Michelangelo always regarded himself first and foremost as a sculptor and a sculptor's vision is evident in all his paintings. Some of Michelangelo's famous sculptures are�

David

The sculpture David, which would stand on a buttress on the Florence Duomo, but when finished was considered too fine and dominating a work for such a relatively obscure location. Eventually, after advice from the master of the older generation, including Leonardo, Botticelli and Perugino, it was placed in a public location where the whole population would see it. The site chosen, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in the main Palazzo Della Signoria, where a copy still stands, could hardly attracted more public attention. It became, for the people of Florence, a symbol of her importance in the culture and life of Renaissance Italy, and a country at that time composed of a large number of independent city-states.

The original sculpture suffered damage during political disturbances in 1527 when a chair, thrown from a window in the Palazzo Vecchio, broke its left arm in three pieces; nevertheless, the figure was not removed from outside the palazzo until 1873 when it was transferred tp the Accademia.

Piet�

This late medieval theme was present both in painting and in sculpture form, and was derived from the typical "mourning the dead Christ" subject, with the Virgin Mary, Mary Magdalen, Mary wife of Cleopas, Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus. Later portrayals of the Virgin with her dead Son in her lap were referred to as "Piet�". In 1500 the standard positioning was once again modified, with Christ lying on the ground, with just his head supported by the Virgin, or sometimes even held upright by her or with the presence of St. John.