Michelangelo & Sebastiano

Learn about the extraordinary artistic relationship between two great Renaissance masters, Sebastiano del Piombo and Michelangelo, from 1510 through to 1540

Michelangelo & Sebastiano explores the complementary talents, yet divergent personalities, of the two artists. It encompasses approximately seventy works - paintings, drawings, sculptures and letters - produced by Michelangelo and Sebastiano before, during and after their association.

In 1511, Sebastiano, a young, exceptionally talented Venetian painter, arrived in Rome. He was quickly embroiled in the city's fiercely competitive art scene. He met Michelangelo, who was working on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the two quickly became friends and allies against the prodigious Raphael.

Director of the National Gallery, Dr Gabriele Finaldi, says "The exhibition introduces us into the very heart of High Renaissance Rome, where a new and heroic art was being forged. Against a background of war and religious conflict Michelangelo and Sebastiano produced works about life, death and resurrection which are among the most powerful and moving ever made. This is a unique opportunity to see an exceptional gathering of masterpieces."