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Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology

From Donatello To Michelangelo: A Franciscan Angel, Kayla M. Bruce Oct 2023

From Donatello To Michelangelo: A Franciscan Angel, Kayla M. Bruce

Institute for the Humanities Theses

During the Italian Renaissance, images of angels and of the Virgin Mary were incredibly commonplace and were often used to denote the Virgin in her role as prophetess. The Virgin was often shown surrounded by angels in the background or flanking her on either side. However, in the fifteenth century, a motif appeared where an angel head was depicted on either the Virgin’s diadem or on her chest as a decorative brooch. This specific motif only appeared in images of the Virgin and the Christ Child. It was also only employed by Florentine artists and began with the Florentine sculptor, …


Michelangelo Buonarroti And Homophobia In The Renaissance, Grace T. O. Ray Nov 2022

Michelangelo Buonarroti And Homophobia In The Renaissance, Grace T. O. Ray

The Confluence

Tommaso de’ Cavalieri was a young man with an aristocratic background when he first met famous artist Michelangelo Buonarroti in Rome. Tommaso was known to be an incomparable physical beauty, with intelligence and elegant manners, as well as being a member of one of the most illustrious families of Rome—the Orsini. Some have said this is what drew the artist to Cavalieri from the start. Though not much is known about their encounter, it is confirmed that Cavalieri remained a close and loyal companion to Michelangelo for thirty-two years until the artist’s death in 1564. Furthermore, throughout their years together …


The Literary Controversies Of Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling, Victoria Duehring Jun 2021

The Literary Controversies Of Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling, Victoria Duehring

The Forum: Journal of History

This literary review will focus on Michelangelo’s most significant work of color: the Sistine ceiling. Michelangelo’s work has spawned a plethora of literature, but this paper will focus on three main controversial topics: assistants (or lack thereof), the ignudi’s purpose, and restoration. I will also apply a psycho-historical approach to these controversies and identify potential avenues for future research.


A Sculpir Qui Cose Divine: The Spiritual Non-Finito In Michelangelo's Pietà, Kaitlin Arbusto May 2021

A Sculpir Qui Cose Divine: The Spiritual Non-Finito In Michelangelo's Pietà, Kaitlin Arbusto

Theses and Dissertations

The evolution of Michelangelo Buonarroti’s faith – rooted in his contemplation of salvation and his own mortality in art and the written word – is explored in this thesis via an investigation of his four surviving Pietà. Each of these artworks, like the nature of his spirituality, is considered in relation to the non-finito.


Écorché Figures In Mannerism As Influenced By The Reemergence Of Systematic Human Dissection, Megan Tanner Apr 2021

Écorché Figures In Mannerism As Influenced By The Reemergence Of Systematic Human Dissection, Megan Tanner

Honors College Theses

During the sixteenth century, many individuals became fascinated by the human form, which led to an increase in artistic and scientific focus on these subjects. Artistic interest in the human body resulted in a close relationship between artists and anatomists during the time, and the societal acceptance to public demonstrations of dissections, including flaying, was often converged with Mannerist ideals. It is historically evident that écorché figures during Mannerism were based on these, as well as torture methods during the time. As these demonstrations became more common throughout the sixteenth century, they began to be monitored in order to ensure …


Afterlife Of A Renaissance Sculpture: Reception History Of Michelangelo's Pietà, Yanhan He Jan 2020

Afterlife Of A Renaissance Sculpture: Reception History Of Michelangelo's Pietà, Yanhan He

Senior Projects Spring 2020

This project explores three significant moments in the history of reception of Michelangelo's Pietà, demonstrating changes of the Pietà's meaning according to that of its location, the era, and groups of spectators. The project first introduce reception of the Pietà around the time of its creation, focusing on the polemic opinions of Renaissance artists who have seen the sculpture in person. It then analyzes reception of the sculpture during the age of Grand Tour, when the audience group of British aristocrats shows notably limited interest in the sculpture. Finally, it talks about reception of the Pietà during the …


Cartographier L’Essor D’Un Modèle : Le Chapiteau Ionique De Michel-Ange De L’Invention Au Début Du Xviie Siècle, Federica Vermot Dec 2019

Cartographier L’Essor D’Un Modèle : Le Chapiteau Ionique De Michel-Ange De L’Invention Au Début Du Xviie Siècle, Federica Vermot

Artl@s Bulletin

This study proposes to map the propagation of an alternative type of ionic capital invented by Michelangelo in 1563. We proceed to a comparative analysis of the new buildings erected in Rome from the invention of the new capital to the beginning of the 17th century, in order to highlight spatial and temporal correlations peculiar to its diffusion. The study of this issue allows to understand the perception of the capital that the next generation of roman architects developed, which is a less known aspect of Michelangelo's reception. Overall, it invites to shape the stylistic evolution of an architectural motif.


Book Review Of A. Victor Coonin, From Marble To Flesh: The Biography Of Michelangelo’S David, Sandra Cheng Oct 2015

Book Review Of A. Victor Coonin, From Marble To Flesh: The Biography Of Michelangelo’S David, Sandra Cheng

Publications and Research

Beginning of Book Review:
“What makes an icon?” is the underlying question of A. Victor Coonin’s book dedicated to Michelangelo’s statue of David. The larger-than-life-size David has a status akin to Leonardo’s Mona Lisa. Its image, whether whole or fragmented, is instantaneously recognizable, making it difficult to look at it afresh, but Coonin manages to reflect on well-trodden ground in a captivating manner. This study demonstrates how the David is more than an embodiment of masculinity but a statue imbued with multi-faceted symbolism that continues to resonate with viewers today.


Visceral Space: Dissection And Michelangelo's Architecture, Chloe Costello May 2015

Visceral Space: Dissection And Michelangelo's Architecture, Chloe Costello

Architecture Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on the architectural work of Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti, who, perhaps, is better known for his painting and sculpture than for his architecture. Nevertheless, his buildings are revered by architectural historians, such as James Ackerman, for their mimicry of bodily motion and emotion. Under the influence of Renaissance humanism, it was not uncommon for architects to validate their designs by reference to the human body, for example, basing the dimensions of a basilica on ideal bodily proportions. But, Michelangelo's approach in his earliest architectural designs, such as the Medici Chapel (1521-1524) and the Laurentian Library (1523-1525) in …


The Transformation Of The Pope: The Agony And The Ecstasy (1965) And The Second Vatican Council (1962-65), Jennifer Mara Desilva Oct 2012

The Transformation Of The Pope: The Agony And The Ecstasy (1965) And The Second Vatican Council (1962-65), Jennifer Mara Desilva

Journal of Religion & Film

In 1965 the film The Agony and The Ecstasy (dir. Carol Reed) presented Renaissance artistic culture, Catholic iconography, and the papal court in Rome to a popular, broad, and non-denominational audience. Based on the novel by Irving Stone (1961), the narrative follows Michelangelo and Pope Julius II through the decoration of the Sistine chapel ceiling (1508-12), outlining a relationship between the two protagonists that suggests some spiritual equality. In the same way that the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) strove for spiritual renewal and an emphasis on the wonder of humankind’s relationship with God, The Agony and The Ecstasy portrays the …


Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling : A Portrait Of The Renaissance, Anne A. Ferris Jan 1985

Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling : A Portrait Of The Renaissance, Anne A. Ferris

Honors Theses

Because a single theological interpretation of the Sistine Ceiling cannot be made, the ceiling is a portrait of Renaissance concepts. Besides the personal struggles of the Pope and Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, the ceiling is representative of the whole century before its creation. Michelangelo has mingled both civic and religious sentiments into the ceiling. Michelangelo has combined his experiences in the Medici circle with his personal beliefs. The ceiling with its most basic depiction of the fundamental concept of man's aspiration of redemption becomes almost a chaotic representation of the history of man, but which contrasts with the beauty …