Life of Michelangelo
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) remains arguably the most powerful artist in the Western canon. Painter, sculptor, architect, poet, he redefined both the possibilities of the imagination and the image of the artist. In 1550, he became the first artist to be the subject of a biography within their own lifetime, presented by Giorgio Vasari as the divinely inspired culmination of the history of art. Dissatisfied with Vasari’s treatment, Michelangelo encouraged his close friend and fellow-painter Ascanio Condivi to publish a rival biography. Condivi’s Life is an impassioned, intimate portrait, giving an unparalleled picture of the master’s life, work and personality. This compelling narrative of genius and its struggles in the treacherous world of Papal politics and Italian wars remains one of the most fascinating and influential texts in art history. This edition reproduces the long unavailable translation by Charles Holroyd and has 49 pages of illustrations covering the span of Michelangelo’s achievement.
Ascanio Condivi (c. 1525-1574), from the Marchigian town of Ripatransone, was a moderately talented painter, sculptor and architect, remembered today chiefly for this biography of his friend Michelangelo. This edition of Condivi’s Life is introduced by Charles Robertson, former head of the History of Art Department of Oxford Brookes University, who has published a number of studies on Italian Renaissance art and architecture.