Product Description

With an engaging text by renowned Michelangelo scholar William E. Wallace, Michelangelo: The Complete Sculpture, Painting, Architecture brings together in one exquisite volume the powerful sculptures, the awe-inspiring paintings, and the classical architectural works of one of the greatest artists of all time. Including everything from his sculptures Pietàs and David to his beautiful paintings of the Sistine Chapel and the Doni Tondo, the book provides an opportunity to view Michelangelo’s work as never before, and to more fully understand the artist who, through his work, spoke of his life and times. The frescoes are specially printed on onion skin paper to recreate the actual appearance of light reflecting off of the plaster walls. The stunning black-and-white photography of the sculptures is printed in four colors to bring out the rich details of the marble.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57819 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-08
• Released on: 2009-09-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 268 pages

Review
An excellent starting point for those just getting acquainted with the master, while at the same time serves as a valuable reference tool for even the most accomplished of specialists.
–Renaissance Quarterly

Wallaces collection reminds us of the remarkable rigor, originality, and command of visual sources of the best art historical writing; as such it can be highly recommended.
–Sixteenth Century Journal

Review
A visual and literary treasure that brings Michelangelo, the artist, and his remarkable body of work—including sculptures, paintings, and architecture—to life.

About the Author
William E. Wallace is associate professor of art history at Washington University in St. Louis, and is an internationally recognized authority on Michelangelo and his contemporaries.

Customer Reviews

Visually delightful
The strength of this book is the excellent photographs, showing each work from a variety of angles so you can really appreciate the complexity of the sculpture. The commentaries are well written and straightforward. Having read the previous review, I read the Anthony Hughes book too and found its commentaries more complex--well, anyway,more opionated!--but its tiny pictures can't compare to the splendors in this book. Short of a trip to Italy, it was the next best thing!

A Visual Excursion through a Genius' Life and Works
MICHELANGELO: THE COMPLETE SCULPTURE, PAINTING, ARCHITECTURE is one of those books that would be a generous addition to any art/art history lover's library. This very large scaled volume is meant to be about the visual and not the stuffy, thesis-driven, dry tome words of biography. William Wallace has excellent credentials as a writer and his style of writing is warm, thoughtful, insightful, and informative. He has elected to begin his book with an abbreviated biography, knowing that most people know the general facts about Michelangelo's life, and then presents the artists' output in sections of scultpure, painting, and architecture. It is said that Michelangelo never considered himself a painter, despite his glory in the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. It is his sculpture for which he wished to be known and surely there are few extant examples of heroic sculpture that are in his rarefied league. The reproductions of the frescoes are color correct and the sculptures are captured with excellent photographic drama. For those who wish to know more about the writings and sonnets of Michelangelo as well as the contorversies that colored his life, then look elsewhere among the many books available. But for sheer joy of turning page after beautiful page that document Michelangelo's genius, then look no further. A perfect gift for yourself and for those who care about art.

An excellent coffee table book for the casual art fan
If you are doing a research paper on Michelangelo, look elsehere. This book is all about the pictures, most of which fill the entire page (and this is a tall book). The text is fairly informative and a light read but really doesn't make that much of an impression. Just buy it to marvel at the stunning skill of one of the greatest artists who ever lived.