Michelangelo and Titian is the untold story of history’s greatest artistic rivalry, a competition between two monumental figures more admiring of one another than either would ever admit. William Wallace brings the world of the sixteenth century to life, and in particular its culture of gossip and intrigue. Wallace challenges the established narrative of this relationship as mostly one-sided, with the younger artist in competition with the reigning master. He shows how the artists moved in overlapping courtly and papal circles, sharing the patronage, power, and sometimes friendship of the most important people of their era, including members of the Medici, Este, and Farnese families. Wallace traces how, over the span of some forty years, this unspoken rivalry was reciprocal and mutually beneficial, with each learning from the other’s brilliance, quietly seeking to best the other’s work and secure his own legacy.
An extraordinary achievement, Michelangelo and Titian is a compelling account of two supremely gifted rivals who inspired each other to test the limits of their creative genius, and in doing so created some of the most astonishing works of art the world has ever known.
Princeton University Press
Hardcover
- Price:
- $35.00/£30.00
- ISBN:
- Published (US):
- Feb 3, 2026
- Published (UK):
- Mar 31, 2026
- Copyright:
- 2026
- Pages:
- 248
- Size:
- 5.5 x 8 in.
- Illus:
- 48 color + 49 b/w illus. 2 maps.
William E. Wallace is the Barbara Murphy Bryant Distinguished Professor of Art History at Washington University in St. Louis. His books include Michelangelo, God’s Architect: The Story of His Final Years and Greatest Masterpiece (Princeton); Discovering Michelangelo: The Art Lover’s Guide to Understanding Michelangelo’s Masterpieces; and Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man, and His Times.
"Wallace wraps his analysis of the men’s relationship around these two encounters, using them partly to debunk theories that frame Titian as an imitator of the older artist. Instead, Wallace depicts a layered and complex relationship between two highly competitive men whose art energized, influenced, and sometimes contradicted each other’s.... Maps and ample illustrations enliven this vivid window into the relationship between two artistic giants and a creatively fertile time in Italian history. Armchair art historians will be riveted."—Publishers Weekly
“William Wallace offers a brilliant reappraisal of the lifelong dialogue between Michelangelo and Titian—two rivals who were also, in unexpected ways, companions in genius. With sharp insights and vivid prose, he shows how admiration, competition, and influence flowed both ways. A captivating study that brings fresh light to a famous rivalry and the masterpieces it inspired.”—Ross King, author of Brunelleschi’s Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
“Michelangelo and Titian showcases the imagination and knowledge of a scholar at the top of his game. William Wallace has distilled and refined decades of work on Michelangelo to present the sculptor’s achievements in a new light and to tell a vibrant story of the mutual regard and rivalry between two artistic titans.”—Deborah Parker, author of Michelangelo and the Art of Letter Writing
“Writing with the confidence of an expert and the imagination of a novelist, William Wallace raises penetrating questions about how artists became aware of artworks they hadn’t seen in person and weren’t reproduced in prints and what it means when two of the most famous artists in Europe confront one another’s work. This is an innovative study by the premier Michelangelo scholar writing today.”—Maria Ruvoldt, author of The Italian Renaissance Imagery of Inspiration
