"Michelangelo lived in interesting times (French invasions; theReformation) and Forcellino displays an excellent grasp of thepolitical and religious turmoil of the period and, as an arthistorian-restorer, is as eloquent talking about techniques as heis about composition and iconography."
The Observer
"What sets this biography apart is that its author is not merelya historian but an art restorer as well, giving him deep insightinto materials and techniques that were such a major part ofMichelangelo's life. The author is appealingly novelistic in hisportrayal of the artist's quotidian life, lending a threedimensionality to what could otherwise be a dry recital of datesand artworks."
History Wire
"A
breath-taking and even thrilling story offering much that isbrand new in an obviously crowded field ... these hands-ondescriptions of the colors of the paint, the surfaces, the detailsof sculpture help us to see Michelangelo in a new and more informedmanner."
California Literary Review
"Authoritative on the life of Michelangelo."
Irish Examiner
"In this brilliant new biography by art historian and restorerAntonio Forcellino the facts are disentagled from the myths."
Yorkshire Evening Post
"[Forcellino] succeeds in revealing why Michelangelo stillstands head-and-shoulders above his peers (and certainly histwenty-first century successors)."
Diplomat
"Antonio Forcellino has written Michelangelo's biography as afascinating novel, but at the same time, it is carefully and welldocumented by original source material. A thoroughly enjoyable andrecommendable read."
European Reveiw of History
"Combining a biographer's insight with a conservator's knowledgeof materials and techniques, Antonio Forcellino has written anengaging study of the world's most famous sculptor, painter, andarchitect."
William Wallace, Washington University
"Written as fluently as a novel, Forcellino's gripping narrativecombines new research on Michelangelo's life and vivid quotationsfrom his letters with a sharp sense of the artistic challenges towhich he responded and a restorer's close attention to technicaldetail."
Peter Burke, University of Cambridge
"From the very first pages, this fascinating biography draws usinto the heart of the life of the greatest artist ofpost-Antiquity, a life of privilege which nevertheless had itsshare of burden and tragedy. As an art historian, AntonioForcellino is endowed with a fresher, sharper, more professionaland livelier outlook than most learned scholars. From his personalexperience, he knows the work on the scaffolding, regardless of theheight or season, as well as the techniques of the scalpel and thefresco, the study of the human body and the endless negotiationswith clients of differing temperaments and moods. At the same time,his fluent and lively account ably evokes Michelangelo's political,economic and personal background, whilst penetrating the secrets ofMichelangelo's religiousness: this - occasionally desperate -dialogue with the contradictory thought of contemporary theologyand this passionate search for a direct relationship with God whichare indispensable keys to the understanding of his works."
Christoph Luitpold Frommel, University of Rome
"Based on sources of the highest quality, this portrait of a manobsessed with art, at once savage and yet fragile, does away withthe cobwebs that have gathered over time. Forcellino - who restoredMichelangelo's Moses - knows every inch of the marble with whichthe artist battled."
Corriere della Sera
"With striking literary talent, Antonio Forcellino - one of thegreatest art historians and restorers in Europe - brings the manand his times to life."
La Gazetta del Mezzogiorno
