High Renaissance

Daniele da Volterra, detail of Michelangelo Buonarroti, circa 1545. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Gift of Clarence Dillon, 1977.
Michelangelo: Exploring the Master's Art and Life
Known as the Renaissance's greatest sculptor, Michelangelo was often commissioned to apply his talents to other mediums such as painting and architecture.
rendered with dark metal, this sculpture shows Morgante in the heroic nude, expertly riding a dragon as if directly out of a mythological tale.Giambologna, The Dwarf Morgante Riding on a Dragon, 18th Century. Courtesy Wikimedia Commons. r
Morgante: Depictions of a Renaissance Jester Turned Duke
Bartolo—known better as Morgante—was the sharp and quick-witted “buffoon” of Cosimo I’s court (1537 to 1569). In 1555, Cosimo I granted Morgante a ducal privilege in which he is defined as “our most…