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Front Matter Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76140-6 - Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing Deborah Parker Frontmatter More information MICHELANGELO AND THE ART OF LETTER WRITING Michelangelo’s extant correspondence is the most abundant of any artist. Span- ning sixty-seven years, it comprises roughly 1,400 letters, of which Michelangelo himself wrote 500. Biographers and art historians have combed the letters for insight into Michelangelo’s views on art, his contractual obligations, and his relationships. Literary scholars have explored parallels between the letters and Michelangelo’s poetry. Nevertheless, this is the first book to study the letters for their intrinsically literary qualities. In this volume, Deborah Parker examines Michelangelo’s use of language as a means of understanding the creative process of this extraordinary artist. His letters often revel in witticisms, rhetorical flour- ishes, and linguistic ingenuity. Close study of his mastery of words and modes of self-presentation shows Michelangelo to be a consummate artist who deploys the resources of language to considerable effect. Deborah Parker is Professor of Italian at the University of Virginia. She has been awarded grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Villa I Tatti– the Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, and numerous others. She is the author of many articles; her most recent book is Bronzino: Renaissance Painter as Poet (Cambridge University Press, 2000). © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76140-6 - Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing Deborah Parker Frontmatter More information MICHELANGELO AND THE ART OF LETTER WRITING DEBORAH PARKER University of Virginia © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76140-6 - Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing Deborah Parker Frontmatter More information cambridge university press Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, Sao˜ Paulo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo, Mexico City Cambridge University Press 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, ny 10013-2473, usa www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521761406 C Deborah Parker 2010 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2010 Printed in the United States of America A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data Parker, Deborah, 1954– Michelangelo and the art of letter writing / Deborah Parker. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-521-76140-6 (hardback) 1. Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475–1564 – Correspondence. 2. Artists – Italy – Correspondence. 3. Italian letters – History and criticism. 4. Letter writing, Italian. I. Michelangelo Buonarroti, 1475–1564. II. Title. pq4615.b6a83 2010 856.3–dc22 2010014057 isbn 978-0-521-76140-6 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76140-6 - Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing Deborah Parker Frontmatter More information For Paul Barolsky © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76140-6 - Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing Deborah Parker Frontmatter More information CONTENTS List of Figures page ix Note on Sources x Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 The Role of Letters in Biographies of Michelangelo 10 2 From Word to Image: Epistolary Rhetoric and Artistic Form 47 3 From Experience to Expression: Representations of Captivity in Michelangelo’s Art, Poetry, and Letters 87 4 Michelangelo’s Words: Saying, Doing, Meaning 116 Conclusion 144 Bibliography 147 Index 153 vii © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76140-6 - Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing Deborah Parker Frontmatter More information LIST OF FIGURES Figures follow page 76 Cover image: Raphael, School of Athens, detail of left half showing Heraclitus, said to be a portrait of Michelangelo. 1. Michelangelo, letter to father Lodovico, 1 July 1497. 2. Michelangelo, autograph sonnet with self-portrait while painting the Sistine Chapel ceiling. 3. Michelangelo, Temptation and Fall of Adam and Eve. 4. Michelangelo, The Libyan Sibyl. 5. Michelangelo, The Cumean Sibyl. 6. Michelangelo, detail of the Sistine Chapel ceiling from the Prophet Zacharias to the Sacrifice of Noah. 7. Michelangelo, detail of the Sistine Chapel ceiling from the Prophet Jonah to the Separation of Land and Water. 8. Michelangelo, lower section of the Tomb of Julius II. 9. Michelangelo, Giuliano de’ Medici. 10. Michelangelo, Lorenzo de’ Medici. 11. Michelangelo, wall opposite the stairway of the vestibule, Biblioteca Laurenziana. 12. Michelangelo, The Battle of the Centaurs. 13. Michelangelo, The Crucifixion of Peter. 14. Michelangelo, detail of right hand, David. 15. Michelangelo, detail of Christ and Virgin Mary, Last Judgment. 16. Michelangelo, detail of Anguished Reprobate, Last Judgment. 17. Michelangelo, The Creation of Adam. 18. Michelangelo, “Atlas” Slave. 19. Michelangelo, letter to Lionardo, 28 December 1563. 20. Michelangelo, Entombment. 21. Michelangelo, Dying Prisoner. 22. Michelangelo, detail of the figure of Dawn. 23. Michelangelo, Rebellious Prisoner. ix © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76140-6 - Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing Deborah Parker Frontmatter More information NOTE ON SOURCES All citations from Michelangelo’s letters are to the following two editions: Il carteggio di Michelangelo: Edizione postuma di Giovanni Poggi.Ed.Paola Barocchi and Renzo Ristori. 5 vols. Florence: Sansoni, 1965–1994. Henceforth abbreviated as Carteggio. The Letters of Michelangelo.Ed.andtrans.E.H.Ramsden.2 vols. Stan- ford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1963. Henceforth abbreviated as Ramsden. x © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76140-6 - Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing Deborah Parker Frontmatter More information ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is a pleasure to acknowledge the institutions and individuals who have helped me in completing this project. Various grants from the University of Virginia, two Sesquicentennial Research Fellowships, and a grant from the Arts and Sciences Research Fund afforded me the time and support to visit archives and do the research. A second grant from the Arts and Sciences Research Fund helped offset the cost of reproducing some of the illustrations. I would like to thank the staffs of the British Library in London and the Casa Buonarroti in Florence for assistance and access to Michelangelo’s letters. I would also like to thank the editors of Renaissance Quarterly for their permission to reprint the section of Chapter 1 that appeared in that journal. I completed the manuscript in the fall of 2009,duringmytenure as a Visiting Professor at Villa I Tatti, Harvard University’s Center for Italian Renaissance Studies in Florence. I am sincerely grateful to the entire staff and to the director, Joseph Connors, for inviting me to I Tatti. There, amidst the hills of Fiesole and in close proximity to the Villa Michelangelo, where Michelangelo himself lived at various times of his life, I found myself most happily ensconced as I completed the final stages of the manuscript. I would also like to thank the production staff at Cambridge University Press, and my editor, Beatrice Rehl, who has warmly supported and guided this project from the outset. I am greatly indebted to the friends and colleagues who improved the manuscript by generously giving their time to read various chapters: Caro- line Elam, William J. Kennedy, John Najemy, Michael Hirst, Bill Kent, and Jonathan Nelson. I owe a particular debt of gratitude to Bill Wallace, who has been wonderfully supportive of this project from the outset, answering countless questions, reading each chapter, offering numerous felicitous sug- gestions for its improvement, and kindly furnishing me with a copy of his biography of Michelangelo before it went into production. His rich account xi © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-76140-6 - Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing Deborah Parker Frontmatter More information xii Acknowledgments of Michelangelo’s world allowed me to sharpen my own portrayal of some of its intricacies. Last to be thanked but foremost in having inspired and encouraged me is Paul Barolsky. This study began with one of his serendip- itous observations – “someone needs to shine a spotlight on those letters.” Over the course of the last seven years I have spent hours talking with Paul on all things pertaining to Michelangelo and his world. Paul read each chapter several times and our subsequent conversations have enriched the manuscript immensely. Again and again his engaging conversation inspired me to deepen my arguments and perspectives. I cannot imagine anything more amiable. My warmest appreciation is reserved for my husband Mark, whose unwa- vering encouragement, editorial acumen, and many perceptive observations improved this manuscript immensely. These represent but a fraction of his contribution to this book. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org.
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