Michelangelo's Impact on the Viewer in the Renaissance

Today, most of us enjoy the work of the famed Renaissance artist Michelangelo by perusing art books or strolling along the galleries of a museum. The luckier among us have had the chance to see his extraordinary frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. However, as Bernadine Barnes demonstrates in her book, even a visit to a well-preserved historical site does not provide the full experience that the artist intended us to have.

Bringing together the latest historical research, Barnes offers an accurate account of how Michelangelo's art would have been viewed in his own time. Michelangelo's works were created to be viewed in churches, homes, and political settings by individuals who brought their own specific needs and expectations to them. Unlike today, where we view his paintings and sculptures in quiet isolation in the sterile halls of a museum, they were an integral part of rituals and ceremonies. Viewers experienced them under specific lighting conditions, from particular vantage points, and moved through spaces in specific ways, relating various works to one another.

By reconstructing some of the original settings in which Michelangelo's works appeared, Barnes allows modern viewers to experience his art as it was meant to be seen. She traces his career, examining how his audience evolved and how this influenced the purposes for which he created his works. Sometimes they were intended for traditional religious settings, while other times they were commissioned by more open-minded patrons. Barnes also explores how the development of print and art criticism changed the nature of the viewing public, impacting the relationship between artist and audience.

Overall, this historically insightful book encourages contemporary viewers to take a fresh look at this iconic artist, appreciating his work as it was truly intended to be seen.

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