Michelangelo – Rolf Schott, 1964

Michelangelo, Rolf Schott, 1964

This is another book covering a topic that I have very little knowledge about. As a student of Ancient History there is little room to study famous Renaissance painters. Art history has never been something that I’ve had the opportunity to look at and so reading this was an enjoyable new experience, but a challenge also.

Schott has chosen to order his book chronologically, moving from Michelangelo’s early life and ending with his death; it’s fairly straight forward. This layout works for a reader that is unfamiliar with Michelangelo as it covers the basic stages in his life in a clear way. However, this style doesn’t necessarily work as well in this book. Schott puts a lot of emphasis on Michelangelo’s most famous work, the Sistine Chapel, which takes a central position in the text. Schott is clearly passionate about the subject and seems to describe almost every detail of Michelangelo’s work in the Chapel, going into immense detail at every opportunity. It is very interesting to read, but some of the impact is lost within the text as there is still a lot of his life’s work left to discuss afterwards. It is a fine enough format, but to me it seems like it would have been a bit better divided into two halves. The first half could concern Michelangelo’s life and then the second could discuss his notable works of art.

The language used in the text is quite specific and there were a few definitions that I had to look up in order to understand. I’m not very knowledgeable about different phases of art so perhaps I simply need to learn a bit more, but the terms weren’t explained at all and so I needed to check the definitions for Baroque and a few others. This was just a small inconvenience though, it only took a quick search online and I had a better idea of what was being discussed.

Concerning Michelangelo’s work, Schott seems to mention everything that he did. We are told about his sculptures, paintings, frescoes and architecture as well as the many different factors which influences them. Schott covers the impact of religion on his art, as well as the most influential figures in Michelangelo’s life, such as his life-long friend, Vittoria Colonna. These details are what help Schott to merge Michelangelo’s personal life with his artistic achievements and create a cohesive narrative. Obviously, this isn’t a book which is concerned with creating a particularly pleasing narrative, and the end of Michelangelo’s life is dealt with unsatisfyingly. The line between discussing Michelangelo’s art and his life are sometimes blurred, and there are large sections which deal exclusively with art or with his life. This usually isn’t too jarring, however, and is dealt with well.

The book includes 128 plates, or images, of artworks which help to visualise the pieces that Schott is describing in his text. 15 of these are colourised and really allow the reader to appreciate the art that is being discussed. These images appear on most pages and it is rare to find two pages without any images at all. While it is helpful to have these plates, it is sometimes hard to match them to the passages discussing them in the text. At times there is an image on one page which is discussed three or four pages later in the book, which can be slightly confusing at times. For anyone who would like to read this text I would recommend simply keeping a computer close by, so that you can find an image of which ever piece of art Schott is discussing and use it as a reference. There is always so much detail in the text and it is a shame that the reader can’t always see the details that Schott is describing without flicking between pages to have another glance at a certain plate.

The Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel (Click for more information)

Personally, I very much enjoyed the analysis of Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel and The Last Judgement. These sections are filled with interesting facts about the works themselves and how they related to Michelangelo’s life beyond the art. There is a particularly funny story regarding the Last Judgement and a cardinal who didn’t really appreciate the work, but I won’t spoil that.

Overall, this book is a very thorough study of the life of Michelangelo with plenty of in-depth discussion of his artwork too. The images of his paintings, sculptures and architecture help to bring Michelangelo to life and gives the reader. Paired with Schott’s descriptions, these really give the impression of a discernible character in Michelangelo’s art. Given the chronology, even someone such as myself, who is new to art history, can see how Michelangelo changed and developed throughout his career.

This was an interesting place to start my reading into art history and at times I did feel slightly lost. Schott is clearly very knowledgeable on the subject and some of the more expert details were undoubtedly wasted on me. Even still, I was able to understand most of the book without any outside assistance and it is easy enough to give certain terms a quick check. After reading this, I am certainly interested in reading more about renaissance art and history and hope to learn more about the other great artists of the time, such as Leonardo DaVinci. Schott’s passion about the subject is infectious and this really makes the text an enjoyable read.