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The Medici audiobook cover art

  • The Medici

  • Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
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  • Unabridged
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Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola.

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Leonardo da Vinci audiobook cover art

  • Leonardo da Vinci

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Leonardo da Vinci created the two most famous paintings in history, The Last Supper and the Mona Lisa. But in his own mind, he was just as much a man of science and engineering. With a passion that sometimes became obsessive, he pursued innovative studies of anatomy, fossils, birds, the heart, flying machines, botany, geology, and weaponry.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Wish the sample was not from the preface!

  • By Kristopher S. on 11-13-17
The Life and Legacy of Raphael audiobook cover art

  • The Life and Legacy of Raphael

  • Legends of the Renaissance
  • By: Charles River Editors
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  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    0 out of 5 stars 0
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Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino, known across the world simply by the name Raphael, stands as one of the main pillars of the High Renaissance, an iconic example of the balance between spirituality and humanistic inquiry that characterized the time period. Although he lived just 37 years, his career produced an amazingly rich output, and he completed more works than many artists do over careers spanning twice the length.

The Lives of the Artists audiobook cover art

  • The Lives of the Artists

  • By: Giorgio Vasari
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An Italian Mannerist architect and painter, Giorgio Vasari was acquainted with many of the most famous artists of his day. He is best-known today for his biographies of artists including Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian and Giotto. This recording is read with clarity and authority by Neville Jason.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • Excellent if the music was removed.

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The Agony and the Ecstasy audiobook cover art

  • The Agony and the Ecstasy

  • A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo
  • By: Irving Stone
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    4.5 out of 5 stars 793
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This is Irving Stone's powerful and passionate biographical novel of Michelangelo. His time: the turbulent Renaissance, the years of poisoning princes, warring popes, the all-powerful Medici family, the fanatic monk Savonarola. His loves: the frail and lovely daughter of Lorenzo de Medici; the ardent mistress of Marco Aldovrandi; and his last love - his greatest love - the beautiful, unhappy Vittoria Colonna.

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Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling audiobook cover art

  • Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling

  • By: Ross King
  • Narrated by: Alan Sklar
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In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel in Rome. During the four extraordinary years that Michelangelo spent laboring over the ceiling, power politics and personal rivalries swirled around him. He battled ill health, financial and family difficulties, inadequate knowledge of the art of fresco, and the Pope's impatience - a history that is more compelling than most novels.

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Publisher's Summary

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was recognized in his lifetime as the greatest living artist, creator of a succession of masterpieces in sculpture, fresco painting, and architecture. In all his work, Michelangelo impressed his contemporaries as a forceful personality, a divine genius endowed with terribilita, or intense emotional power. Often portrayed as a solitary and austere figure, he in fact enjoyed a remarkable range of friendships, and those he loved and hated, served or resisted, are presented here, from his family and fellow artists to the popes, nobles, and rulers of Europe.

In this new life of Michelangelo, George Bull places him firmly in the context of his time. He worked during three-quarters of a century of tremendous change in European society, and as an artist was supremely responsive to the hopes, fears, and values of his culture, which he both exemplified and defied. Using recent research as well as the great established biographies and letters and records, Bull traces the life and spiritual quest of Michelangelo, man and artist, and brings to the narrative an exceptional feel for the Italian Renaissance.

©1995 George Bull (P)1997 Blackstone Audiobooks

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

very detailed

I struggled to finish this as there seemed to be minutiae that made the book become less interesting.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent biography for those with some background

This is an excellent biography for readers who already have some knowledge about the Italy and Europe of Michelangelo's time. The author is thorough and fair. He makes good use of letters and other documents. The book is long but that is because Michelangelo lived a very long life and worked on many projects. The text moves at a good pace. If you are not reasonably familiar with the period--for instance, if you do not already know who Charles V and Francis I are--you should probably start with a more basic book. Otherwise, you might find it confusing when the author refers to Michelangelo's contemporaries with only slight background information.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful