Michael Angelo Buonarroti

Letters about money, marble and papal commissions give this account of Michael Angelo a practical edge. Charles Holroyd brings together a translation of the artist's life by his pupil Ascanio Condivi and a supplementary study of his surviving works. The opening explains why Condivi's close acquaintance with his teacher matters, while also considering the competing account by Giorgio Vasari. Three translated dialogues by Francisco d'Ollanda add another form of contemporary testimony.

The later discussion follows the pressures surrounding the tomb of Pope Julius and work at San Lorenzo. In quoted correspondence, Michael Angelo weighs repayments, pensions, unfinished statues and the difficulty of concentrating on marble while financial disputes occupy his thoughts. Holroyd draws on letters and contracts to connect the works with the conditions in which they were made. Readers interested in artistic practice will find a biography attentive to both personal recollection and the daily business of making art.