Michelangelo Buonarroti was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect and poet. More commonly known as Michelangelo, he became apprentice to the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio in 1488 and between 1508-1512, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. The sculpted figure of Michelangelo stands in a niche along the facade of the Uffizi Gallery and is the work of the 19th century sculptor Emilio Santarelli.