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The Lost Michelangelos

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( 23 ratings, 3 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Lost Michelangelos recounts the extraordinary discovery of two previously lost paintings by Michelangelo. Scholar Antonio Forcellino uncovers letters in an Italian library that challenge established views, leading to a journey spanning Europe and America. Through detailed research and restoration, Forcellino convincingly traces the works back to Michelangelo’s studio, reshaping our understanding of the Renaissance master.
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Format: Hardback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers passionate about art history, Renaissance studies, and those who enjoy true artistic detective stories unravelled through meticulous research.

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* This book tells the remarkable story of the discovery of two lost paintings by Michelangelo D one held in a private collection in the US and the other held by an Oxford college.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
Translated by Lucinda Byatt

This book tells the remarkable story of a rare discovery: the uncovering of two lost paintings by the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo.

Like many stories of artistic loss, this one begins in a library in Italy, where Antonio Forcellino—a distinguished Michelangelo scholar and restorer—stumbled across some unpublished letters among the papers of Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga, son of Isabella d’Este and an extremely important figure in the Italian Renaissance. These letters comment on the paintings of Michelangelo in a way that is completely at odds with what was to become the dominant critical tradition of Michelangelo scholarship, an inconsistency that set Forcellino off on a journey that took him to Dubrovnik, Oxford, New York, and Niagara Falls.

This journey culminated in the discovery of two magnificent paintings: Pieta with Mary and Two Angels, now in a private collection in America, and Cavalieri Crucifixion, now held by an educational institution in England. Through a combination of careful historical research, extensive restoration, and meticulous radiographic analysis, Forcellino shows convincingly that these paintings can be traced back to the studio of Michelangelo.

This extraordinary story, brilliantly retold, calls into question the received view of Michelangelo’s work and fills in a missing piece in our understanding of one of the greatest artists of all time.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Praised as an art mystery for the ages by the New York Post and described by the New York Times as a story about the art establishment's resistance to new authentication methods, this book has been called a miraculous piece of art history by the Bay Area Reporter. Reviewers highlight Forcellino’s work as cinematic and detective-like, piecing together a complex artistic puzzle with compelling scholarship.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780745652030

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 27 May 2011

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Contributors:

  • Translated by Lucinda Byatt
  • Translated by Lucinda Byatt
  • Translated by Lucinda Byatt

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 18.0mm

Width: 145.0mm

Height: 224.0mm

Weight: 390g

Pages: 180

About the Author

Antonio Forcellino is an art historian and restorer. As a leading scholar of the Renaissance and a recognised expert on Michelangelo, Forecellino was responsible for the restoration of Michelangelo's Moses and the Piccolomini altar in Siena.

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