While globally recognized for the 'David' and the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo Buonarroti was also a prolific poet. He wrote over 300 sonnets and madrigals throughout his life, many of which were dedicated to his close friends and muses, such as Vittoria Colonna and Tommaso dei Cavalieri. His poetry often mirrors the themes of his sculpture and painting: the struggle between the spirit and the flesh, the search for divine beauty, and the agony of the creative process. Michelangelo viewed himself primarily as a sculptor—famously claiming he simply 'released' the figure already trapped inside the marble—but his literary output provides a deep, intimate look at his philosophy. Interestingly, he was the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was still alive, cementing his status as a living legend during the High Renaissance.