Scholars have also described the Pietà sculptor as one of the most successful artists of his era, while being the most documented artist in history alongside Leonardo da Vinci.
The Pietà statue by Michelangelo was commissioned by the Cardinal, Jean de Bilhères de Lagraulas who was also the ambassador of the Holy See on behalf of the French monarchy.
The theme of Michelangelo’s statue was Pietà, which means pity and piety (Latin) and referenced the aftermath of the crucifixion of the venerated biblical figure, Jesus Christ.
On 21 May 1971, Laszlo Toth ran towards the statue and hit Pietà with a hammer 15 times before being dragged off the statue and detained. The motive behind the attack was unknown.
The terracotta figure surfaced 20 years ago after being acquired by an antiquarian who assumed the sculpture was worthless. The antiquarian stored the object in a box and sold it to a collector for peanuts.