Michelangelo, Grandmaster of the Renaissance by George M Papa

Why read the book entitled, ‘Michelangelo, Grandmaster of the Renaissance’? Michelangelo personified the epitome of the Renaissance, because he alone mastered the three primary arts. The first was painting, then sculpture, and finally architecture. In addition, the personal life of Michelangelo was surrounded by the greatest titans of that era. Included was his patron, Lorenzo Medici, the richest man in Europe during that period. Amazingly Michelangelo spanned thirteen popes, he worked for seven of them, and he fought with all of them. Intertwined were the machinations of King Ferdinand of Naples, Savonarola, Martin Luther, King Henry VIII of England, the rivalry of Leonardo da Vinci, and the attack of Charles V of Spain, who sacked both Rome and Florence. Within this intrigue swirled numerous assassinations, double crosses, and other secret alliances, all of which influenced the art treasures created by Michelangelo as recorded in this book.