June 3 – July 1 2021
During the Renaissance just one artist achieved immeasurable fame within his lifetime and would tower over all others for centuries thereafter. He was Michelangelo Buonarotti.
No artist had ever been so naked in his ambition. He would invent the modern superstar celebrity, setting the standard so high that all subsequent artists would struggle to emerge from his vast shadow.
This series of lectures will unpack his long and extraordinary life and shed light on how his early childhood and family circumstances fuelled his relentless work ethic and fierce hatred of rival artists. It will conclude with the triumph of the Sistine Chapel, the tragedy of the Papal Tomb of Julius II, and his intimate personal relationships played out through his ‘Presentation Drawings’ concluding with the legacy of his art.