In 1497, the French ambassador to the Holy See commissioned Michelangelo to create a sculpture of the Holy Mercy, which would later become one of Michelangelo's most famous works.

The consignment contract was signed in August of the following year. Michelangelo was only 23 years old when the work was completed. The work was well received by the people of the time. It is recorded that shortly after the sculpture was completed, Michelangelo learned of rumors that the statue was created by Christopher Rosorari, and Michelangelo immediately inscribed "by Michelangelo Bonarroti of Florence" on the shoulder strap of the Madonna in the statue.

It is also the only work of Michelangelo that is signed. The work is still preserved in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.

In recent years, some researchers have suggested that Laocoon and his sons were not works of ancient Rome, but of Michelangelo's work during this period of time in Rome.

Between 1499 and 1501, Michelangelo returned to Florence. The original spiritual and secular leader of Florence, the anti-Renaissance monk Girolamo Savonarola, was burned at the stake in 1498, Piero Soderini gained power, and the situation in the Florentine Republic improved.

The Wool Guild commissioned Michelangelo to create a monumental statue of David as a symbol of Florentine freedom, which was completed and placed in Piazza della Signoria in front of Palazzo Vecchio.

The marble provided by the trade guild was used by Agostino di Ducho 40 years ago.

In 1504, Michelangelo completed the statue of David. This masterpiece is a testament to Michelangelo's extraordinary skill and imagination. established his status as a sculptor.

In 1505, Michelangelo returned to Rome at the invitation of the new Pope, Julius II. Julius II commissioned him to design a mausoleum for the Pope himself. As the Pope commissioned Michelangelo to create other works during this period, the design of the mausoleum was interrupted from time to time, and it took 40 years to complete. The mausoleum is located in St. Peter's Church of the Chains in Rome, with a statue of Moses at its center.

During the same period, Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling painting of the Sistine Chapel, which took about four years (1508-1512).

According to Michelangelo, it was Donato, Bramont and Raphael who persuaded the Pope to commission Michelangelo to work in a medium he was unfamiliar with.

In this way, Michelangelo with his opponents. Raphael, a leading mural painter at his peak, pales in comparison.

However. Contemporary art historians deny the story on the basis of current evidence and conclude that it is only the artist's own opinion.

The fresco, commissioned by the Pope, features the Twelve Apostles against a starry background. Michelangelo, however, opted for a more complex scheme, drawing on the Old Testament book of Genesis.

The work depicts 343 figures. The central section is the nine scenes from the Book of Genesis, from the opening of the world to the flood ark. The most famous of these are The Creation of Adam, The Great Flood, etc.

Year 1513. Pope Julius II died. Leo X, from the Medici family, succeeded the pope. Michelangelo was commissioned to reconstruct the façade of the Basilica of Sant'Lorenzo in Florence. and created sculptures for the main hall as decoration.

Michelangelo reluctantly agreed to the commission. Over the next three years, Michelangelo attempted to build a new marble quarry in Pietrasanta for the purpose of drawing and modeling the façade of the basilica. Dedicated to the project.

Unfortunately, however, there was no substantial progress in the project, and the sponsor abruptly cancelled the commission due to financial problems. The façade of this hall has not been built to this day.

Subsequently, the Medici family commissioned Michelangelo with another major project to compensate Michelangelo, this time designing a family mausoleum for the Medici family in the Basilica of Sant'Orient in Florence.

For most of the 1520s-1530s, Michelangelo was busy with this project. Fortunately, the construction project was successfully completed.

In 1527, Florentine citizens, inspired by the catastrophe of Rome, drove out the Medici family and restored the republic. Florence was besieged for this.

In 1528-1529, Michelangelo built fortifications for his beloved Florence to defend against invasions. In 1530, Florence was finally conquered, and the Medici family returned to power.

When the Medici returned to Florence, they began a harsh reign. Michelangelo fled Florence in the mid-1530s, leaving only his assistants to complete the work on the Medici family chapel.

Pope Clement VII commissioned Michelangelo to paint frescoes on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel at the Last Judgment, however, Clement VII died shortly after the commission.

Paul III succeeded him and provided support and assistance to Michelangelo's creation. The frescoes began to be painted in 1534 and were finally completed in 1541.

The work is so large that it occupies the entire wall of the altar of the Sistine Chapel. The Last Judgment depicts the coming of the end of the world, when Christ returns to earth to judge people and decide their fate. Christ was surrounded by the saints.

As soon as the work was completed, some people thought that the fresco was blasphemous, because Michelangelo painted both Christ and the Virgin Mary naked.

Cardinal Calafa (later Pope Paul IV) and the ambassador of Mantua, Monsigni Orcernini, wanted the Pope to destroy the fresco, but the Pope did not agree.

After Michelangelo's death, the Holy See decided to paint the nude in the painting with a fig leaf to cover his private parts. One of Michelangelo's apprentices, Danielle da Volterra, was commissioned to paint the nude figures in the painting with underpants, earning him the nickname "trouser painter".

In 1993, when the antiquarians restored the fresco, it was decided to keep part of the fig leaf on Danielle's painting as a record of history.

On the other hand, some artists have destroyed part of Michelangelo's original pen in order to "polish" this masterpiece. The Capodimonte Museum in Naples has a copy of Marcello Venusti, which is faithful to the original and has not been modified by later generations at the time of copying.

The same scrutiny has been with Michelangelo, who was once stigmatized as an "obscene creator" because of the fact that his characters were often nude and their genitals were exposed.

Michelangelo's work was heavily vandalized by the infamous "fig leaf movement", to which a large amount of fig leaf was added. For example, the fig leaf of the sculpture of Christ Minerva (in the Church of Our Lady on the ruins of a temple in Rome) has survived to this day.

In 1546, the Holy See appointed Michelangelo as the architect of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Michelangelo was to design the dome for the church.

During the construction period, there were concerns that Michelangelo would not be able to complete the dome in his lifetime due to his advanced age. However, with the completion of the dome's lower support ring, the completion of the building was no longer an issue.

Michelangelo died in Rome in 1564 at the age of 88. His 89th birthday was just three weeks away. In accordance with his last wishes, his body was brought back from Rome to Florence and buried in the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence.

The Vatican's official newspaper, the Observer of Rome, reported in 2007 that the Holy See found what may be the most posthumous work of the famous artist Michelangelo in an office in St. Peter's Basilica, presumably a sketch he had drawn for the construction of St. Peter's Basilica a year before his death. (To be continued......)