Michelangelo-TheAchievementofFame,1475-1534

ThisremarkablebookisthefirstoftwovolumesinwhatwillbethedefinitivemodernbiographyofMichelangelo.AnilluminatingstudyofMichelangelo'sextraordinarycareer,itfollowstheartistfromhisapprenticeshipinGhirlandaio'sworkshoptohis?finalmovetoRomein1534,when,attheageof59,heleftbehindhisnativeFlorence,nevertoreturn.DuringtheseyearshecreatedsuchoutstandingworksasthemarblePietà,thegiantmarbleDavid,commissionedforthecathedralinFlorence,theSistineCeilingfrescoes,andthenewsacristyandlibraryfortheMedicifamilyatSanLorenzo.HebeganthemonumentaltombforPopeJuliusIIinRome,andhebecameoneofthemostsought-afterartistsoftheearly16thcentury.WrittenbytheleadingMichelangeloscholar,thisprodigiouslyinformativeaccountbenefitsfromrecentarchivaldiscoveriesandrestorations,andisenrichedbymaterialfromthelong-awaitededitionsoftheartist'scorrespondenceandartisticcontracts.ThewealthofnewinformationenableslighttobeshedonthegenesisofMichelangelo'sworksinsculpture,painting,andarchitecture,andonhiscomplexpsychologicalrelationswithhisfamily,friends,andpowerfulpatrons.