MICHELANGELO AND BEYOND. An exhibition portrait

The representation of the human nude in art has undergone centuries of development. Michelangelo, the famous Renaissance master is at the center of this compelling history. The current exhibition at the Albertina Museum, "Michelangelo and Beyond," explores Michelangelo's crucial role in shaping this genre featuring a series of artworks that have established the concept of the ideal body over the centuries.

Apart from a few loans, for example from the Parise Louvre, the Liechtenstein Princely Collection, or the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the exhibition, curated by a team, is mainly made up from exhibits from the Albertina's collection, for example the Michelangelo drawings from the private collection of the Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens that are now in the possession of the Albertina. Rubens was one of the Florentine master's great admirers, whose mastery is demonstrated in the show by some key works, including that of the unfinished fresco of the Battle of Cascina.

The "Ignudi," male figures that adorned the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican from 1508, are not associated with biblical scenes; they are embodiments of male beauty and represent Michelangelo's virtuosity in depicting the dynamic human form.

The exhibition also features extraordinary study drawings that provide insight into Michelangelo's meticulous planning and relentless pursuit of the perfect form. One of these studies, the "Young Nude" from the Louvre, illustrates the artist's attention to detail, with the accentuated fold of the abdomen around the navel highlighting the plasticity of the body.

Another of Michelangelo's drawings depicts a man turning his body in opposite directions, demonstrating the master's innovative compositional techniques as well as the sculptor's anatomical accuracy.
In addition to Michelangelo, the exhibition presents Raphael, Dürer, Rembrandt, Rubens, Mengs, Batoni, Klimt, and Schiele, each of whom elaborated their own conception of the body, whether through imitation, further development, or vehement rejection of Michelangelo's ideal.

Fascinating juxtapositions reveal how artists of Michelangelo's time, including Raphael, Baccio Bandinelli, and Domenico Beccafumi, incorporated elements of Michelangelo's artistic language into their own works. Some, like Peter Paul Rubens, admired how Michelangelo combined classical beauty with naturalism. Rubens' "Study of a Man Bent Forward" is a testament to his admiration.

In stark contrast is Rembrandt van Rijn, whom the exhibition calls the "anti-Michelangelo." Rembrandt's depiction of human figures differs markedly from Michelangelo's glorified, muscular bodies. His subjects are often less aesthetically pleasing and depict ordinary people, including plump women and unidealized men.

While Michelangelo focused primarily on male bodies, the exhibition briefly touches on the depiction of women. Women in art were often associated with vice, seduction, and sin during the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Michelangelo's rare depictions of women consisted of adding female attributes to male bodies. This section highlights the predominant male gaze and its influence on the representation of women in art.

The works of Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele illustrate the end of an era, the decline of Michelangelo's aesthetic ideals at the beginning of the 20th century. Their depictions are characterized by distorted, emaciated and sexualized figures and reflect the profound social and cultural changes in a time of world wars and mass extermination. (written by Cem Angeli)

https://www.albertina.at

Interviewee: Klaus Albrecht Schröderr
Artworks by: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Raffael, Baccio Bandinelli, Domenico Beccafumi, Albrecht Dürer, Harmenszoon van Rijn, Peter Paul Rubens, Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt

Copyright info: The audio and video recording has been made with personal permission of the artist.
Licensing: 0
Language(s): German
Subtitles: English
Producer: KA21 GmbH / CastYourArt
Production crew: Wolfgang Haas, Helmut Feier
Production country: Austria, Vienna