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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
This books has been on my TBR for years, and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it. I've always loved art and art history, and this book scratched a particular itch I was having at the moment. Even though I didn't learn a ton of new information from this book since I've studied this extensively, I still really enjoyed it overall.
I don't read a ton of nonfiction these days, but on the off chance that I do, I like to use this as a review format compared to what I normally use.
What is the book about? This book is about Michelangelo's life with a primary focus on the painting of the Sistine Chapel, the events and relationships surrounding it and the struggles along the way.
What is its purpose? This is a secondary source that draws on both primary sources and other secondary sources to educate us about Michelangelo's life, feelings and experiences while painting the Sistine Chapel.
What is its agenda? To educate about Michelangelo's life during this period of time, to discuss the historical events that were happening along the creation of the work, and discussing the techniques, materials and undertaking of how this masterpiece came about.
What is its audience? I think this could be read and enjoyed by everyone, but if you're an artist, art historian, historian, or interested in learning about the Sistine Chapel and the politics and work that went into it's creation, that's the primary audience.
Is it reliable? Yes it seems to be. Ross did his research and pulled upon and analyzed primary source documents and discussed some other interpretations that have come about over the years, and he seems to have talked to experts on the topic and written a pretty solid account. I know that some of the information in this book is a bit outdated though, not much, but through my own studies and continued reading there have been other things we've learned since this was published, but overall this is a good place to start if you're interested in learning about this.
Is it biased? If so how? I'm of the belief that most works are biased because everyone has their own interpretation of things or their own beliefs, etc. This work was biased because writing about Michelangelo and his relationships and his feelings and inferring certain things from other sources can always a be a bit touchy. Overall, I think Ross did a good job, but it was still noticeable to me.
Why is it useful for understanding the society? Understanding art, history and the politics of the time is so important for understanding society today. Understanding our past teaches us how we got to where we are now and learning that through art and history is one of the best ways we can do that. The Sistine Chapel frescoes are some of the most recognizable pieces of artwork out there and it's still something people flock to see every day. And reading about the man behind the creation and understanding the politics and tensions that were happening around the time and the relationships adds another layer to it and explains some of the tensions and politics and values and beliefs of a country/region/city today.
All in all, a great book and one I'd recommend to any of you who are interested in it.
I don't read a ton of nonfiction these days, but on the off chance that I do, I like to use this as a review format compared to what I normally use.
What is the book about? This book is about Michelangelo's life with a primary focus on the painting of the Sistine Chapel, the events and relationships surrounding it and the struggles along the way.
What is its purpose? This is a secondary source that draws on both primary sources and other secondary sources to educate us about Michelangelo's life, feelings and experiences while painting the Sistine Chapel.
What is its agenda? To educate about Michelangelo's life during this period of time, to discuss the historical events that were happening along the creation of the work, and discussing the techniques, materials and undertaking of how this masterpiece came about.
What is its audience? I think this could be read and enjoyed by everyone, but if you're an artist, art historian, historian, or interested in learning about the Sistine Chapel and the politics and work that went into it's creation, that's the primary audience.
Is it reliable? Yes it seems to be. Ross did his research and pulled upon and analyzed primary source documents and discussed some other interpretations that have come about over the years, and he seems to have talked to experts on the topic and written a pretty solid account. I know that some of the information in this book is a bit outdated though, not much, but through my own studies and continued reading there have been other things we've learned since this was published, but overall this is a good place to start if you're interested in learning about this.
Is it biased? If so how? I'm of the belief that most works are biased because everyone has their own interpretation of things or their own beliefs, etc. This work was biased because writing about Michelangelo and his relationships and his feelings and inferring certain things from other sources can always a be a bit touchy. Overall, I think Ross did a good job, but it was still noticeable to me.
Why is it useful for understanding the society? Understanding art, history and the politics of the time is so important for understanding society today. Understanding our past teaches us how we got to where we are now and learning that through art and history is one of the best ways we can do that. The Sistine Chapel frescoes are some of the most recognizable pieces of artwork out there and it's still something people flock to see every day. And reading about the man behind the creation and understanding the politics and tensions that were happening around the time and the relationships adds another layer to it and explains some of the tensions and politics and values and beliefs of a country/region/city today.
All in all, a great book and one I'd recommend to any of you who are interested in it.
I bought this book after a trip to Italy in high school. I got bored with it and stopped reading it. It was probably not exciting enough to satisfy my teenage angst. Hopefully I will give it another shot someday.
The book read like prose. Ross King manages to interweave art and history with Michelangelo's known reputation. Once I started I couldn't put it down. I have a passion for art and study art history but I recommend this book to any one who has an interest in the Sistine Chapel.
I'd tried this before, and for whatever reason couldn't seem to get into it. It did take a little while to get going, but it was an interesting subject that I knew next to nothing about.
A pretty detailed recounting of Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel. The book doesn't stick to Michelangelo however, it also includes various diversions - specifically about Pope Julius and Raphael. Frankly, I found some of the political details a little confusing and irrelevant. It is clear that many things influenced Michelangelos's work on the chapel - politics, war, and a questionably sane employer (the Pope), but I expected a book about art, not war.
I enjoyed the information about the painting of the ceiling, the processes used, and the development of the artist's technique as he worked. Certainly the personal conflicts involved were interesting, and the delays caused by the Pope's war were important, but I felt that the narrative lost track as it followed the battles across Italy.
Descriptions of the sections of the ceiling were aided somewhat by the color pictures in the middle of the book, but that small section couldn't provide the detail needed to appreciate the work. I think this is a book that could benefit from the trend of "illustrated editions" that things like [b:The DaVinci Code|968|The Da Vinci Code|Dan Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1233010738s/968.jpg|2982101] have had recently. Since I haven't seen the Chapel in person, I could only squint at the small picture and try to discern the details being described.
I'm always impressed when an author can give life to what could be an extremely boring history text. When I wasn't dragging through some of the accounts of papal politics and land wars in Europe, I was fascinated by this enormous undertaking by a novice to the art of fresco. Clearly these were strong personalities involved on all sides, and this book gives a human perspective so something I previously would have relegated to an art history class without much thought.
A pretty detailed recounting of Michelangelo's painting of the Sistine Chapel. The book doesn't stick to Michelangelo however, it also includes various diversions - specifically about Pope Julius and Raphael. Frankly, I found some of the political details a little confusing and irrelevant. It is clear that many things influenced Michelangelos's work on the chapel - politics, war, and a questionably sane employer (the Pope), but I expected a book about art, not war.
I enjoyed the information about the painting of the ceiling, the processes used, and the development of the artist's technique as he worked. Certainly the personal conflicts involved were interesting, and the delays caused by the Pope's war were important, but I felt that the narrative lost track as it followed the battles across Italy.
Descriptions of the sections of the ceiling were aided somewhat by the color pictures in the middle of the book, but that small section couldn't provide the detail needed to appreciate the work. I think this is a book that could benefit from the trend of "illustrated editions" that things like [b:The DaVinci Code|968|The Da Vinci Code|Dan Brown|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1233010738s/968.jpg|2982101] have had recently. Since I haven't seen the Chapel in person, I could only squint at the small picture and try to discern the details being described.
I'm always impressed when an author can give life to what could be an extremely boring history text. When I wasn't dragging through some of the accounts of papal politics and land wars in Europe, I was fascinated by this enormous undertaking by a novice to the art of fresco. Clearly these were strong personalities involved on all sides, and this book gives a human perspective so something I previously would have relegated to an art history class without much thought.