MICHELANGELO: HIS EPIC LIFE by Martin Gayford – Signed 1st Edition, 1st Impression Hardcover (2013, Penguin). SIGNED by Martin Gayford on the title page, this rare first edition, first impression hardback is a highly collectible biography of Michelangelo, written by one of Britain’s most acclaimed art historians. Book: Very Good. Dustjacket: Very Good. Clean, tightly bound copy with sharp corners and strong boards. Dustjacket protected the front and back endpapers beautifully. Gift dedicated with the the author’s signature, no tears, no foxing. Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd. Dimensions: 240 x 164 x 56 mm. A definitive biography of Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti, this epic volume by Martin Gayford-author of Constable in Love and The Yellow House-chronicles the dramatic life of one of history’s greatest sculptors and painters. From carving David and painting the Sistine Chapel Ceiling to enduring the politics of the Medici and the papacy, Michelangelo’s life was as monumental as his art. This signed first edition offers unique insight into the man behind the masterpieces, with Gayford’s vivid storytelling bringing Michelangelo’s world to life. It is a measure of [Michelangelo’s] magnitude, and Gayford’s skill in capturing it, that you finish this book wishing that Michelangelo had lived longer and created more’ Rachel Spence, FT. One of our most distinguished writers on what makes modern artists tick. It is very difficult to cut through the thicket of generations of scholarship and say anything new about David, the Sistine Chapel, The Last Judgement, the Basilica of St Peter’s or many of Michelangelo’s other masterpieces, but Gayford manages to do so by encouraging us to think – and look – at both the obvious and the overlooked’ Sunday Telegraph. Only the most ambitious biographer can take on the talent of Michelangelo Buonarroti’ The Times. Martin Gayford has been art critic of the Spectator and the Sunday Telegraph. He is currently Chief European art critic for Bloomberg. Among his publications are: The Yellow House: Van Gogh, Gauguin and Nine Turbulent Weeks in Arles, The Penguin Book of Art Writing, of which he was co-editor, Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud, and contributions to many catalogues. He lives in Cambridge with his wife and two children. It is very difficult to cut through the thicket of generations of scholarship and say anything new about David, the Sistine Chapel, The Last Judgement, the Basilica of St Peter’s or many of Michelangelo’s other masterpieces, but Gayford manages to do so by encouraging us to think – and look – at both the obvious and the overlooked (Sunday Telegraph). It is a measure of [Michelangelo’s] magnitude, and Gayford’s skill in capturing it, that you finish this book wishing that Michelangelo had lived longer and created more (Rachel Spence FT). Only the most ambitious biographer can take on the talent of Michelangelo Buonarroti (The Times). Dispatched tracked and insured worldwide. Packed securely in protective packaging. Ideal for collectors of signed biographies, art historians, or admirers of the Italian Renaissance, this is a beautifully preserved edition and a rare signed copy. Physical Description: xxv, 661 pages : illustrations (some colour), 1 map ; 24 cm. Death and life of Michelangelo — 2. Unruly apprenticeship — 4. Piero de’ Medici and flight to Bologna — 7. Rome, Cupid, Bacchus and the Pieta — 8. David and other bodies — 9. Michelangelo versus Leonardo — 10. Giants and slaves — 11. Roman rivalry — 14. Marble mountains — 15. New fantasies — 17. Love and exile — 19.
