Michelangelo, God's Architect - by William E Wallace

About the Book

"As he entered his seventies, the great Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo despaired that his productive years were past. Anguished by the death of friends and discouraged by the loss of commissions to younger artists, this supreme painter and sculptor began carving his own tomb. It was at this unlikely moment that fate intervened to task Michelangelo with the most ambitious and daunting project of his long creative life. 'Michelangelo, God's Architect' is the first book to tell the full story of Michelangelo's final two decades, when the peerless artist refashioned himself into the master architect of St. Peter's Basilica and other major buildings. When the Pope handed Michelangelo control of the St. Peter's project in 1546, it was a study in architectural mismanagement, plagued by flawed design and faulty engineering. Assessing the situation with his uncompromising eye and razor-sharp intellect, Michelangelo overcame the furious resistance of Church officials to persuade the Pope that it was time to start over. In this richly illustrated book, leading Michelangelo expert William Wallace sheds new light on this least familiar part of Michelangelo's biography, revealing a creative genius who was also a skilled engineer and enterprising businessman. The challenge of building St. Peter's deepened Michelangelo's faith, Wallace shows. Fighting the intrigues of Church politics and his own declining health, Michelangelo became convinced that he was destined to build the largest and most magnificent church ever conceived. And he was determined to live long enough that no other architect could alter his design."--Provided by publisher.

Book Synopsis

The untold story of Michelangelo's final decades--and his transformation into the master architect of St. Peter's Basilica

As he entered his seventies, Michelangelo despaired that his productive years were over. Anguished by the death of friends and discouraged by the loss of commissions to younger artists, this supreme Renaissance painter and sculptor began carving his own tomb. It was at this unlikely moment that Michelangelo was given charge of the most ambitious and daunting project of his long creative life--the design and construction of St. Peter's Basilica. In this richly illustrated book, William Wallace tells for the first time the full story of Michelangelo's final two decades--and of how the artist transformed himself into one of the greatest architects of the Renaissance.

Review Quotes

"Michelangelo, God's Architect represents the culmination of a career dedicated almost entirely to this single, engrossing figure. . . . Wallace's book is a model of deep scholarship brought to life with lively prose through the integration of sixteenth century documents on almost every page. . . . A rollicking good story."---Cammy Brothers, Journal for the Society of Architectural Historians

"[Michelangelo, God's Architect] paints a complex portrait of this tortured and talented Renaissance man and excavates a lesser-known but crucial final chapter of the artist's approximately 75-year career....[An] extremely readable, engaging book. -Lauren Moya Ford, Hyperallergic"

"Finalist for the Marfield Prize (The National Award for Arts Writing), Arts Club of Washington"

About the Author

William E. Wallace is the Barbara Murphy Bryant Distinguished Professor of Art History at Washington University in St. Louis. His many books include Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man, and His Times.