Who was Bertoldo di Giovanni, and how did he contribute to Michelangelo’s training?

Bertoldo di Giovanni (1420–1491) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and medalist who served as a student of Donatello and later as a teacher to Michelangelo.1

Toward the end of his life, Bertoldo was appointed by Lorenzo de’ Medici to serve as the curator of his antiquities collection and as the director of the school for painting and sculpture established in the Medici gardens near San Marco. Michelangelo studied at this school for several years, where Bertoldo acted as the closest figure to a sculpture teacher he had during his formative period.12

While Michelangelo did not strictly follow Bertoldo’s artistic approach, his early work, such as the Battle of the Centaurs, shows a clear thematic and compositional connection to the bronze battle reliefs produced by Bertoldo. Through his role at the school and his management of the Medici collection, Bertoldo provided Michelangelo with essential access to ancient Roman statuary, which profoundly influenced the young artist's development.2