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Summary
Summary
The life of one of the most revolutionary artists in history, told through the story of six of his greatest masterpieces.
Among the immortals--Leonardo, Rembrandt, Picasso--Michelangelo stands alone as a master of painting, sculpture, and architecture. He was not only the greatest artist in an age of giants, but a man who reinvented the practice of art itself. Throughout his long career he clashed with patrons by insisting that he had no master but his own demanding muse and promoting the novel idea that it was the artist, rather than the lord who paid for it, who was creative force behind the work.
Miles Unger narrates the astonishing life of this driven and difficult man through six of his greatest masterpieces. Each work expanded the expressive range of the medium, from the Pietà Michelangelo carved as a brash young man, to the apocalyptic Last Judgment , the work of an old man tested by personal trials. Throughout the course of his career he explored the full range of human possibility. In the gargantuan David he depicts Man in the glory of his youth, while in the tombs he carved for the Medici he offers a sustained meditation on death and the afterlife. In the Sistine Chapel ceiling he tells the epic story of Creation, from the perfection of God's initial procreative act to the corruption introduced by His imperfect children. In the final decades of his life, his hands too unsteady to wield the brush and chisel, he exercised his mind by raising the soaring vaults and dome of St. Peter's in a final tribute to his God.
A work of deep artistic understanding, Miles Unger's Michelangelo brings to life the irascible, egotistical, and undeniably brilliant man whose artistry continues to amaze and inspire us after 500 years.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
While this breezy biography by art historian Unger (Machiavelli: A Biography) contributes little that is new to the subject, the casual reader (or prospective tourist) could do worse than pick up this highly readable book, if only for pleasing explanations of Michelangelo's well-known works. Consulting the artist's letters and sonnets, and early biographers Vasari and Ascanio Condivi, Unger weaves a familiar narrative about an ambitious sculptor, painter, and architect who elevated the artist's status from laborer to demigod, mostly under the patronage of five popes: Julius II, Leo X, Clement VII, Paul III, and Julius III. But the book's real interest lies in Michelangelo's art, and six works in particular, including the Pieta, the Sistine Chapel fresco, and St. Peter's Basilica. Unger, who can be relied upon for illuminating turns of phrase, reminds readers why Michelangelo's work matters. He explains, for example, how the The Last Judgment was an unconventional subject in the contented era of the Renaissance, and describes how Michelangelo's version opposes that leisure and optimism, rendering individuals naked and vulnerable to the end of days, while also casting doubt on orthodox institutions as mediators and spiritual guides. Similarly, for those readers who want to know why the Pieta was controversial or the significance of David, Unger's biography will be delightfully informative. Eight-page, four-color insert, b&w photos. Agent: Alexander Hoyt, Alexander Hoyt Associates. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Art historian and journalist Unger (Machiavelli, 2011, etc.) organizes his life of Michelangelo by focusing on six masterpieces of varying media that compose the pillars of his creative life.Michelangelo di Lodovico di Buonarroti Simone (1475-1564) was a cantankerous genius whose works emerged not just from Italian marble, but from the even more adamantine stone of the political realities of his time. The six works that Unger focuses on include Piet, David, the Sistine ceiling, Medici Tombs, Last Judgment and St. Peter's Basilica. The author tells us about the idea, the creation (Michelangelo was notoriously secretive about his work and did not like others, especially his patrons, looking in and making suggestions), the political and interpersonal difficulties he faced, and the public receptions. This last varied widely: The Sistine ceiling brought cries of admiration; Last Judgment elicited cries of another sortanother painter disguised some nudity. Unger excels at showing us the artist at work: his reluctance, his caginess, his temperament (easily hurt and angered, he sometimes tried to run away) and his jealousies (da Vinci and Raphael among them). We marvel, too, at his mastery of so many different types of media. Unger describes his contentious relationships with members of his own family, especially his hectoring letters to his siblings. Readers will find it astonishing how many of Michelangelo's letters remain; he died in 1564, the year of the birth of Shakespeare, who left no letters (or other manuscript material). We also see Michelangelo's ferocious work habits and perfectionism and his ascetic lifestyle, which didn't really change until later in his life when his financial situation became more comfortable. Michelangelo outlived numerous popes (his relationships with them were significant), local rulers and families, and other notable artists.Unger's edged prose shows us a clear Michelangelo emerging from the stone of history. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In Michelangelo, the poet Ludovico Ariosto saw an angel divine. The Michelangelo whom Unger delivers in this probing biography is no angel but, rather, a fallible, even devious man. But he does evince powers not previously seen among mere human beings in the way he defies the limits that previously circumscribed the role of the artist. Readers watch this multifaceted genius acquire these powers as the bold young sculptor of the Pieta matures dazzling Rome with his David, stunning the Vatican with his Sistine Chapel Creation, baffling his rich patrons with his daringly innovative Medici tombs, and finally overwhelming the ecclesiastical hierarchy with his anarchic Last Judgment. But the creative feat that unifies this string of masterpieces is Michelangelo's forging of an entirely new conception of the artist. No longer just a craftsman intent on selling his skills, the artist that emerges in Michelangelo is a visionary insistent on his imaginative autonomy. Michelangelo thus fashions a dynamic new identity for the artist as a revolutionary, opening new vistas for an astonished society. Unger highlights Michelangelo's singular achievement without glossing over the defects in his mercurial character or obscuring the corruption and violence pervading his Renaissance world. A masterful portrait of a dauntingly complex figure.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2010 Booklist
Choice Review
In a continuing profusion of publications on Michelangelo, this book by Unger stands out as a thoughtful and accessible contribution. It is well-written, jargon-free, and meticulously researched. The narrative is a relatively straightforward biography of Michelangelo, highlighted by six works (the Rome Pietà, David, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the New Sacristy in the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence, Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica). These masterpieces get priority but not exclusive discussion; hence, the book covers most of Michelangelo's major works in the context of his life story. The book includes modest illustrations and helpful notes. General readers are well served with this publication. Academics may wish to consult recent biographies, including Michael Hirst's Michelangelo (CH, Jul'12, 49-6080) and William Wallace's Michelangelo (CH, May'10, 47-4832) or refer to Frank Zöllner et al.'s Michelangelo, 1475-1564: Complete Works (2014) for its lavish illustrations and catalogue. The clarity and engaging prose of Unger, a professional writer, should appeal to most audiences. Summing Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduates and general readers. --A. Victor Coonin, Rhodes College
Library Journal Review
Starred Review. This fine combination of biography, artistic development, and social and political history by art historian and journalist Unger (Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici; Machiavelli: A Biography) focuses on six major works of Michelangelo's career-the Pieta, David, The Creation, the Medici tombs, The Last Judgement, and the basilica of Saint Peter's-to follow the artist's burgeoning talent and fame, along with his notoriety and impulsivity. The author asserts that Michelangelo's art, sculpture, paintings, and poetry transformed the role that the artist plays in the creative act; he then places this idea into social and political settings of the time: the struggle for supremacy between Florence and Rome, which deeply involved Michelangelo in his various commissions and often led to the production of some works at the expense of others. By examining the artist's progress, readers get a refreshed view of the performance of invention as well as one of Michelangelo himself. With great perception, Unger creates a portrait of a magnificent craftsman and an often troubled human being. VERDICT This splendid combination of scholarship and insight is written in a graceful style that captivates the reader from the first sentence.-Paula Frosch, Metropolitan Museum of Art Lib., New York (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.