Drawing on new research and material, including long-awaited editions of Michelangelo’s correspondence, Hirst’s biography sheds fresh light on the development of the artist’s work in painting, sculpture and architecture and on his relations with family, friends and patrons. Starting with his apprenticeship in the workshop of Ghirlandaio in Florence, the study covers Michelangelo’s first excursion to Rome, the creation of the Pietà, David and the Sistine ceiling, and ends with Michelangelo’s definitive move to Rome in 1534.