ANGELO, MICHAEL. There were five celebrated
Italian painters of this name, who flourished in the 16th
and 17th centuries; but the two most distinguished of
them are these.—First, Michael Angelo Buonarroti,
who was a most incomparable painter, sculptor, and
architect, born in 1474, in the territory of Arezzo in
Tuscany. He was the disciple of Dominico Ghirlandaio;
and erected an academy of painting and sculpture
in Florence, under the protection of Lorenzo di Me-
dicis; which, upon the troubles of that house, was ob-
liged to remove to Bologna. About this time he made
an image of Cupid, which he carried to Rome, broke
off one of its arms, and buried the image in a place he
knew would soon be dug up, keeping the arm by him.
It was accordingly found, and sold to Cardinal St. Gre-
gory for an antique; until Michael, to their confusion
and his own credit, discovered his artifice, and con-
firmed it by the deficient arm which he produced: it
is rather unusual for the manufacturers of antiques to
be so ingenuous. His reputation was so great at Rome,
that he was employed by Pope Sixtus to paint his chap-
pel; and by the command of Pope Paul III. executed
his most celebrated piece, The Last Judgment. He has
the character of being the greatest designer that ever
lived; and it is universally allowed that no painter ever
understood anatomy so well. He died immensely rich
at Rome, in 1564.—Secondly, Michael Angelo de
Caravaggio, born at that village in Milan, in 1569.
He was at first no more than a bricklayer's labourer;
but he was so charmed with seeing some painters at
work, that he immediately applied himself to the art;
and made such progress in a few years, that he was
admired as the author of a new style of painting. It
was observed of Michael Angelo Buonarroti, that he
was incomparable in designing, but knew little of col-
ouring; and of Caravaggio, that he had as good a
gout in colouring as he had a bad one in designing.
There is one picture of his in the Dominican church
at Antwerp, which Rubens used to call his master. It
is said of this painter, that he was so strangely contem-
ptuous, that the pencil was no sooner out of his hand
but his sword was in it. He died in 1609.