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من، ميكل آنژ، پيكر تراش
Michelangelo's personal writings spanning 67 years. Contains more than 400 letters and poems written to family, creditors, debtors, and bankers.
317 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
About the author
Irving Stone
170 books1,616 followersIn 1923, Stone received his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley. In the 1960s, Stone received an honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Southern California, where he had previously earned a Masters Degree from the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences.
When at home, Stone relied upon the research facilities and expertise made available to him by Esther Euler, head research librarian of the University of California at Los Angeles, to whom he dedicated and thanked, in addition to many others, in several of his works.
Stone enjoyed a long marriage to his wife and editor on many of his works, Jean Stone. The Stones lived primarily in Los Angeles, California. During their lifetime, Stone and his wife funded a foundation to support charitable causes they believed in.
Stone's main source for Lust for Life, as noted in the afterword, were Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo. It seems probable that Vincent's letters to and from his own brother Theo provided a foundation for Adversary in the House. Stone additionally did much of his research "in the field". For example, he spent many years living in Italy while working on The Agony and the Ecstasy. The Italian government lauded Stone with several honorary awards during this period for his cultural achievements highlighting Italian history.
From Wikipedia
When at home, Stone relied upon the research facilities and expertise made available to him by Esther Euler, head research librarian of the University of California at Los Angeles, to whom he dedicated and thanked, in addition to many others, in several of his works.
Stone enjoyed a long marriage to his wife and editor on many of his works, Jean Stone. The Stones lived primarily in Los Angeles, California. During their lifetime, Stone and his wife funded a foundation to support charitable causes they believed in.
Stone's main source for Lust for Life, as noted in the afterword, were Van Gogh's letters to his brother Theo. It seems probable that Vincent's letters to and from his own brother Theo provided a foundation for Adversary in the House. Stone additionally did much of his research "in the field". For example, he spent many years living in Italy while working on The Agony and the Ecstasy. The Italian government lauded Stone with several honorary awards during this period for his cultural achievements highlighting Italian history.
From Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 30, 2010
Thats not a book about Michelangelo in the classical sense. Its a book composed from his letters. I didn't read the whole thing, just parts of his life I'm interested in.
A weird and very interesting person, indeed. I'm almost certain he never saw a naked woman in his entire life. It is also interesting how much he hated painting the Sistine chapel's ceiling, how much physical pain (constant migraine, shoulder/back/neck pain, eye pain, and what not) it caused him, yet what a masterpiece he created.
Now I kinda like him less, yet I admire him even more.
A weird and very interesting person, indeed. I'm almost certain he never saw a naked woman in his entire life. It is also interesting how much he hated painting the Sistine chapel's ceiling, how much physical pain (constant migraine, shoulder/back/neck pain, eye pain, and what not) it caused him, yet what a masterpiece he created.
Now I kinda like him less, yet I admire him even more.
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September 30, 2008کتاب (من، میکل آنژ، پیکر تراش) مجموعه‌ای‌ست از نامه‌های (میکل‌آنژ بوناروتی) نقاش، پیکرتراش، معمار و شاعر ایتالیایی به پدر، برادر و برادرزاده‌اش
عنوان این کتاب نیز از عادت زیبای او برگرفته شده که وقتی برای پدر یا برادرش نامه می‌نوشت چنین امضا می‌کرد: (میکل آنژ تو، پیکر تراش روم). دیگر این‌که این کتاب توسط (بهمن فرزانه) در سال هزار و سیصد و چهل و نه ترجمه شده و توسط انتشارت امیرکبیر چاپ گردید
عنوان این کتاب نیز از عادت زیبای او برگرفته شده که وقتی برای پدر یا برادرش نامه می‌نوشت چنین امضا می‌کرد: (میکل آنژ تو، پیکر تراش روم). دیگر این‌که این کتاب توسط (بهمن فرزانه) در سال هزار و سیصد و چهل و نه ترجمه شده و توسط انتشارت امیرکبیر چاپ گردید
February 8, 2020
Maybe my memory of reading this way back is imperfect but....rather than insight into the mind of an artistic genius, I mainly took away a grouchy old guy demanding money from everyone, and accusing his kids of being ungrateful brats (who owed him money). Which is, perhaps, all one needs to know about the minds of most so-called artistic geniuses.
September 7, 2017
Найкраща книга за останні роки!
Про життя і жагу до творчості, про любов та самопожертву, про зради і інтрига на тлі історичних подій.
Мрію тепер потрапити до Флоренціі та Риму.
Рекомендую!
Про життя і жагу до творчості, про любов та самопожертву, про зради і інтрига на тлі історичних подій.
Мрію тепер потрапити до Флоренціі та Риму.
Рекомендую!
April 28, 2026
I love reading letters, particularly between artists. I also love Irving Stone’s biographical novels, particularly The Agony and the Ecstasy, about Michelangelo. So why not Michelangelo’s letters here?
The letters are extremely repetitive and you only get one sided so not enough context to understand the impact of his words on others. They almost always center on finances or lack thereof, which I get that is part of the point. But there is no passion, little about exactly what he’s working on in a given time and seemingly no joy in painting or sculpting which I find hard to be true.
Im not sure if I’m disappointed in the book or the artist but i have to think there is so much more than what is captured in these one-sided letters.
The letters are extremely repetitive and you only get one sided so not enough context to understand the impact of his words on others. They almost always center on finances or lack thereof, which I get that is part of the point. But there is no passion, little about exactly what he’s working on in a given time and seemingly no joy in painting or sculpting which I find hard to be true.
Im not sure if I’m disappointed in the book or the artist but i have to think there is so much more than what is captured in these one-sided letters.
January 30, 2025
©1962
The life of Michelangelo through his own letters from 1496 through 1563; what a treasure trove of history! He outlived many Popes (who contracted work with him), worried about the completion of St. Peter's before he died, lived in Rome far longer than he hoped, wrote sonnets, and had to entrust carriers with post and bank issues...sometimes successfully, and sometimes not.
The life of Michelangelo through his own letters from 1496 through 1563; what a treasure trove of history! He outlived many Popes (who contracted work with him), worried about the completion of St. Peter's before he died, lived in Rome far longer than he hoped, wrote sonnets, and had to entrust carriers with post and bank issues...sometimes successfully, and sometimes not.
January 23, 2019
A hossza ellenére érdekes, lebilincselő történet. Szerettem
July 13, 2019
A wonderful fiction biography
November 27, 2019
A slow read, but an interesting compilation of letters from Michelangelo to family members and a few other people. It gives a good look at just who he was.
October 24, 2010
Reading this book is like reading someone's "sent messages" folder in their e-mail account - if the person only sent an e-mail every few weeks. It's simply the collected letters he sent. Some are really mundane ("thanks for the cheese you sent") whereas some really tell you a lot about his life. I particularly recommend the letters he wrote toward the very end of his life. A lot of his personality emerges as he gives his nephew advice for choosing a wife. It's hilarious and fun.
The book doesn't give you a tremendous amount of insight into his art, but it does give you a very real sense of the struggles he faced. It seems like a typical day didn't involve art at all, with all the hassles he faced in getting the right type of marble in from this or that quarry, etc. Makes you wish we could travel back in time and give him unlimited resources to just sculpt and draw without ever needing to worry about money and other "details."
The book doesn't give you a tremendous amount of insight into his art, but it does give you a very real sense of the struggles he faced. It seems like a typical day didn't involve art at all, with all the hassles he faced in getting the right type of marble in from this or that quarry, etc. Makes you wish we could travel back in time and give him unlimited resources to just sculpt and draw without ever needing to worry about money and other "details."
March 23, 2013
So, I saw the movie of The Agony And The Ecstasy before I read the book, then I stumbled across the compilation of sources that Irving Stone had used for his novel. This collection of the personal writings of Michelangelo provides a wonderful insight to the artist's mind as he deals with creditors, patrons, debtors, artists and Popes, and his loves. Spanning 67 years of the artist's life, these hundreds of documents (in translation) were a wonderful companion to the historical novel they helped to spawn.
For a high school boy to be inspired to make some chisels from a cheap set of woodworking tools and carve a cat from a chunk of sandstone, yes, I would say that I was somewhat inspired by Irving's work. I didn't become an artist, but I certainly gained an appreciation for the people who did.
For a high school boy to be inspired to make some chisels from a cheap set of woodworking tools and carve a cat from a chunk of sandstone, yes, I would say that I was somewhat inspired by Irving's work. I didn't become an artist, but I certainly gained an appreciation for the people who did.
November 25, 2007
Michelangelo in his own words (through his letters and poems) constructs an intimate and fascinating look at Quattrocento art, politics, and history.
Although edited to obscure his homosexuality, the writing glows with the immediacy of the Michelangelo's day-to-day life throughout a career which spanned the reign of eight Popes, the painting of the Sistine Chapel, and the completion of St. Peters Vatican Basilica.
Although edited to obscure his homosexuality, the writing glows with the immediacy of the Michelangelo's day-to-day life throughout a career which spanned the reign of eight Popes, the painting of the Sistine Chapel, and the completion of St. Peters Vatican Basilica.
November 27, 2013
The letters chosen by Irving Stone provide a rare insight into what life was really like in 15th and 16th century Italy: the true personalities of Popes and their slowness to pay him, the food Michelangelo ate, the troublesome apprentices artists had to put up with (Michelangelo called one a "dried up shit of a boy"), the family problems people had (which are pretty much the same today; e.g. relatives constantly asking him for money). This book really opened up history for me.
November 27, 2011
A lively insight into Michelangelo's daily struggles to please his patrons, support his family in Florence, manage his money, and create works of genius.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews