Editing Michelangelo (section)

===Final years===
{{multiple image | direction = horizontal | total_width= 450 | header = | footer = | image1 = Pieta Bandini Opera Duomo Florence n01.jpg | alt1 = aaa | caption1 =Self-portrait of the artist as [[Nicodemus]] | image2 = Pietà per Vittoria Colonna.jpg | alt2 =bbb | caption2 = The ''Pietà of Vittoria Colonna'' (c. 1540) | image3 = Michelangelo pietà rondanini.jpg | alt3 =ccc| caption3 =The ''[[Rondanini Pietà]]'' (1552–1564) }}
In his old age, Michelangelo created a number of ''Pietàs'' in which he apparently reflects upon mortality. They are heralded by the ''[[The Genius of Victory|Victory]]'', perhaps created for the tomb of Pope Julius II but left unfinished. In this group, the youthful victor overcomes an older hooded figure, with the features of Michelangelo. The ''Pietà of Vittoria Colonna'' is a chalk drawing of a type described as "presentation drawings", as they might be given as a gift by an artist, and were not necessarily studies towards a painted work. In this image, Mary's upraised arms and hands are indicative of her prophetic role. The frontal aspect is reminiscent of Masaccio's fresco of the [[Holy Trinity]] in the [[Basilica of Santa Maria Novella]], Florence. In the ''Florentine Pietà'', Michelangelo again depicts himself, this time as the aged [[Nicodemus]] lowering the body of Jesus from the cross into the arms of Mary his mother and Mary Magdalene. Michelangelo smashed the left arm and leg of the figure of Jesus. His pupil [[Tiberio Calcagni]] repaired the arm and drilled a hole in which to fix a replacement leg which was not subsequently attached. He also worked on the figure of Mary Magdalene.<ref>Maiorino, Giancarlo, 1990. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Raf5I8SLQhQC&pg=PA28 The Cornucopian Mind and the Baroque Unity of the Arts]''. Penn State Press. p. 28. {{ISBN|0-271-00679-X}}.</ref><ref>Di Cagno, Gabriella. 2008. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=jDCKhi-QHSoC&pg=PA58 Michelangelo]''. Oliver Press. p. 58. {{ISBN|1-934545-01-5}}.</ref>

The last sculpture that Michelangelo worked on (six days before his death), the ''[[Rondanini Pietà]],'' could never be completed because Michelangelo carved it away until there was insufficient stone. The legs and a detached arm remain from a previous stage of the work. As it remains, the sculpture has an abstract quality, in keeping with 20th-century concepts of sculpture.<ref>Tolnay, Charles de. 1960. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=xy8qxGlF4jcC&pg=PA117 Michelangelo.: V, The Final Period: Last Judgment. Frescoes of the Pauline Chapel. Last Pietas]'' Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. p. 154. {{OCLC|491820830}}.</ref><ref>Crispina, Enrica. 2001. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=xy8qxGlF4jcC&q=Rondanini+Piet%C3%A0+arm Michelangelo]''. Firenze: Giunti. p. 117. {{ISBN|88-09-02274-2}}.</ref>

Michelangelo died in Rome on 18 February 1564,<ref>{{cite web | title=Michelangelo | website=Oxford Reference | date=22 February 1999 | url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100155121 | access-date=17 February 2023}}</ref> at the age of 88. His body was taken from Rome for interment at the [[Basilica of Santa Croce, Florence|Basilica of Santa Croce]], fulfilling the maestro's last request to be buried in his beloved Florence.<ref>Coughlan, p. 179.</ref> His heir Lionardo Buonarroti commissioned Vasari to design and build the ''Tomb of Michelangelo'', a monumental project that cost 770 [[scudi]], and took over 14 years to complete.<ref name="Grossoni-2017">{{Cite news|date=12 October 2017|title=Michelangelo's tomb: five fun facts you probably didn't know|url=https://www.theflorentine.net/2017/10/12/michelangelo-tomb-facts/|access-date=20 May 2021|website=The Florentine|language=en-US|last1=Grossoni |first1=Donata }}</ref> Marble for the tomb was supplied by [[Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Cosimo I de' Medici]], Duke of Tuscany, who had also organized a state funeral to honour Michelangelo in Florence.<ref name="Grossoni-2017" />