Michelangelo

by Jesse McDonald

140 color and 40 b&w illus. 10 1/4 x 14 1/4.

Genres: Nonfiction

112 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1994

Reviews

[Cherisa B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice companion to Unger's biography of the artist.

[Judith the Book Gobbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the insights that Jesse McDonald brought forward regarding patrons, war and the basic frustrations artists face in their making art for money vs the art of their heart. It is supremely difficult to throw spirit into art and projects that are altered by others and interrupted by chaos.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Has good pictures of the Sistine Chapel before it was restored.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures included in this book are big and (in most cases) beautiful. The text though left much to be desired. I'd expected this to be more of a biography, focusing on Michelangelo's life as much as his art. Instead it felt more like someone at a museum just pointing at art and describing it and the style it was made in. "Over here you'll see another muscular nude, mirroring the one on the other side...". It was also quite repetitive, repeating entire phrases in the main text as was written in the image captions/descriptions. It also lacked definitions. Words were presented in italics (because they're Italian?) but without any definition. Multiple references were made to art styles or historical/political figures with little to know explanation of who or what those things were. In the sparce text, I feel like more was said about Michelangelo's patrons than the man himself. Almost feels inaccurate to call this a biography.

[Karen Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book on Michelangelo and the Renaissance, wish only for updated photos of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes...