Michelangelo

Eugène Müntz

Summary

Michelangelo, like Leonardo, was a man of many talents; sculptor, architect, painter and poet, he made the apotheosis of muscular movement, which to him was the physical manifestation of passion. He moulded his draughtsmanship, bent it, twisted it, and stretched it to the extreme limits of possibility. There are not any landscapes in Michelangelo's painting. All the emotions, all the passions, all the thoughts of humanity were personified in his eyes in the naked bodies of men and women. He rarely conceived his human forms in attitudes of immobility or repose. Michelangelo became a painter so that he could express in a more malleable material what his titanesque soul felt, what his sculptor's imagination saw, but what sculpture refused him. Thus this admirable sculptor became the creator, at the Vatican, of the most lyrical and epic decoration ever seen: the Sistine Chapel. The profusion of his invention is spread over this vast area of over 900 square metres. There are 343 principal figures of prodigious variety of expression, many of colossal size, and in addition a great number of subsidiary ones introduced for decorative effect. The creator of this vast scheme was only thirty-four when he began his work. Michelangelo compels us to enlarge our conception of what is beautiful. To the Greeks it was physical perfection; but Michelangelo cared little for physical beauty, except in a few instances, such as his painting of Adam on the Sistine ceiling, and his sculptures of the Pietà. Though a master of anatomy and of the laws of composition, he dared to disregard both if it were necessary to express his concept: to exaggerate the muscles of his figures, and even put them in positions the human body could not naturally assume. In his later painting, The Last Judgment on the end wall of the Sistine, he poured out his soul like a torrent. Michelangelo was the first to make the human form express a variety of emotions. In his hands emotion became an instrument upon which he played, extracting themes and harmonies of infinite variety. His figures carry our imagination far beyond the personal meaning of the names attached to them.

Available since: 09/15/2015.

Print length: 265 pages.

Other books that might interest you

O'Keeffe

Gerry Souter

In 1905 Georgia travelled to Chicago to study painting at the Art Institute of Chicago. In 1907 she enrolled at the Art Students’ League in New York City, where she studied with William Merritt Chase. During her time in New York she became familiar with the 291 Gallery owned by her future husband, photographer Alfred Stieglitz. In 1912, she and her sisters studied at university with Alon Bement, who employed a somewhat revolutionary method in art instruction originally conceived by Arthur Wesley Dow. In Bement’s class, the students did not mechanically copy nature, but instead were taught the principles of design using geometric shapes. They worked at exercises that included dividing a square, working within a circle and placing a rectangle around a drawing, then organising the composition by rearranging, adding or eliminating elements. It sounded dull and to most students it was. But Georgia found that these studies gave art its structure and helped her understand the basics of abstraction. During the 1920s O’Keeffe also produced a huge number of landscapes and botanical studies during annual trips to Lake George. With Stieglitz’s connections in the arts community of New York – from 1923 he organised an O’Keeffe exhibition annually – O’Keeffe’s work received a great deal of attention and commanded high prices. She, however, resented the sexual connotations people attached to her paintings, especially during the 1920s when Freudian theories became a form of what today might be termed “pop psychology”. The legacy she left behind is a unique vision that translates the complexity of nature into simple shapes for us to explore and make our own discoveries. She taught us there is poetry in nature and beauty in geometry. Georgia O’Keeffe’s long lifetime of work shows us new ways to see the world, from her eyes to ours.

Show book

Still Laughing - A Life in...

George Schlatter, Jon Macks,...

In 1967, producer George Schlatter pitched an idea for a quirky new television show: one inspired by the hippie counterculture, which would take the idea of sit-ins, love-ins, and be-ins, and manifest that politicized, sexualized, consciousness-raising energy into pure comedy. Much to the surprise of NBC executives, Laugh-In soon became the #1 show on American TV, and the careers of beloved stars like Lily Tomlin and Goldie Hawn were born.Still Laughing features never-before-told stories from the creation of one of the most groundbreaking shows in television history. It also recounts the coming-of-age of one of Hollywood's most iconic producers, from his early nightclub days rubbing elbows with mob figures like Mickey Cohen and John Stompanato, to his influential friendships with Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra, for whom George was asked to deliver a eulogy at his funeral decades later.An inside look at Hollywood in the wake of the cultural upheaval of the '60s and '70s, Still Laughing demonstrates the crucial, deeply creative role a working producer plays in bringing a show (and its stars) to life. With spit-fire humor, tireless wit, and keen perception, Still Laughing tells of the rise of some of comedy's greatest talents, and reveals the actual people cloistered inside larger-than-life celebrity.

Show book

Our Lady of 121st Street

Stephen Adly Guirgis

A group of old friends find themselves at Harlem’s Ortiz Funeral Home to mourn the death of a beloved nun from their childhood. As they bounce off of each other with old hurts and the harsh realities of grown-up life, a murder mystery (and a few lives) begins to unravel. Hilarious, raunchy, and ultimately very touching, Stephen Adly Guirgis is a new voice to be celebrated.An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring Laurence Fishburne, Khandi Alexander, Emily Bergl, Tegan West, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Annabelle Gurwitch, Adriana Sevan, Raphael Sbarge and Alan Mandell.

Show book

The Executive Chair - A Writer’s...

Kelly Edwards

While there are plenty of books about the mechanics of writing, this is the first time an insider has detailed the invaluable TV executive perspective. As key pieces of the entertainment puzzle, executives hold institutional wisdom that seldom gets disseminated outside network walls. The Executive Chair breaks down the business from the gatekeeper’s point of view, illuminating the creative process used by those who ultimately make the decisions. Whether developing a project for the entertainment marketplace or merely probing the executive mindset, The Executive Chair dispels myths about the creative process and takes listeners through the development of a pilot script.

Show book

Author And Journalist Sarah...

PBS NewsHour

Sarah Smarsh is an author and a journalist whose environment as an adult diverges greatly from her childhood on a Kansas wheat farm. With exposure to extremely different regions and cultures within the U.S., Smarsh shares her humble opinion on why we should resist the temptation to reduce individuals with oversimplified labels based on where they live or how they vote.

Show book

The Bond Code - The Dark World...

Philip Gardiner

The Bond Code is the remarkable story of how Fleming's association with the occult world led him to create a masterful series of clever clues, cyphers, and codes within his books. Philip Gardiner finally unravels the secret of James Bond piece by piece from the novels and films used to create his aura of mystique. This book not only introduces new material but also radically reappraises everything we thought we knew about Bond - and his creator.

Show book