Because he was sickly , Michelangelo was sent to live on a small farm with a stonecutter and his wife and family . The stonecutter worked at a marble quarry owned by Michelangelo 's father . At later times , during the prolonged illness and after the death of his mother in 1481 when he was just six years old , Michelangelo lived with a stonecutter and his wife and family in the town of Settignano , where his father owned a marble quarry and a small farm .