Michelangelo: The Medici Chapel - Hardcover

James Beck; Antonio Paolucci; Bruno Santi

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0500236909 ISBN 13: 9780500236901

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 2000

Synopsis

When Michelangelo left Florence for Rome in 1534, the Medici tombs were unfinished, but there was never any question of another sculptor being brought in to finish them. They were already icons of artistic perfection, which it would be sacrilege for anyone else to touch. That eminence they retain to this day. The two seated Medici dukes and the reclining figures of Night, Day, Dawn, and Dusk are among the most famous sculptures in the world, endlessly copied and universally recognizable. Yet however familiar these images are, this superb collection--160 pages of exquisitely printed photographs by a master photographer--makes it a revelation to see the originals. We are able to appreciate their forms and dwell on their details in an unprecedented way. Particularly now, since the tombs have been cleaned and restored, it is possible to imagine Michelangelo's chisel at work, and to marvel afresh at the sheer physical power that for his contemporaries made him almost superhuman. Accompanying essays by Bruno Santi, Director of the Medici Chapel from 1982 to 1992, and by the art historians Antonio Paolucci and James Beck, provide the historical background to the Chapel, essentially the Medici family's mausoleum, and explain how the concept changed over the fifteen years when Michelangelo was working on it. Originally envisaged as commemorating four members of the family, including Lorenzo the Magnificent, with a huge freestanding tomb, it was eventually confined to only two--who might now be totally forgotten but for their monuments. The little building that contains them is as important in the history of Mannerist architecture as the figures are in that of sculpture: indeed, no other location, not even the Sistine Chapel, captures the essence of Michelangelo's genius so intensely. 201 duotone illustrations.

About this title

From Library Journal:

Unlike the recent cleaning of Michelangelo's other masterworks, the restoration of his Medici chapel has engendered little controversy and has not required a profound rethinking of its essential character. Nevertheless, Amendola's excellent corpus of more than 200 black-and-white photographs of the refreshened structure and its sculptural contents are an appreciable contribution to our better apprehension of this masterpiece. Particularly noteworthy is the photographer's ability to conjoin the documentary requirements of his task with the imaginative perspective of an artist. Beck provides a sound but summary overview of the project's history and an agnostic apercu of the problem of its iconographic program. And Bruno Santi succinctly articulates the more purely formal aspects of the structure and its contents. Recommended for collections serving an informed art-loving public.
Robert Cahn, Fashion Inst. of Technology, New York
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review:

A reader feels through the photographs something of the poetry and awe that someone standing in the chapel feels. -- New York Times Book Review

About this edition

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0500236909
• ISBN 13: 9780500236901
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 216