MICHELANGELO EXHIBITION PROSPECTUSES | One Work | | Six Masterpieces | | Big Exhibition | In collaboration with Fondazione Casa Buonarroti and Associazione Metamorfosi |Casa Buonarroti| Visiting the museum of the Casa Buonarroti arouses, first of all, the emotion of admiration for several early works by Michelangelo contained within its walls. But for those who pass through the main entrance of the lovely seventeenth century building, located at Via Ghibellina 70, Florence, it is even more Museum interesting to relate the Michelangelo masterpieces housed there with the long story of the Buonarroti family. The family did all it could to enlarge the dwelling and make it more attractive, while preserving a precious cultural heredity and assembling a precious art collection at the same time.The direct descendants of Michelangelo, who lived in the Casa Buonarroti for centuries, collected works of art of different genres and from different periods. The main additions to the collections can be ascribed to Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger. www.casabuonarroti.it |Works from Casa Buonarroti| Heritage Vasari tells us that Michelangelo had burned "a large number of his own drawings, sketches and cartoons so that no one should see the labors he endured and the ways he tested his genius, and lest he should appear less than perfect." It is partly because of the artist's desire for perfection that his graphic work is so rare and valuable. Anyway, the collection of Michelangelo's drawings, projects and artifacts owned by Casa Buonarroti is today the largest in the world, with its over two hundreds sheets, in spite of the serious inroads that have been made into it. Michelangelo Buonarroti Nude from the Back circa 1504-1505 pen and ink, traces of black pencil, 408x284 mm inv. 73 F |Exhibition Proposals| The Metamorfosi Association can offer your Institution the opportunity to expose the masterpieces from Casa Buonarroti, according to the style and choices of your Institution, with the scientific consultancy by Casa Buonarroti: Show |ONE WORK| The opportunity to expose one Michelangelo's masterpiece in agreement with us and Casa Buonarroti Museum |SIX MASTERPIECES| 6 Michelangelo's works, with the consultancy by Casa Buonarroti Museum |BIG EXHIBITION| 30 or more works (up to 100 and over) with the concultancy by Casa Buonarroti Museum Exhibition Proposals ONEW O R K |Cleopatra| Analysis of the masterpiece 1|2 One Work This drawing belongs to the group of Michelangelo's works known as presentation drawings. This definition, coined by Johannes Wilde, is applied to drawings made by the artist not for the purposes of design or study, but as gifts. They are extremely elaborate images, with subjects that are complex, always profane and often far from easy to interpret. And in fact the Cleopatra was executed for Tommaso Cavalieri, the young Roman whom Michelangelo met in 1532 and who was the recipient of the largest number and most extraordinary of these drawings. In 1562, when Michelangelo was still alive, Tommaso Cavalieri was obliged to present the work to Duke Cosimo I dei Medici, though he accompanied the gift with a letter in which he said that relinquishing the drawing had caused him no less suffering than the loss of a child. In fact, as the time approached to give up the work, he decided to have a copy made by an "artist friend of his", as we are informed by a letter dated January 24, 1562, from Cosimo I's ambassador to the papal court, Averardo Serristori. In 1614, however, Cosimo II had the Cleopatra sent to Casa Buonarroti. |Cleopatra| Analysis of the masterpiece 2|2 One Work Ever since the time, in August 1988, when restoration work on the sheet revealed the existence of another drawing by Michelangelo on the verso, it has aroused considerable interest. The removal of a layer of priming during the restoration brought to light another picture of Cleopatra (inv. 2 Fv), identical in composition and with the same feature of the hair turning into a serpent. But, in comparison with the noble and polished classicism of the drawing on the recto, it is much more immediate and there is an expression of anguish on Cleopatra's face. Alongside the ancient Egyptian queen, there is a barely sketched profile of an old man. Michelangelo's works have been copied and translated into other media by many artist down the centuries: the fact there are no copies of this verso leads us to assume that the drawing was covered up very early on. |Cleopatra| One Work Michelangelo Buonarroti Cleopatra circa 1535 black pencil, 232 x 182 mm inv. 2 Fv Michelangelo Buonarroti Cleopatra circa 1535 black pencil, 232 x 182 mm inv. 2 Fr |Exhibition Fee| Fee: .................................. One Work The fee includes: Art work transport Art work insurance Art work loan Scientific consultancy by Casa Buonarroti The Institution will provide: Exhibition preparation Three days hospitality for 3 persons (4 star hotel, full board) for the opening Two days hospitality for 3 persons (4 star hotel, full board) for the closing and disassembly Advertising Timing: The show will last from three to four months, in agreement with your Institution, Casa Buonarroti and Associazione Metamorfosi. Exhibition Proposals SIXMA STE RPI EC ES |Exhibition Description| MICHELANGELO – SIX MASTERPIECES This show, illuminated by the superb quality of six of Michelangelo’s drawings, sheds light on certain decisive moments in his career. This extraordinary pieces afford an all-around view of a master who left his mark on his times: |1| Michelangelo |2| Michelangelo Study for the Head of the Studies of Nudes and of a Cornice Madonna of the Doni Tondo for the Sistine Chapel Ceiling 1504(?) 1508 -1509 Six Masterpieces red pencil, mm. 200x172 black pencil, pen, mm. 414x271 |3| Michelangelo |4| Michelangelo Studies for Adam in Study for the frame of the door between the vestibule and “Expulsion from Paradise” the Reading-Room of the Laurentian Library 1510 1510 black pencil, mm. 396x254 black pencil, mm. 396x254 |5| Michelangelo |6| Michelangelo Study of a male nude Plan for the church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini 1532 - 1533 Circa 1559 red pencil, mm. 139x196 black pencil, pen and ink, watercolor and white lead, mm. 428x386 |Analysis of the works| 1|6 The priceless sequence begins with the Study for the Head of the Madonna of the “Doni Tondo”, one of the masterpieces from the collection at the Buonarroti House in Florence – one of his first red pencil practice – almost certainly drawn from a male model, according to a typical custom of that time. Six Masterpieces The mysterious and evasive facial expression of the character is still a matter of debate between who identifies a study for the Madonna of the Doni Tondo, the panel picture featuring the Holy Family located in the Uffizi Galley, and who interprets it as a study for prophet Jonah in the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Study for the Head of the Madonna of the Doni Tondo 1504(?) red pencil, mm. 200x172 |Analysis of the works| 2|6 The two following drawings evoke the great and lonely exploit of the Sistine Chapel. In the Studies of Nudes and of a Cornice for the Sistine Chapel Ceiling, it is likely that the study for a cornice was executed first, decorated with shell and acorn motifs, the latter being present in Six Masterpieces the emblem of Della Rovere family, from which came the pope who commissioned the work, Julius II. This motif was not used for the large ceiling cornice, but in the frames that outline the spandrels and lunettes. Studies of Nudes and of a Cornice for the Sistine Chapel Ceiling 1508 -1509 black pencil, pen, mm. 414x271 |Analysis of the works| 3|6 The drawing Studies for Adam in “Expulsion from Paradise” shows tree ideas for the torso of Adam and, down on the left, two more detailed sketch for the right hand of the same character. Michelangelo here mainly focuses on the motion of Six Masterpieces hands and arms that, as we are told by Luciano Berti, shows more than enough a touching expressiveness “with no need to see the face”. Studies for Adam in “Expulsion from Paradise” 1510 black pencil, mm. 396x254 |Analysis of the works| 4|6 The show offers a piece that testifies the experience of Michelangelo’s as an architect: Study for the frame of the Door between the vestibule and the Reading-Room of the Laurentian Library. In the vestibule, columns were set in recesses and appeared to sit on consoles, while the blind aedicules in the wall-panels between the orders Six Masterpieces were designed with shafts tapering towards the bases. The vestibule stair (completed by Ammannati after 1559) is extraordinary, with two external flights and a curious arrangement of steps. The whole structure occupies the centre of the vestibule, and was the very first grand stair of the Renaissance period to be treated as a major Study for the frame of the door feature of architectural design. between the vestibule and the Reading-Room of the Laurentian Library 1510 black pencil, mm. 396x254 |Analysis of the works| 5|6 In the Study of a Male Nude, the masculine figure is vigorously drawn in red chalk, with a rapidly sketched head, and it was connected in 1953 by Johannes Wilde to a group of preparatory studies for a portrayal of the Resurrection of Christ on which Michelangelo spent much time between 1532 and 1533. Six Masterpieces Many have agreed with this hypothesis, even though there are also different suppositions: it was originally thought, for example, that it may have been Study of a male nude intended for a tympanum to be frescoed 1532 - 1533 red pencil, mm.