Michelangelo Was a Street Artist (Before It Was Cool)

There is a piece of street art in Florence that, according to legend, was carved by Michelangelo himself.

Image via aldoaldoz on Flickr

In addition to making statues with weak ankles, painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and having a crime-fighting, pizza-loving turtle named after him, it turns out that Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni's legacy includes a piece of street art carved into the wall of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. 

The carving is known as "L’importuno di Michelangelo" which translates to "The Nuisance by Michelangelo." There are numerous origin stories surrounding the work of art, but they are all believed to be nothing more than legends (we like the one that says that the artist was dared to do it backwards). Legend or not, the street art remains in tact because of the stories that people have told over the centuries and because of who Michelangelo was. How many contemporary artists will have that kind of clout 450 years from now?

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[via AtlasObscura]

 

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