Michelangelo and Bill Watterson
The Hourly History biography of Michelangelo makes for great reading. The man, of course, is synonymous with artistic genius: Florence was home to the uber-rich Medicis, who were huge patrons of the arts: “(Lorenzo Medici) encouraged local artists of all stripes to volunteer their time creating sculptures for a sprawling garden near the Medici Palace.” And that is how Michelangelo was “found” by the Medicis. And when the Medicis began to fade, Michelangelo set off to the greener pasture that was papal Rome. Soon enough, he came pulled back to Florence, for an art project depicting the famous slayer of giants, David. Not just for old time’s sake, but also because the other contendor for the project was his rival, Leonardo da Vinci: “Not wanting to be outdone by an artist that he considered only a part-time sculptor… Michelangelo decided to seek out the project for himself.” The statue of David became one of the greatest accomplishments of his career