MICHELANGELO: A Life in Six Masterpieces, by Miles J. Unger. Simon & Schuster, 432 pp. $29.95. In this enjoyable but curious biography, art historian Miles J. Unger presents the High Renaissance ...

(CNN) --The painting of the Sistine Chapel ceiling is an achievement that is surrounded by myth. It has been said that Michelangelo did it alone. Not true; he had several assistants. Or that he did ...

Michelangelo once expressed in one of his poems, "I know I am ugly." Not only was he insecure about his physical and facial appearance, family background, and sexuality, but also had a notorious ...

What Gayford does best is to get up close and personal with an artist, preferably one still living. Over a relatively short, intense period of time he is able to explore the fragile and fleeting act ...

The first Western artist to have his biography published while he was alive, Michelangelo sculpted two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, before the age of 30. Often called Il Divino or the ...