Michelangelo Architect
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Architecture
Michelangelo Architect Details
From Publishers Weekly Michelangelo's professed goal, for at least the first half of his career, was a synthesis of painting, sculpture and architecture. Though many of the buildings he designed were never constructed, his achievements as an architect who freed architecture from its slavish emulation of classical antiquity can be seen in such projects as the dome of Saint Peter's Church and the elegant Farnese Palace, both in Rome, or the mannerist Laurentian Library in the Monastery of San Lorenzo in Florence. In this handsomely illustrated survey, the late Argan, an Italian art historian, provocatively portrays Michelangelo the architect as "a profoundly distressed artist" who, in establishing the autonomy of artistic thought, discovered that tradition no longer had the power to orient the modern. Contardi, an Italian arts administrator, has provided a catalogue of 31 of Michelangelo's architectural projects, accompanied by extensive commentaries and more than 500 photographs, drawings and plans (24 in color). Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more From Library Journal One of the last works by Italian art historian Argan ( The Renaissance City , Braziller, 1969), this is a considered and full treatment of the work Michelangelo most complained about having to do. In addition to the introduction, Argan provides three chapters, covering Florence, Rome, and Saint Peter's. Contardi, a student of Argan, has done the text for the accompanying building entries, discussing thoroughly each of the artist's 30-some projects. The black-and-white photographs are limpid and crisp and include many details; the color illustrations are also good. The translation from the 1990 Italian original is mostly fluid and clear. This book provides a very good general treatment of this often overlooked but considerable portion of the artist's oeuvre. For general readers as well as scholars.- Jack Perry Brown, Art Inst. of Chicago Lib.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more See all Editorial Reviews
Reviews
Great book, condition as advertised. Thanks!