65.Michelangelo (Cont.)

In 1536, after the devastating sack of Rome, Michelangelo returned to the chapel to paint The Last Judgement, the largest fresco of the Renaissance, which also marked the era's end. The figures portrayed on the ceiling demonstrated a mastery of the human form that changed Western art forever.

Late in his life, Michelangelo began a friendship with the poet Vittoria Colonna, who inspired a great many sonnets and drawings. He died in Rome in 1564, leaving behind a treasury of artwork that established a standard for excellence in art that has never been surpassed.

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