Best book on michelangelo

The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone (1961)

Start with The Agony and the Ecstasy, the most famous biographical novel about Michelangelo. Part of the book was made into a film in 1965, starring Charlton Heston.

Whilst a fictional work, it is one closely based on history. Irving Stone lived in Italy for several years, visiting many of the locations where Michelangelo lived and worked and translating all 495 of the artist’s letters.

But this is no dry biography. Instead, it’s a romping read and a compelling portrait of a complex man.

It is my favourite Michelangelo book and one of the best books set in Florence.

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Michelangelo: His Epic Life, Martin Gayford (2017)

An epic tome for an epic life.

In this meticulously researched book, Martin Gayford, the art critic for The Spectator, covers the sweep of the master’s life, from his unruly apprenticeship to the glory of the dome of St. Peter’s. It is beautifully illustrated, scholarly yet readable.

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Michelangelo, Gilles Néret(2022)

But perhaps you are looking for a brief introduction to Michelangelo?

If so, dive into this publication from the excellent Taschen series. In less than 100 pages, Néret’s beautifully illustrated book takes you through his life and achievements in an easily digestible manner.

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Michelangelo:The Complete Sculpture, Painting & Architecture, William E. Wallace (2009)

This second book by William E. Wallace is a companion volume for Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man and his Times. Gorgeously illustrated and packed with information about Michelangelo’s life and work, this is the ideal coffee table book. It is better suited to dipping into than reading from cover to cover.

This book is a work of art in itself. Michelangelo’s frescoes are reproduced on onion skin paper to simulate light reflecting off plaster walls, and the rich details of his marble sculptures are brought to life through a four-colour printing technique.

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Michelangelo: A Life in Six Masterpieces, Miles J. Unger (2016)

Miles Unger explores the life of Il Divino through the lens of six of his greatest works: David and the Medici tombs in Florence, St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pietà, the Last Judgement and the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Rome. As well as a detailed study of some of Michelangelo’s greatest works of art, this is also a superb and detailed biography.

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Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel, Andrew Graham-Dixon (2008)

The Sistine Chapel is the crowning glory of Michelangelo’s illustrious career and should be on everyone’s Rome bucket list. He reluctantly accepted the commission from the powerful Julius II, convinced he was being set up for failure as part of a conspiracy between his rivals and the pope.

The rest, as they say, is history. Andrew Graham-Dixon’s richly illustrated book paints the story behind the decoration of the chapel, equal parts art criticism and human story.

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Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, Ross King (2006)

Like Andrew Graham-Dixon’s book, Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling is the story of how Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. But it also introduces us to other famous people from that time – Raphael, Girolamo Savonarola, Desiderius Erasmus and Martin Luther amongst them –  and to the upheaval of early-sixteenth-century Italy.

Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling was nominated for the Governor-General’s Literary Award (Canada) and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

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Find Tom in Time: Michelangelo’s Italy, Fatti Burke (2022)

Whilst this is broader than just Michelangelo, I couldn’t resist adding this to the list.

This British Museum publication is a colourful, fun-filled puzzle book for children aged six and above. They can find over 100 historical goodies, including an apprentice working on a sculpture, whilst digesting fascinating Renaissance Florence facts.

I am tempted to buy it for myself!

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