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to Michelangelo Page
You can find Angela at any time on her website (www.aknickerson.net) or at www.redroom.com. And don’t forget check out her blog: http://aknickerson.blogspot.com
An entire chapter is devoted to Michelangelo’s famous painting on the Sistine Chapel’s ceiling. In addition to a helpful map providing the chapel’s location, a drawing from Ernst Steinmann’s Die Sixtinische Kapelle reveals the originally blue and gold frescoed ceiling in existence before Michelangelo’s painting. A sidebar summarizes Italian fresco technique and a diagram shows Michelangelo’s layout of the ceiling, from his depiction of scenes from Genesis to his placement of prophets and sibyls. Throughout the chapter the author includes interesting historical tidbits, such as describing Pope Julius II’s ongoing pressure over the years for Michelangelo to complete the project. Another chapter focuses on Michelangelo’s extensive marble carved sculptures. Alongside an image of Bacchus, his first work produced in Rome, a sidebar explains how the artist studied anatomical dissection in Florence for two years in order to create accurate human renderings. The historical narrative offers many fascinating details, such as how marble was quarried in the Renaissance (wet wooden wedges were inserted into stone cracks) and why the Rome Pieta alone bears Michelangelo’s signature (he overheard the work incorrectly attributed to the Milanese sculptor Gobbo). Not all of the narrative relays history. Comments relative to today are interspersed throughout, such as, “The Palazzo Farnese now houses the French Embassy and is closed to the public, but the Piazza Farnese hums with activity and hosts several charming cafes with great views of Michelangelo’s design.” This is not the guidebook for travelers wanting
quick information about must-see tourist destinations. Instead,
with its handy 7.5 x 7.5 size, it is a perfect accompaniment for
those who desire some historical context while navigating the great
sites of Rome. Armchair travelers, too, will revel in the inviting
images and interesting history. As with the other volumes of the ArtPlace series (such as Laura McPhee’s A Journey into Matisse’s South of France, which I reviewed here), Nickerson’s book seamlessly interweaves the genres of biography, art history, and travelogue into a convenient, practically portable package. For the art lover hoping to walk in the steps of Michelangelo, maps such as the one above give the general lay of the land to supplement more detailed maps. The numbers on the map correspond to passages in the text that give a full explanation of the site’s importance, as if you had an experienced tour guide such as Nickerson at your disposal. Such maps allow you to see how Michelangelo borrowed from such ancient sites as Hadrian’s Mausoleum (aka, Castel Sant’Angelo) and the Arch of Constantine inspired works such as his tomb for Pope Julius II. As Nickerson writes, “civic and religious authority have always mingled” from the Caesars to the Popes. Michelangelo’s art often bridged both those worlds. Nickerson cuts to the heart of Michelangelo’s art and its continued influence on Rome with the simplicity and concision of the book’s neat graphic of Michelangelo’s ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Sidebars offer additional tidbits of history and culture that flavor the main narrative, such as the tangent pointing out how Pope Leo X decreed that indulgences be sold in March 1517 to finance the continued construction of Michelangelo’s plan for Saint Peter’s Basilica, thus outraging Martin Luther and igniting the Protestant Reformation. Rather than the classic picture of Michelangelo as the isolated genius, Nickerson paints a full-blooded picture of the artist as a force rippling throughout his environment, out into the world, and even into the present day. Snippets of Michelangelo’s sonnets and personal details such as his dealings with family and assistants bring Michelangelo down from the famous scaffolding and down to Earth to mingle with us even now. Reading Michelangelo’s sonnet on painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling (“My beard toward Heaven… I am bending like a Syrian bow”), you recover the man buried beneath the myth. The photography of A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome will make you want to travel there again and again. All the greatest hits are there, but also lesser known and lesser seen works such as The Crucifixion of Saint Peter (secluded away in the Pauline Chapel, the pope’s private devotional space) and The Florentine Pieta (above), in which Michelangelo casts himself as Nicodemus mourning over the fallen Christ. Whereas other travel guides will touch on the art and cultural history of Rome and Michelangelo’s role, A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome connects the dots that a true art history lover yearns for. Knowing that Michelangelo had the dome of the Pantheon in mind when constructing that for Saint Peter’s Basilica adds a whole new dimension to the appreciation of both places. Nickerson’s book is the perfect cure for Stendhal Syndrome, that overwhelming sense of beauty that can strike when surrounded by genius in the heart of Renaissance Rome. A Journey into Michelangelo’s Rome literally maps out your journey and hands you the tools to take in the majesty of Michelangelo’s achievement. With the coolness of a delicious gelato (con panna, of course), Nickerson eases your Roman fever and frees you to experience the many flavors of Michelangelo and his Rome. With the coolness of a delicious gelato,
Nickerson eases your Roman fever and frees you to experience the
many flavors of Michelangelo and his Rome. The book is part of the ArtPlace series which looks at the inter relationship between well known creative figures and the city from which they drew inspiration. It's an interesting theme as you read the Michelangelo book you begin to see that that the genius of Michelangelo was perfectly timed with the desire of various Popes and other high profile figures in Florence and Rome to gain immortality through Michelangelo's work. A Journey into Michelangelo's Rome works well on many different levels. For me it was an introduction to the life and works of Michelangelo as I don't know much about art history. It was interesting to read about the changing tastes in art during Michelangelo's life time, for example how the classical nude changed from portraying the purity of soul and morality to being perceived as something to corrupt the mind and requiring the addition of strategically placed draping. I was amazed to read that the star patterned pavements of the Piazza del Campidoglio. to me one of the defining features of the square, designed by Michelangelo, was only constructed in 1940. I thought of Michelangelo as painter and sculptor but didn't realise he had such architectural abilities. It's fascinating to read about the life of Michelangelo, how he appeared to financially support his entire family, his choice of friends and his loyalty to employees. Rome is a wonderful city to visit and you can use the book to navigate your way around what remains of Michelangelo's Rome by using the maps in the book. You can join Angela as she guides small groups on her Travel to Michelangelo's Italy tours. All in all it's a great book, educational
and enlightening but still fun to read with loads of beautiful photos
and snippets of additional information on specific topics. The text is well-written, lively without being pat, informative without being burdensome, and at 163 pages, it's easily readable on the plane as you head to Italy. It is not a comprehensive guide to Rome, but rather a supplementary book for a visitor who already has a guidebook but would like to know more. There were a couple of rocky bits in the first chapter, where Nickerson is talking about the world into which Michelangelo was born. Christopher Columbus did not land on the coast of North America, but on various Caribbean islands and the coasts of South and Central America. The Portuguese, not Spain, conquered Brazil. But once she gets to her main topic Nickerson hits her stride. She leads us through the master's early work in Florence, to his first commissions in Rome. She's especially good at putting him in the political and religious context of the time, where popes and powerful merchants tried to prove their worth through patronizing art. Sidebars fill us in on such things as Renaissance manners, some of Michelangelo's sonnets, and the Bella Figura of the Italian woman. Even avid history readers will discover something new here. I had no idea the ruinous cost of expanding St. Peter’s was a major cause in the selling of indulgences (forgiveness for sins), which in turn was an important impetus for the Reformation. In all, A Journey into Michelangelo's
Rome is a worthy addition to your luggage. 1053 Santa Fe Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94706 • info@roaringfortiespress.com • 510-527-5461 Copyright © 2008 Roaring Forties Press. All rights reserved.
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Angela
has spent the last two months charming readers at bookstores around
the United States—one owner commented, “She makes history
come alive unlike any author I’ve ever seen.” She’s
also at the tail end of a virtual book tour that was extended from
2 weeks to 4 due to popular demand. Here are some highlights of
that tour.