The Architecture of Michelangelo

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James S. Ackerman

The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1986 (2nd edition); originally published 1961, English

Nonfiction, Architecture

ISBN: 9780226002408

From the Publisher. James Ackerman considers in detail the buildings designed by Michelangelo in Florence and Rome—including the Medici Chapel, the Farnese Palace, the Basilica of St. Peter, and the Capitoline Hill. He then turns to an examination of the artist's architectural drawings, theory, and practice. As Ackerman points out, Michelangelo worked on many projects started or completed by other architects. Consequently this study provides insights into the achievements of the whole profession during the 16th century. The text is supplemented with 140 black-and-white illustrations and is followed by a scholarly catalogue of Michelangelo’s buildings that discusses chronology, authorship, and condition. For this second edition, Ackerman has made extensive revisions in the catalogue to encompass new material that has been published on the subject since 1970.

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Undoubtedly one of the most preeminent historians of architecture, Ackerman is still going strong, here unraveling the work of one of the greatest architects ever. I feel lucky to know James Ackerman as a friend.

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