The European art scene of the 16th century was dominated by the person and work of Michelangelo Buonarroti. However, Michelangelo's rapid artistic rise, widespread adoration, and elevation to the status of the norm and an unsurpassable authority in art triggered criticism as early as the Cinquecento. One of the critical art techniques used at the time to delegitimize norms, disparage competitors, and vituperatively discredit works of art was image parody. This study is dedicated to this particular technique of comicization and devaluation through a systematic and exemplary exploration of the "negative" reception of Michelangelo in northern and central Italian art of the period. The first comprehensive study of pictorial and written criticisms of Michelangelo in 16th-century northern and central Italy. A study of the theory, function, and manifestations of pictorial parody in the early modern period.