Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, known simply? as Michelangelo, was a child prodigy who became one of the most revered artists in history. His first known painting, an adaptation of ?The Torment of Saint Anthony?, was finished when he was 12 or 13, documented by biographers during his lifetime.? He apprenticed in the court of the Medici dynasty of bankers and art patrons in Florence, Italy, where he studied classical antiquities and was surrounded by poets, philosophers, and artists. Like his High Renaissance contemporary (and rival) Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo was known for intense, evocative works of physical realism. Among his masterpieces is the ceiling of the Vatican City's Sistine Chapel; its renowned centerpiece, ?The Creation of Adam?, illustrates the divine breath of life.