was a sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the Italian Renaissance. He came from Caprese in Tuscany and was trained in Florence, where he was shaped by the artistic and humanist environment of the Medici. He later worked mainly in Florence and Rome for popes and other patrons. His best-known works include the marble sculptures *Pietà* and *David*, the ceiling paintings and *The Last Judgment* in the Sistine Chapel (Sixtinische Kapelle), as well as his involvement in the construction of St Peter’s Basilica (Petersdom). His work combined precise anatomical observation with an often highly dynamic, tension-filled depiction of the human body.

The Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII belonged to the range of subjects from ancient history in Renaissance art. She was the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and was politically associated successively with Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius. After the defeat by Octavian, she took her own life. In art and literature, her death was traditionally associated with the bite of a venomous snake. Michelangelo’s drawing focuses on her head and shows her with an elaborate hairstyle and the snake as an indication of her end. It was created as an independent, carefully executed sheet and is associated with Tommaso de’ Cavalieri, a Roman nobleman to whom Michelangelo gave several drawings and dedicated poems.

Casa Buonarroti traces its origins to houses that belonged to Michelangelo’s family. Michelangelo der Jüngere, a grandnephew of the artist, had them transformed into a memorial site for the family in the 17th century. Today, in addition to drawings and early works, the museum preserves letters, designs and other testimonies from the artist’s circle.

No direct biographical connection between Michelangelo and San Marino is apparent. The choice is instead explained by his position within the shared Italian cultural heritage. San Marino regularly features figures and works from the history of Italian art and culture on its commemorative coins; the milestone anniversary provided a clear calendar occasion for this.