Michelangelo Drawings: Closer to the Master
I've always loved drawings, as they are the most immediate and intimate form of expression. You can't hide much in a drawing, it's all there to see. They also show how an artist thinks, how they're searching for more, and often how they are just having fun.
The Michelangelo Drawings exhibition that was recently at the Teylers Museum in the Netherlands and is about to open at the British Museum focuses on the working drawings of the master.
According to the British Museum, the exhibition..
"Traces sixty years of Michelangelo's stormy life, from intimate studies made when he was in his early twenties to the visionary Crucifixion scenes carried out shortly before his death."
and..
"Reunites material not seen together since the dispersal of the artist's studio more than 400 years ago, offering a wholly different perspective on the defining genius of the Italian Renaissance."
The exhibition may also set attendance records as it has already more than trebled the British Museum's record for advance ticket bookings. The previous record of 3,670 advance bookings to the Persia exhibition in 2005 has been smashed with more than 11,000 tickets to the Michelangelo Drawings being booked already.
There's quite a few stories floating around on the Internet about the exhibition. The Guardian has a few works from the exhibition online, there's some information at the BBC, and Karl Zipser has wrote a couple essays on the exhibition when it was at the Teylers Museum. One discusses the role that drawing played in Michelangelo's career, and the other talks about what is real and what is fake from the Michelangelo drawings.
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