poornima damodaran

This was a very inspiring book. Michaelangelo's first love was sculpture, and the first part of the book describes his apprenticeship and work in Marble. So many different kinds of marble, and the secrets of judging the right hill with the high quality, translucent marble. Also his forays into the mortuaries to learn human bone structure and muscle, as he wanted to sculpt figures. His most celebrated work was the Pieta, where the body of the crucified Christ is laid on the lap of His Mother Mary. But the Popes of those times used to forcibly engage sculptors and painters to do their bidding and create something to glorify themselves. Being a perfectionist, he apprenticed himself to the Master Painters and learnt the intricacies of drawing, laying his own canvas, mixing colours, manufacturing brushes and other apparatus, and finally moved into the Sistine Chappel to cover every inch of the ceiling with the story of creation; culminating in Judgement Day.