A Triumphant Biographical Depiction of Michelangelo

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	• The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo Irving Stone NAL Trade, 2004 - 784 pages average customer review:based on 117 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Read it and Weap...literally

I purchased this book at a used book store in Florence, and found it to be the highlight of my 3 month stay in this city. The Renaissance up to that time always seemed so remote, but Stone builds such a convincing sense of time and place with this book, that the legendary artistic genius of Michaelangelo finally becomes real. The book actually brought me to tears as Stone portrays the loneliness of the obsessed artist.

The Agony and the Ectasy is one of those books that is difficult to put down...reminds me of the narrative writing style of Aynn Rand in the Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged. This is one of the few historic novels that I would read again.

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Fantastic for history

This book is a great source if you want to learn about Florence, Michelangelo, or sculpture. Stone has researched meticulously, and the details are stunning.

However, if you are looking for a 'good book' to read, this is not the one. The prose gets repetitive and tired very quickly, the characters sometimes very one-dimensional.

This aside, the book is a great history, if not a great work of art.

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A Triumphant Biographical Depiction of Michelangelo

`The Agony and the Ecstasy' is a fantastic novel about one of histories greatest artists and craftsman. Irving Stone paints a portrait of one of the most versatile geniuses of all time with this dazzling novel about Michelangelo. This biographical novel of Michelangelo is so thoroughly researched and beautifully presented that the reader is often captured and brought back through time with a feeling of standing beside this great artist through his struggles and his triumphs. Irving Stone captures the challenge and drama of the process of mural and sculpture that is a tribute to the pageantry and turmoil of the Renaissance itself. A facinating story with all the details often left out of other biographical depictions that conveys quite artistically the life and achievements of this talented genius from this great age. You will quite simply love this one.

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An amazing novel, but not a masterpiece

Although very well written and thoroughly researched, this work is limited by the fact that Michelangelo's life, revoloving obsessively around marble, was otherwise uninteresting. Thus the focus turns towards historical events at the time and the novel often reads like a textbook. Stone must be praised, however, for the degree of historical accuracy captured in the novel and the vivid descriptions of Michelangelo's art.

The Ecstatic Agony

What does the word 'Buonarroti' mean to us? For many, it would mean a shrug of the shoulders or a shake of the head. Add the word 'Michelangelo' in front of it; and, suddenly, as if by some unknown 'Abracadabra' of a fakir of the Arabian Knights, the seemingly unattractive 'Buonarroti' holds people awestruck. In a flash, we see the vision of a brilliant artistic genius, a God driven fury for carving marbles, coupled with a troubled life constantly battling against family problems, unreasonable Popes and political chaos. "The Agony and the Ecstasy" captures and explores the mind and the innermost thoughts of arguably the greatest artistic genius the world has ever produced. "The Agony and the Ecstasy" catches Irving Stone at his zenith. Within the space of seven hundred odd pages, he takes us on a remarkable, soul stirring and almost magical journey into the wondrous world of Florence with the turbulent, forever advancing Renaissance at its peak. Here, a casual observer like me can easily forget, with much pleasure, the drab, pacific routine of the unromantic twenty first century in which we live in, and roam about the Piazza dell Signora, visit the famous Medici Palace, arrange for a private date with Lorenzo "IL Magnifico" de Medici, and even take lessons from the world reputed Plato Academy comprising scholars like Pico della Mirandola, Marsilio Ficnio, and many others. We may talk with the luminaries of the Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael Sanzio, Bramante, Guiliano da Sangallo, Bertoldo- to mention a select handful. We bear witness to the eternal turning points of Italian history: the death of Lorenzo de Medici and the overthrow of his son Piero; the downfall of the fiery monk Savonarola, founder of the Dominican order - to name but a few instances. But let us not forget the small, unattractive, weakly built teenager with a "stonecutter's fist" born in a stonecutters' home, for he holds the coveted position of the principal character of the story. Along with the world of medieval Italy, Irving Stone takes us on an equally attractive journey- that of the life of the great master. Right from the age of thirteen when he first impressed the reigning master of Italian painting, Domenico Ghirlandahio with his skills to such an extent that the great master agreed to pay for the pleasure of taking Michelangelo into his apprenticeship - till his very last breath at the age of eighty nine: the life of Michelangelo can mesmerize almost any kind of a reader. The book is in the form of a biographical novel, which makes it even more cogent. Indeed, the life of the master is so splashed with romance and colour that the novel part of the book is really plausible. The book is immensely versatile and varied. Not only is it highly emotionally charged and passionately romantic, but also deeply philosophical, with touches of intellectually sophisticated humor and entertainment all the way round. The aspects of Michelangelo's life: his almost passive relationship with his family, life in Lorenzo de Medici's palace for four years, his unsuccessful love lives, his fiery relationship with Pope Julius II and his colossal work: have been painted with dainty artistry. In a sense, Irving Stone is as much a master of sculpture as his gritty protagonist- he has sculptured a perfect blend of history, biography, fiction and humor. Intertwined within are the peerless characters: the towering genius, blue blood and aristocracy of Lorenzo de Medici; Lorenzo's frail, beautiful daughter Contessina, his fun-loving friends Fransesco Granacci and Balducci; the wisdom and calm of Prior Bicchilleini, one of Michelangelo's most influential mentors; the beautiful poet and saint Vittoria Colonna- all form indelible parts of his life. Pope Julius is no less charismatic himself- charmingly antagonistic, his arguments with Michelangelo provide for very entertaining reading. This book is a fascinating and brilliant literary triumph. One that I would always keep in my bookshelf, even before I think of my clean collars. Whenever I have dark moments, one look at the book is enough to set me right. When I think of that great life with such uneven odds, and the gigantic amount of work done, I understand, finally: that all my agonies would eventually blossom into ecstasy.

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reviews: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, page 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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