Michelangelo: Mind of the Master

The Cleveland Museum of Art  

Sun, 09/22/2019 to Sun, 01/05/2020 

 

Seated male nude, separate study of his right arm (recto), 1511. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Red chalk, heightened with white; 27.9 x 21.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem.

The name of the Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) is synonymous with creative genius and virtuosity. The exhibition Michelangelo: Mind of the Master presents an unprecedented opportunity for museum visitors to experience the brilliance of Michelangelo’s achievements on an intimate scale through more than two dozen original drawings. Michelangelo’s genius is especially evident through his breathtaking draftsmanship on sheets filled with multiple figures and close studies of human anatomy.

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  Seated male nude, separate study of his right arm (recto) (detail), 1511. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Red chalk, heightened with white; 27.9 x 21.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Seated male nude, separate study of his right arm (recto), 1511. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Red chalk, heightened with white; 27.9 x 21.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Study of a male nude; separate study of his head (recto), c. 1537–38. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Black chalk; 24.2 x 18.2 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Study of a leg (recto), 1524. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Black chalk, stylus; 20.7 x 24.7 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Three draped figures, with hands joined, one kneeling, the others standing (recto), 1496–1503. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Pen and two shades of brown ink over traces of black chalk; 26.9 x 19.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Study of a striding male nude, to the left; studies of anatomical details (recto), 1504 or 1506. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Black chalk, touches of white heightening; 40.4 x 25.8 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Study for the nude youth over the Prophet Daniel (recto), 1510–11. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Red chalk with black chalk or charcoal; 34.3 x 24.3 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift in memory of Henry G. Dalton by his nephews George S. Kendrick and Harry D. Kendrick, 1940.465
  

These working sketches invite us to look over the shoulder of one of Western art history’s most influential masters and to experience firsthand his boundless creativity and extraordinary mastery of the human form. These drawings demonstrate Michelangelo’s inventive preparations for his most important and groundbreaking commissions, including the Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco, sculptures for the tomb of Giuliano de’ Medici, and the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

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  Seated male nude, separate study of his right arm (recto) (detail), 1511. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Red chalk, heightened with white; 27.9 x 21.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
• 
  Seated male nude, separate study of his right arm (recto), 1511. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Red chalk, heightened with white; 27.9 x 21.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Study of a male nude; separate study of his head (recto), c. 1537–38. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Black chalk; 24.2 x 18.2 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Study of a leg (recto), 1524. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Black chalk, stylus; 20.7 x 24.7 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
• 
  Three draped figures, with hands joined, one kneeling, the others standing (recto), 1496–1503. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Pen and two shades of brown ink over traces of black chalk; 26.9 x 19.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  

Michelangelo: Mind of the Master brings to the United States for the first time a group of drawings by Michelangelo from the remarkable collection of the Teylers Museum (Haarlem, The Netherlands), which was formed in the 18th century in part from the collection of Queen Christina of Sweden (1626–1689).
 

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  Seated male nude, separate study of his right arm (recto) (detail), 1511. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Red chalk, heightened with white; 27.9 x 21.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
• 
  Seated male nude, separate study of his right arm (recto), 1511. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Red chalk, heightened with white; 27.9 x 21.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Study of a male nude; separate study of his head (recto), c. 1537–38. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Black chalk; 24.2 x 18.2 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
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  Study of a leg (recto), 1524. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Black chalk, stylus; 20.7 x 24.7 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
• 
  Three draped figures, with hands joined, one kneeling, the others standing (recto), 1496–1503. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Pen and two shades of brown ink over traces of black chalk; 26.9 x 19.4 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  
• 
  Study of a striding male nude, to the left; studies of anatomical details (recto), 1504 or 1506. Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Black chalk, touches of white heightening; 40.4 x 25.8 cm. Teylers Museum, Haarlem, purchased in 1790. © Teylers Museum, Haarlem
  

Additional drawings from the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum round out the display.

A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition and includes essays by Emily J. Peters (Cleveland Museum of Art), Julian Brooks (J. Paul Getty Museum), and Carel van Tuyll van Serooskerken (Teylers Museum) that explore Michelangelo’s working methods and major projects, as well as the fascinating history of the ownership of his drawings after his death.