Where can you see Michelangelo in London?

At the National Gallery: The Entombment. At the Royal Academy of Arts: The Taddei Tondo. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Michelangelo's most famous work in London?

The Entombment, of about 1500 to 1501, at the National Gallery. The dead Christ is carried towards the tomb. Painted for a church in Rome and abandoned when he left for Florence: the figure of the Virgin, at lower right, was never begun, and you can see how he worked.

When and where was Michelangelo born?

On 6 March 1475, at Caprese, Italy. Michelangelo died on 18 February 1564, at Rome, Italy, aged about 89.

What is Michelangelo known for?

Both his paintings in London are unfinished. The Taddei Tondo is the only marble sculpture by him in Great Britain. It has belonged to the Royal Academy since 1830. Michelangelo was an Italian painter and sculptor, of the High Renaissance.

Painter and sculptor, 1475 to 1564

Michelangelo

To see Michelangelo you go to Rome and Florence. London has three things by him that those cities would envy, all from his twenties, and all left unfinished.

Born: 1475, Caprese, Italy
Died: 1564, Rome, Italy
Movement: High Renaissance
In London: 2 works in 2 museums

Where to see Michelangelo in London

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

The National Gallery1 work

The Entombment
about 1500 to 1501
The dead Christ is carried towards the tomb. Painted for a church in Rome and abandoned when he left for Florence: the figure of the Virgin, at lower right, was never begun, and you can see how he worked.

Royal Academy of Arts1 work

The Taddei Tondo
about 1504 to 1505
A round marble relief of the Virgin and Child with the young Saint John, who holds out a bird from which the Christ Child shrinks. The marks of the chisel are still on most of it. It is shown free of charge at the Royal Academy.

The life of Michelangelo

Michelangelo was born in Tuscany in 1475 and was famous before he was twenty-five, with the Pietà in St Peter's. He carved the David, painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the Last Judgement, and designed the dome of St Peter's. He thought of himself as a sculptor before anything else.

The two Slaves were carved between 1513 and 1516 for the tomb of Pope Julius II, a project that tormented him for forty years and was built at a fraction of its planned size. They were left out of it. Michelangelo gave them to a Florentine friend in exile in France, and they came to the Louvre in 1794.

What to know

Both his paintings in London are unfinished
The Taddei Tondo is the only marble sculpture by him in Great Britain
It has belonged to the Royal Academy since 1830

Born: 6 March 1475, Caprese, Italy
Died: 18 February 1564, Rome, Italy

Michelangelo: common questions

Where can you see Michelangelo in London?: At the National Gallery: The Entombment. At the Royal Academy of Arts: The Taddei Tondo. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Michelangelo's most famous work in London?: The Entombment, of about 1500 to 1501, at the National Gallery. The dead Christ is carried towards the tomb. Painted for a church in Rome and abandoned when he left for Florence: the figure of the Virgin, at lower right, was never begun, and you can see how he worked.
When and where was Michelangelo born?: On 6 March 1475, at Caprese, Italy. Michelangelo died on 18 February 1564, at Rome, Italy, aged about 89.
What is Michelangelo known for?: Both his paintings in London are unfinished. The Taddei Tondo is the only marble sculpture by him in Great Britain. It has belonged to the Royal Academy since 1830. Michelangelo was an Italian painter and sculptor, of the High Renaissance.