Michelangelo A&I (Art and Ideas) - Softcover

Hughes, Anthony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0714834831 ISBN 13: 9780714834832

Publisher: Phaidon Press, 1997

Synopsis

A rebellious youth who chose a career as an artist against his father's wishes, Michelangelo (1475-1564) went on to be recognized as one of the outstanding talents of his age. Such was the degree of fame and wealth that he acquired that he became a legend within his own lifetime. In the centuries since his death his work has been almost universally admired, and he has been cast as the prototype for artistic genius.

About this title

Review:

The books in the Art and Ideas series, which will cover everything from Fra Angelico to Frida Kahlo, are supremely pleasurable to read. In this volume, for example, Anthony Hughes writes dryly of a Michelangelo sculpture of Christ, which was tinkered with and damaged during installation in March 1521: "Since then, more tampering has taken place.... From the late sixteenth century, Christ's genitalia were hidden beneath a bronze loincloth, although that did not prevent a zealous Dominican from trying to remove the penis." Written by scholarly experts who know how to turn a phrase and focus a gaze, the books are filled with hundreds of crisp, color reproductions that give purely visual pleasure and information. Their handy size, 6 1/4 by 8 1/2 inches, makes them easy to carry in a briefcase or backpack, and the text is printed in an easy-to-read typeface, with generous spacing. Even the time lines, biographies, and glossaries in the back are inviting to the eye. There will eventually be more than 100 volumes in the series, which is comparable to Thames and Hudson's World of Art series.

About the Author:

Anthony Hughes was formerly Senior Lecturer in the History of Art at the University of Leeds. He is Co-Editor of Sculpture and Its Reproductions.

About this edition

• Publisher: Phaidon Press
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 0714834831
• ISBN 13: 9780714834832
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352