How old was Michelangelo when he died?

Michelangelo was 88 years old when he died. He died in Rome on 18 February 1564, after a career that had shaped Renaissance sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry.

Michelangelo was born on 6 March 1475, so he was just short of his eighty-ninth birthday. He spent his later decades largely in Rome, where he designed architecture for St. Peter’s Basilica, completed major frescoes, and continued sculpting despite declining health. His long working life allowed him to remain influential across several generations of Italian art.

His best-known works include David, the Pietà, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and The Last Judgment. He also worked for decades on the tomb of Pope Julius II, a project repeatedly revised and reduced from its original grand plan. Near the end of his life, he was still carving the unfinished Rondanini Pietà.

A common mistake is to calculate his age from the year alone and say 89. Because Michelangelo died on 18 February and was born on 6 March, he had not yet reached his next birthday; the correct age is 88.