Book Club for Art Lovers: Italian Renaissance

Book: Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King ISBN: 1620408406

Welcome to the April gathering of the Boolk Club for Art Lovers! In this meeting, we raise our eyes towards the sky to take in the world-famous Sistine Chapel--but not just as casual observers. Author Ross King gives us an intimate look at the drama and turmoil surrounding the creation of the beloved masterpeice in Michael Angelo and the Pope's Ceiling. When Pope Julius II (dubbed "the Warrior Pope" for his combative nature and unrelentting drive for power) commissioned Rome's most celebrated sculptor to adorn the Sistine Chapel in 1508, he had little notion of the conflict to come. Michelangelo had little painting experience but he did have a massive ego and a temper to boot, and over the course of the next four years he and the fiery Pope Julius engaged in multiple battles, pitting art against Papal power with sometimes explosive results. In revealing the passion and the politics that rocked Rome both inside and outside of the Chapel's walls, King shows us a very different side of the frescoes we always thought we knew.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

Get App

Host or Publisher Threadneedle Gallery