Coffee with Michelangelo

Coffee with...

by James Hall, John Julius Norwich (Foreword)

How would it feel to stand in the Sistine Chapel as Michelangelo painted? To watch him create his breathtaking sculptures? James Hall, an art critic, historian, and lecturer, puts us in that amazing position, and in the process reveals intriguing details on the master artist’s life and thoughts. Despite a reputation for being a truculent loner, Michelangelo was an eloquent speaker in two dialogues compiled in the 1540s, and the “conversation” here comes from those and a number of other sources, including contemporary biographies, Michelangelo’s many letters and poems, and anecdotes and quotations relayed by contemporaries.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Biography

144 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2007

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
See this thread for more information.

James Hall is a freelance art critic and historian. A former art critic for the Guardian.

Reviews

[Suad Shamma · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not very knowledgeable about art or about Michelangelo specifically, so I went into this with avid curiousity, eager to get to know him a little better. The way this book is structured is that it is in a one-to-one interview form so you feel like you are speaking directly to the great Michelangelo himself. There's a lengthy intro at the beginning that gives you a thorough background on his life and journey, but you don't really get any proper answers until you sit with your own cup of coffee and have an honest, open conversation with the man himself.

In no time at all, my cup of coffee was long forgotten as it grew cold and I grew more and more engrossed in this man's life. I honestly didn't think I would. The intro made him out to be a rude brute. One who was extremely arrogant and inconsiderate, who thought he was the best and everyone was not good enough and almost a disgrace to art. However, once you ask him some pointed questions and hear what he has to say, your outlook on things truly change. I understood him a little better, I understood where he came from and why he perceives things in such a way and why he thinks certain things of certain people. I was surprised to know that he was also a very religious man, he believed very strongly and had strong faith in God, and I respected that. He goes into many things such as his very famous masterpiece, David, his unfinished work, the Sistine Chapel ceiling and so much more. The interesting bits were about those pieces that aren't as famous or known, but that also have a story behind them.

You may wonder why I gave it 3 stars if I enjoyed it this much, but that was only because the pace of the conversation was excruciatingly slow at times, and it took me a while to get through such a small book. That in no way takes from the man himself though.

Of course, I realize that this conversation wasn't real, and did not actually happen. I get it. I understand that the way the interview was written by James Hall made me perceive Michelangelo in the way that he wanted us to perceive him, but I don't really care. It worked, and I appreciate it. If you're going to write a work of fictional non-fiction such as this about a very famous and great artist, then you might as well make readers come out of it with so much respect for him and his work. Make them appreciate the hard work and skill that comes with making art and especially sculpting.

I sure did, and because of James Hall, I am officially a fan of Michelangelo for more than David and the Sistine Chapel.

[Özgün Onat]

*Siz de Michelangelo'nun eserlerinden esinlenenler den misiniz? Şimdi zamanda mucizevi bir yolculuk sayesinde onunla tanışabilirsiniz. Heykeltıraş, ressam ve mimar olarak erişilmez konumda olan Michelengelo; İtalyan Rönesansı döneminde, siyasi karmaşanın sıra dışı yaratıcılıkla iç içe geçtiği bir çağda yaşadı. Dobra ve sabit fikirli biriydi, sersemlerle rakiplerine hoşgörülü yaklaştığı söylenemezdi; bir de iğneleyici espri anlayışıyla ün yapmıştı. Haydi onu Sistine Şapeli'ndeki atölyesinde ziyaret edelim; sanatı, yaşamı ve dönemi hakkında anlatacaklarına kulak verelim. Bu büyük dehanın heykeltıraş kimliğiyle ortaya koyduğu epik eserlerin yanı sıra, Sistine Şapeli'nin tavan resmini yaparken düşündükleri ve çektikleri konusunda çok şey öğreneceksiniz. (Tanıtım yazısından)
*Kitap dört bölümden oluşuyor: John Julius Norwich'in ön sözü, Giriş, Michelangelo'nun kısaca yaşamı ve Sohbet. Bu kitaptaki konuşmalar, biyografik gerçekler dayansalar da tümüyle hayal ürünüdür. Kurmaca bir Michelangelo ve görüşmeci arasında geçmektedirler. Ama çeviri, anlatım ve kurgu öyle güzel ki sizi içine alıp, bir nefeste okutuyor; kurgu olduğunu unutuyorsunuz.
*Okurken, özellikle Floransa ve Roma bölümlerinde oralara yaptığımız gezi gözümde canlandı. Her yer heykel, fresk, rölyef dolu açık hava müzesinde geziyor gibisiniz. Medici ailesi önemli, birçok bina, sanat eseri gibi objelerde Medici adını geçtiği tabelalar var, İtalyanca bilmediğim için içeriklerini bilmiyorum.
*Bir bölümde: "Floransa dünyanın en büyük okuryazarlık oranına sahiptir. Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio ve Poliziano gibi antik çağ sonrasının en büyük şair ve yazarları buralıdır. Çizime de en az yazı kadar değer veririz, bu nedenle antik çağ sonrasının en iyi ressam ve heykeltıraşları da Floransalıdır. Çizimlerin halka ilk açılması ve sergilenmesi de Floransa'da oldu." denilmiş. Sanata ne büyük katkı ne kadar övünseler az.
*Bir bölümde:" Pek çok heykeltıraş çizemez, pek çok ressam da model hazırlayamaz. Sıfatını hak eden her sanatçı hem çizimde hem de model yapımında ustalaşmalıdır" cümlesini okuyunca aklıma babamın heykeltıraş olan kuzeni geldi. Atölyesi çizim doluydu, bronz, alçı heykeller yapıyordu, özellikle minyatür büstler. Bir dönem akademide, bir dönemde lisede resim öğretmenliği de yapmıştı, bana da resim dersi vermişti, sayesinde resimden sınıfta kalan ilk öğrenci olmaktan kurtulmuştum.
*Zekice kurgulanmış, keyifle okuyacağınız bir eser.

[M. Winslow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am really enjoying these books. They provide a biography on the artist and the conversation is always quite insightful.

[Amanda Witt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting way of putting the questions, by asking them as though it was a live interview. Basic historical context is told at the start of this little volume

[Zeynepozmenunlu · Rating 5 out of 5]

çok güzel bir kitap . hem detaylı bilgi veriyor, hem de karşılıklı sohbet ediyor gibisiniz.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting format. A short book written as a journalistic piece asking questions of Michelangelo.

He came across as extremely arrogant but the book was short and diverting.

[Makenzie Muñoz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this format of learning about a historical character!

[izil · Rating 1 out of 5]

fikir güzel, işleyiş sıkıcı

[Leonarda_leoparda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely

[Adriane Devries · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michelangelo was a bit of a jerk, but he had a really cool name: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. Though known to be spiritual in his choice of poetry and sculptural subjects, this Renaissance master nevertheless exhibited an all-too-earthly affinity for young nude boys and a penchant for switching allegiance between rival political patrons. He also agreed a little too well with his admirer’s nickname of The Divine One, exhibiting arrogance and boastfulness in his “epic rather than domestic scale.” If questioned on the vast quantities of his unfinished works, it was someone else’s fault. If a rival artist received good reviews, he would disparage their work to ruin their reputation. Nevertheless, his genius remains legendary. From his childhood spent near a marble quarry, he possessed a familiarity with the nuances of stone that enabled him to fully envision his masterpieces captured within, waiting to be excavated. Any other sculptor since cannot help but be derivative of his angelic abilities, and he knew it, especially as portrayed in author James Hall’s imaginary interview, Coffee with Michelangelo. Based on historical dialogues and biographies captured during his lifetime, this conversation with the complex and passionate introvert pairs well with any warm beverage and soft reading chair of choice. Love him, hate him, or something in between, he indisputably continues to offer so much to the ongoing conversation of humanity.