If a visit to the Sistine Chapel is not on the cards, this magnificent book is the next best thing.' - Sunday Express. Before reaching the tender age of 30, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) had already sculpted Pietà and David, two of the most famous sculptures in the entire history of art. As a sculptor, painter, draftsman, and architect, the achievements of this Italian master are unique - no artist before or after him has ever produced such a vast, multifaceted, and wide-ranging oeuvre. For him 'the nude was art.' This fresh Taschen edition traces Michelangelo's ascent to the cultural elite of the Renaissance. Ten richly illustrated chapters cover the artist's paintings, sculptures, and architecture, including a close analysis of the artist's tour de force frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Full-page reproductions and enlarged details many across double page spreads allow readers to appreciate the finest details in the artist's repertoire, the symbolism and iconography such as the Dance of Death or the pruned bough for the sprouting of new life. The book's biographical essay considers Michelangelo's more personal traits and circumstances, such as his solitary nature, his thirst for money and commissions, his immense wealth, and his skill as a property investor. 16 x 22cm, 512 pages. New from Taschen.
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