Michelangelo

Résumé du livre

Volume 1 is the first book in a two-volume history of the great artist; it covers his early life and rise to prominence in Italy. This study of Michelangelo's extraordinary career follows the artist from his apprenticeship in Ghirlandaio's workshop to his definitive move to Rome in 1534, when at the age of fifty-nine, he left behind his native Florence, never to return. During these years he created such outstanding works as the marble Pietà, the giant marble David, commissioned for the cathedral in Florence, the Sistine ceiling frescoes and the new sacristy and library for the Medici family at San Lorenzo. He also began the monumental tomb for Pope Julius II in Rome, and he became one of the most sought-after artists of all time. Written by a Michelangelo scholar, this informative account benefits from recent archival discoveries and restorations, and is enriched by material from the long-awaited editions of the artist's correspondence and artistic contracts. The wealth of new information enables fresh light to be shed on the genesis of Michelangelo's works in sculpture, painting and architecture, and on his complex psychological relations with his family, friends, and powerful patrons.--From book jacket, v.1.