A couple weekends ago, I went to the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) to see the new exhibit, Michelangelo: Quest for Genius. The exhibition had displayed 29 rare drawings from Michelangelo’s collection in Casa Buonarroti, Florence. Insterpersed in among the drawings were scultpures from Augustes Rodin who was inspired by and shared a similar creative frustration as Michelangelo.
Plan for the Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Rome (1559-1560)
Some of the drawings displayed had an interactive display on screens showcasing information about a particular drawing. For example, the Study of Porta Pia, Rome drawing showcases four difference possibilities for the doorway. The computerized animation identified each of the possibilities provided in the drawing. Other interactive displays animated floor plans that hadn’t been built or provided additional information on the a particular drawing.
Auguste Rodin’s Adam
Study for the Porta Pia in Rome (approx. 1561)
The things I learned are the following:
- Michelangelo was secretive about his work and rarely took on apprentices. He was so secretive that he burned 600 of his drawings before he died.
- Only 500 of his drawing still exist today and are 500 or more years old.
- Michelangelo was constantly drawing.
- Paper was very inexpensive in his time yet Michelangelo reused a lot of his paper.
