Michelangelo's Mountain

The Quest For Perfection in the Marble Quarries of Carrara

Leesfragment
€17,88
  • Discover
  • the
  • fascinating,
  • crucial,
  • and
  • often
  • dangerous
  • relationship
  • between
  • Michelangelo
  • and
  • the
  • stone
  • quarries
  • of
  • Carrara
  • in
  • this
  • clear-eyed
  • and
  • well-researched
  • exploration
  • that
  • “recounts
  • the
  • artist's
  • large
  • life
  • and
  • lasting
  • works
  • with
  • care
  • and
  • reverence”
  • (Booklist).No
  • artist
  • looms
  • so
  • large
  • in
  • Western
  • consciousness
  • and
  • culture
  • as
  • Michelangelo
  • Buonarroti,
  • the
  • most
  • celebrated
  • sculptor
  • of
  • all
  • time.
  • And
  • no
  • place
  • on
  • earth
  • provides
  • a
  • stone
  • so
  • capable
  • of
  • simulating
  • the
  • warmth
  • and
  • vitality
  • of
  • human
  • flesh
  • and
  • incarnating
  • the
  • genius
  • of
  • a
  • Michelangelo
  • as
  • the
  • statuario
  • of
  • Carrara,
  • the
  • storied
  • marble
  • mecca
  • at
  • Tuscany's
  • northwest
  • corner.
  • It
  • was
  • there,
  • where
  • shadowy
  • Etruscans
  • and
  • Roman
  • slaves
  • once
  • toiled,
  • that
  • Michelangelo
  • risked
  • his
  • life
  • in
  • dozens
  • of
  • harrowing
  • expeditions
  • to
  • secure
  • the
  • precious
  • stone
  • for
  • his
  • Pietà,
  • Moses,
  • and
  • other
  • masterpieces.Many
  • books
  • have
  • recounted
  • Michelangelo’s
  • achievements
  • in
  • Florence
  • and
  • Rome.
  • Michelangelo’s
  • Mountain
  • goes
  • beyond
  • all
  • of
  • them,
  • revealing
  • his
  • escapades
  • and
  • ordeals
  • in
  • the
  • spectacular
  • landscape
  • that
  • was
  • the
  • third
  • pole
  • of
  • his
  • tumultuous
  • career
  • and
  • the
  • third
  • wellspring
  • of
  • his
  • art.
  • Eric
  • Scigliano
  • brings
  • this
  • haunting
  • place
  • and
  • eternally
  • fascinating
  • artist
  • to
  • life
  • in
  • a
  • sweeping
  • tale
  • peopled
  • by
  • popes
  • and
  • poets,
  • mad
  • dukes
  • and
  • mythic
  • monsters,
  • scheming
  • courtiers
  • and
  • rough-hewn
  • quarrymen.
  • He
  • recounts
  • the
  • saga
  • of
  • the
  • David,
  • the
  • improbable
  • masterpiece
  • that
  • Michelangelo
  • created
  • against
  • all
  • odds,
  • of
  • the
  • twin
  • Hercules
  • that
  • he
  • tried
  • to
  • erect
  • beside
  • it,
  • and
  • of
  • the
  • Salieri-like
  • nemesis
  • who
  • snatched
  • away
  • the
  • commission,
  • turning
  • a
  • sculptural
  • testament
  • to
  • liberty
  • into
  • a
  • bitter
  • symbol
  • of
  • tyranny
  • and
  • giving
  • Florence
  • the
  • colossus
  • it
  • loves
  • to
  • hate.In
  • showing
  • how
  • the
  • artist,
  • land,
  • and
  • stone
  • transformed
  • one
  • another,
  • Scigliano
  • brings
  • fresh
  • insight
  • to
  • Michelangelo's
  • most
  • cherished
  • works
  • and
  • illuminates
  • his
  • struggles
  • with
  • the
  • princes
  • and
  • potentates
  • of
  • Carrara,
  • Rome,
  • and
  • Medici
  • Florence,
  • who
  • raised
  • intrigue
  • to
  • a
  • high art.
1 of 298
pro-mbooks3 : libris