Biography

William E. Wallace, the Barbara Murphy Bryant Distinguished Professor of Art History at Washington University in St. Louis, is an internationally recognized authority on Michelangelo Buonarroti and his times. His books include the award-winning Michelangelo: The Complete Sculpture, Painting and Architecture (1998), Michelangelo at San Lorenzo: The Genius as Entrepreneur (1994), Discovering Michelangelo (2012) and an acclaimed biography of the artist, Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man and his Times (2010).

Project Summary

Wallace is writing a book that examines the final eighteen years of Michelangelo Buonarroti’s life, from his appointment as architect of St. Peter’s in 1546, until his death in 1564. This period represents nearly a quarter of his approximately seventy-five year artistic career; however, it still remains the least familiar segment of Michelangelo’s long life.