Michelangelo’s Genius: Renaissance Individuality and Creativity

June 28, 2008

Michelangelo Buonarroti was celebrated by Giorgio Vasari as a Renaissance genius, as a creator of art which was to serve as a light for the ages, “illuminating the world which had been so many centuries in darkness.” Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist; he was, in fact, the first artist to be the subject of two biographies in his lifetime -- those of Ascanio Condivi and Vasari. Both men saw Michelangelo as the consummate artistic genius.

We’ve invited three art historians to talk about Michelangelo’s work as a painter, sculptor, and poet in order to illuminate the nature of his genius. Professor Mary Pardo will start off with an overview of Michelangelo’s life and work, placing him within his Florentine context and using Varchi's Due Lezzioni as an entryway into his art. Professor Carlton Hughes will consider Michelangelo’s monumental fresco project, the Battle of Cascina, which he abandoned to work for the popes. Professor Pardo will return to consider the New Sacristy and Michelangelo’s poetry. Michelangelo's relationship with Pope Julius II has been made famous through novels and films, but eight other popes reigned during his working life, and he produced important commissions for several of them. Professor Bernadine Barnes will introduce a few of these personalities and the works he did for them, including the Last Judgment, the Pauline Chapel frescoes, and St. Peter's Basilica.

Topics and Speakers

Introduction: Michelangelo the Universal Master
Mary Pardo, Associate Professor of Art History

The Battle of Cascina: The Ambitions of Michelangelo
Carlton Hughes, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of South Carolina

Michelangelo and the Medici: Poetry in San Lorenzo
Professor Pardo

Michelangelo and the Popes
Bernadine Barnes, Associate Professor, Department of Art History, Wake Forest University

The Man, His Work, and His Genius: A Panel Discussion  
Professors Pardo, Hughes, and Barnes

Time and Cost

9:15 a.m.-5:15 p.m., Saturday, June 28, 2008. The tuition is $120.00 ($105.00 by May 28). The optional lunch is $10. Scholarship tuition for teachers is $60 ($52.50 by May 28). 10 contact hours for 1 unit of renewal credit.

For information about lodging click here.

Co-Sponsored by the General Alumni Association.
For information about GAA discounts and other scholarships available to Humanities Program participants, click here.

Register for this seminar.