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Summary: What a life .... his art work is for the world to enjoy!!!
Review: I enjoyed this book on Michelangelo. He was very interesting. My only regret was not reading it before I went to Italy in November of 2001. Some things I did not like were, it was hard trying to remember what year you were in, I kept having to turn back to figure out the year. It got a bit wordy and at times it seemed like all his friends and associates had the same names -- I would never figure out who was who accept for Granacci.Michel...'s father was very annoying to me, for someone who was so against his son being a sculpture, he sure got after him for ducats and gold florins. I would recommend this book especially if you are going to Italy. I did feel like I could transport back in time because of my trip there and also because some of the same areas that are mentioned are still there in Florence. Even though the paperback version was almost 800 pages, a lot for a paperback, it held my interest to the very end!
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Summary: Michelangelo mon amour
Review: Thumbs up to Mr. Stone's poignant and electric novel. His masterpiece is as neatly carved in its in-depth research and artful writing as any of Michellangelo's statuary. The overall set of tribulations the Florentine master had to endure makes him double the genius he has been attributed by art scholars. The book is also a magnificent ensemble of facts and personalities studiously profiled and narrated. The gargantuan list of Michelangelo's artistic endeavors, the rhythm and balance of his fateful trail through the eyes of nine popes and miscellaneous noblemen justify Buonarroti's cantankerous, fickle and cynical demeanor. Irving Stone cultivates the argument that Michelangelo's main implements as an artist were not hammer and chisel, but his pride, industry, survival instincts and perseverance. His awareness that his, and only his, prerogative was the essential element to see through the Genesis vault, Julius II's tomb or St. Peter's dome allowed humanity to witness and cherish the grandiosity of his genius. Stone's overall personalization of Michelangelo is somewhat romanticized to inject pulp into the heart of the novel. However, this very technique also enhances the parallel of his relationships and underlines the core of his existence in a century rightly prophesied by Savanarola as one of pervasiveness, treachery and hedonism. A caveat to those of you who have seen Carol Reed's film and would like to read this novel: there are very few ties between movie and book. The picture only takes you to the chapter entitled "The Pope" and even then the set of events is drastically inconsistent between paper and reel. The Michelangelo portrayed by Charlton Heston is less submissive, more handsome and equally unpredictable than the one drawn by Mr. Stone.
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Summary: 770 page tiny fuzzy text makes reading unplesant
Review: I really want to read this book but spending a month reading tiny (6-7 point) lightly printed and fuzzy letters would be as pleasant as poking my eye with a sharp stick. I love a good book as much as the next person but this edition looks like it was put together by a blind robot. Shame on the publisher. Apoligies to the author, for having a good book plowed under by such bad craftmanship.
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Summary: stone lovers
Review: i was required to read this book for school and i thought it was terrible. it is very repetitive and boring. I would only recommend this book to anyone who has no life or is in love with stone. Thank you for your time. good bye
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Summary: A must for art lovers.
Review: Having never been particularly understood the significance of Michelangelo¡¦s ¡§David,¡¨ I went to Academy in Florence, Italy. And there it stood in front of me in all its glory. Standing underneath him, I was awed. Humbled by its beauty, its perfection, and I felt this urge to¡§touch¡¨ his flesh. Yet, in my mind I realized it was ¡§only¡¨ stone. Irving Welsh¡¦s novel gives you the scope, the span, and the historical context of the creation of Michelangelo¡¦s work. The story behind one man¡¦s devotion to the art in a time of political turmoil, warring states, insurrections by fanatical monks, and power struggles within and outside the Vatican. From this book, not only do you learn about Michelangelo¡¦s work and his inspiration, but also, how art was perceived and created at the time in the Renaissance. The personalities involved; Da Vinci, Raphael, and the feuds and forgiveness that went on between them. You will also by default learn about the history and geography of Italy and why, such a small city state of Florence could give the world such a disproportionate number of Great artists and thinkers. This book is a work on its own. As part of the research for this book, Irving Stone commissioned a professor in University of California, Los Angeles, to translate Michelangelo¡¦s letters into English, with which he based the novel. The content of some of these letters are thus published in the English language for the first time. It¡¦s magnificent that as a companion to this great novel, we can now have a chance as readers of English to read Michelangelo¡¦s own words. Thank you, Mr. Stone. Furthermore, in the back of the novel is the complete listing of where Michelangelo¡¦s work is situated today and was extremely useful as I was able to appreciate some of his lesser known works. Truly this is a brilliant historical and biographical novel and a great resource about the country and her art of the time. The only thing I thought would have improved it, was Michaelangelo himself, his character, is belief did not change much through the years, and I would have liked to seem more "character development." The man cannot be the same from the day he was 9 til his death. But one small word of caution, Michelangelo¡¦s life is full of -in every sense of the words- ¡§agony and ecstasy¡¨ with a leaning towards the "agony". It is a heavy going book, as beautiful as it is.
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Summary: Captures the Spirit of an Artist
Review: One of the best biographical novels produced, author Stone does a tremendous job of capturing the life of Michelangelo. Born into a family that has seen better times, Michelangelo is eager to pursue a living as a sculptor. However, any work, no matter how creative or artistic, is seen as 'manual' labor. He defies his father and at age 13 becomes an apprentice to a fresco painter. The scene where Michelangelo realizes that not only can he not afford to pay his teacher but must ask for pay is a strong indication of the character of the artist. His determination to overcome the obstacles set by his family enable him to achieve his dreams. His obsession with his work and the total lack of material wants exhibited by the artist also single him out, even compared to others in his day in age. Author Stone moves quickly through the events in his long life, from his work as a young teenager for Lorenzo de Medici ('the Magnificent'), to his first sculptures. His work on the Pieta and David while still a man in his early twenties is astonishing. It is pointed out several times in the book that sculpture such as Michelangelo created had not been attempted since the times of the Greeks and Romans. While trained as a painter, his true love was marble. However, when the Pope request the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel be painted by Michelangelo, he reacts as always, ready to give it only his best, since nothing else would suffice. After the creation of the Sistine Chapel masterpiece, his life becomes mired in political conflict, which causes his art to suffer. While still creating masterpieces, such as the tomb for Pope Julius II and his other fresco masterpiece, The Last Judgement, the remainder of his years are spent on fruitless tasks, such as developing ways to quarry marble, etc. I would recommend this book highly to anyone with an interest in the arts, especially one of the great masters. Michelangelo's private and artistic life are both fully explored and leave the reader with a greater understanding of the time period.
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Summary: A Penchant for Passion
Review: Stone's biographical novel of Michelangelo is in its scope and grandeur the linguistic equivalent of the Sistine Ceiling. There are no loose words or thoughts in the entire work. I would even venture to call the book a prose poem, though it may lack most of the formal requirements of the highest literary art. But let's adopt Ezra Pound definition of poetry as a "design cut in time", and make room there for the Agony and the Ecstasy. Through an esoteric geometry, Stone connects this current historical moment with the Florence of five centuries past. In other words, the reader walks upon the cobbled streets of an ancient city, sits in audiences with Renaissance Popes, cuts stone out of mountains-holds the hammer and chisel which shapes it into high art. He/she feels the creative fires that burn steadily, intensely within the smithy of the soul. But study Michelangelo in the Agony and the Ecstasy for more than these delightful intellectual pleasures. Study him because he teaches us how to persevere and thrive when patrons die, family members disappoint, wars rage on, and health fails. Study him if you pursue beauty, truth, and goodness and need a light to show your feet back to the path. Finally, gaze and begin to know him though the telescopic lens of The Agony and the Ecstasy.
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Summary: An inspiration
Review: Any artist of any kind will gain insight into the artistic process. Stone systematically catalogues the possible thoughts and questions of the Master as each of his works of art came into being. The origins of Genesis, David, the Pieta, the Last Judgment, St. Peter's ... all of it is laid bare. Even if you're not an artist or art buff, the development of the protagonist's multi-layered charater and the characters of his Renaissance contemporaries is fascinating. Stone crafts the perfect portrait of the greatest artist (and one of the most fascinating people) or all time.
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Summary: A masterpiece!
Review: After seeing a PBS special on the way the face of God has evolved in art which included some of the works of Michelangelo, I was interested to read about his life. I cannot find the words to describe how wonderful this book is! THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY is as ambitious and as beautiful as the body of art that Michelangelo graced us with. Lengthy, but never, ever boring, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY is truly a magnificent work of literary fiction.
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Summary: A Journey Through His Mind
Review: I am only 14 years old and I read this book for two reasons. One-my Mom made me, and Two-my big trip to Italy was coming up. After the first chapter, you FELT like you were Michelangelo himself as you flipped through the pages. I found myself more and more interested to read the book rather than just reading it because my Mom wanted me to. I definitely reccomend this book to anyone who loves the arts, history, Italy-especially Tuscany and Florence, and even geology to some extent. This novel fascinated me. You are taken from about the time Michelangelo Buonarroti was nine to the day he died. You learn SO MUCH about the sculptures he did-a whole chapter is dedicated to his beloved David. You are taken through Michelangelo's mind and life. From this book, I learned a ton about sculpting, frescoing, and much about the history of Italy. So by the time I got there-to Italy-I knew more than anyone in my family about everything I saw by Michelangelo. He was a genius. Please read this book. You will be inspired and fascinated as I was and you will learn SO much. You will laugh and cry and by the last page, you are craving to read more. I promise you will not regret flipping through those pages and taking a journey through Michelangelo Buonarroti's mind! :)
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