TravelCent

Michelangelo in Seattle

In high school, before I had a chance to see any real art museums, a teacher would show a slide or a photo in a book and attempt to discuss the paintings, trying to explain that the copies couldn’t replicate the real energy of a painting.  Books and slides could give you an idea of the photo, but never truly capture its essence, the thing that made people travel thousands of miles just to see a Van Gogh or a Rembrandt or drawings or sculpture by Michelangelo.  I didn’t know how true that was until I started seeing masterpieces in London, and then St. Petersburg, particularly anything by Michelangelo.   Over the next month, if you live near Seattle, or have an opportunity to stay over at a hotel Seattle most likely will have waiting for you, then you’ll have a chance to see some of Michelangelo’s brilliance in person.

The Seattle Art Museum, through the end of January, has a display of twelve original Michelangelo drawings.  The exhibit is called “Michelangelo Public and Private: Drawings for the Sistine Chapel and Other Treasures from the Casa Buonarroti,” and has been running since October 15 and will continue until January 31, 2010.  The show is meant to examine the artist’s personality as well as parts of his career and life (in addition to the twelve drawings, the exhibit includes decorative arts and personal documents from the Casa Buonarroti, the Italian museum and home that belonged to Michelangelo’s direct descendants, and who lived for centuries in the building).  However, the exhibit is mostly concentrated on the artist’s work for Rome’s Sistine Chapel, including the working drawings for the chapel and the Last Judgement, offering some insight into the mind of Michelangelo as we see his process from sketch work to finished studies.

Apparently, Michelangelo would have abhorred such an exhibition; he burned a great deal of his drawings, specifically to give the impression that the work was divinely inspired and not the result of painstaking human planning.  However, if your work lasts over four hundred and forty-six years, then perhaps it’s time to take some personal credit for it.  The chance to see any work by Michelangelo, even preparatory drawings for his paintings is a terrific opportunity to see true genius at work, genius which can’t be appreciated from copies in a book.

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2. The Frogs in New York City
3. Museums in Santa Cruz de Tenerife