Michelangelo's Drawings
Title: Study for Adam. Study for the Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel 1, c.1510-11.
Artist: Michelangelo Buonarotti (Italian 1475-1564)
Dimensions: 9.3 by 25.9 cm.
Exh no.25
Image Courtesy and ©: British Museum.
Closer to the Master
The British Museum
London, England
March 23 - June 25, 2006
Michelangelo. Italian master painter, sculptor beyond compare and the Sistine Chapel are generally the first images
that are conjured when one mentions the Florentine artist. Added to these accolades, almost as an addendum, is brilliant
draftsman. He made pencil and ink sketches and preparatory drawings for many of his works, whether paint, sculpture or
architecture.
For Michelangelo the preparatory phase was exhaustive until the perfectionist was satisfied. This exhibit is unique given
it spans so much of the Italian's career. Pen studies from his early twenties, through the crucifixion scenes, made shortly
before his death when he was in his late eighties are included in the exhibit. Many of these materials have not been together
since the 1564 posthumous dispersal of Michelangelo's studio.
His drawings were highly in demand by his contemporaries, leaving the cantankerous artist to burn massive quantities of them
shortly before his death.
This exhibit, naturally enough, places an emphasis upon the drawings that follow his most important or famous works. For example, early in his career in an artistic battle
both he and Leonardo da Vinci were commissioned to paint a mural to mark
Florentine victories in the Palazzo Vecchio. Neither artist completed the commission.
However among the highlights of the
exhibit is the full-size drawing of the soldiers preparing for battle with a refreshing dip in the River Arno, giving the
sketch it's name, The Bathers.
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Title: The Crucifixion with the Virgin and St John, c.1555-64.
Artist: Michelangelo Buonarotti (Italian 1475-1564)
Dimensions: 41.2 x 27.9cm.
Exh no. 107
Image Courtesy and ©: British Museum.
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The most famous of all of Michelangelo's commissions was the Sistine Chapel for Pope Julius II. Fifteen studies reflect this period of the artist's career from diminutive sketchbook pages to finished red chalk figure studies.
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Of particular interest
would be studies for the most famous panel from the Vatican: the Creation of Adam.
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This is a rare opportunity to view the artist's creativity at its initial form.
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Title: A Seated Male Nude Twisting Round, c. 1504-5
Artist: Michelangelo Buonarotti (Italian 1475-1564)
Dimensions: 42.1 x 28.7cm.
Exh no. 11
Image Courtesy and ©: British Museum.
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Knowing the exquisite end products such as
the Sistine Chapel ceiling, this is a not-to-be-missed event at the British Museum.
Michelangelo's Drawings :Closer to the Master
The British Museum:
March 23 - June 25, 2006
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