Stepping into the Mind of Michelangelo at the Muscarelle Museum

The exhibition opened on March 6th, the 550th anniversary of the birthday of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564). Having achieved iconic status as a poet, painter, sculptor, and architect in his own time, he is known simply as Michelangelo. The artist lived to be 88 years old, an extraordinary age for anyone born in the 15th century. 

This is the first major exhibition in the recently renovated Muscarelle that also unveils new discoveries about Michelangelo’s works and debuts seven drawings on view for the first time in the United States. Although he was one of the most thoroughly documented artists of the 16th century, he also destroyed much of his own work. 

Shortly after the opening, we interviewed exhibition curator and Michelangelo expert, Adriano Marinazzo. His extensive scholarship on Michelangelo grounded the exhibition, which highlights new and compelling theories about Michelangelo’s work, including a comparison between The Creation of Adam and a self-portrait, which suggests that the artist may have envisioned himself as the Creator.

Marinazzo has deep ties to his home country. He spoke of graduating from high school in Italy. “For my oral exams, I chose art history and mathematics. When the art history examiner asked me about Michelangelo’s frescoes at the Sistine Chapel, I felt lucky, since it was one of my favorite subjects. I was just seventeen at the time, but even then, I found myself completely immersed in the study of his genius.”  

Marinazzo taught at the University of Florence prior to coming to William and Mary in 2008. He now teaches innovative undergraduate courses connecting art history with science and technology, along with his curatorial responsibilities at the Muscarelle. The sound of Italy came through in Marinazzo’s heavily accented English, giving any discussion of Michelangelo added gravitas. “This is not just a collection of drawings. I based the exhibition on the study I did over 15 years–it’s a personal project–what you see is an exploration of a process, an intimate journey.”

Marinazzo described his approach to the installation, “The exhibition spans five meticulously curated galleries designed to evoke the spirit of the Sistine Chapel. The first three are dedicated to the Sistine ceiling. Here, the walls, painted deep blue with gold accents and softly lit, create an intimate and reflective atmosphere. This environment invites visitors to feel as though they are stepping into Michelangelo’s private artistic world, blending reverence with accessibility.” The fourth gallery is dedicated to The Last Judgment, and the exhibition culminates with works by Marinazzo that contextualize Michelangelo’s work for the public. 

One of the topics is the relationship between the artist’s sculptural work on the tomb of Julius II and the painting of the Sistine ceiling. For this exhibition, Marinazzo prepared 3D renderings of what he believes the tomb would have looked like if completed. Marinazzo’s own training in architecture facilitated this innovative approach, encouraging new insights and imaginings to bring Michelangelo’s work to life.

Marinazzo fully integrates 21st century technology in his teaching, as well as his research and curatorial practice. “Art is about technology,” he enthusiastically reminded this reviewer, going on to say, “Michelangelo had to learn and invent new technology, like his approach to fresco. Even a pen or pencil was new technology when they were invented.” There were surprises revealed by advanced technology, where Marinazzo digitally highlighted hidden drawings. Michelangelo created these works with a blind stylus, a drawing implement with a metal point, similar to what might be used in a drypoint etching on a metal plate, but here, the artist pressed the line into paper, without ink. 

Half-jokingly, but also true, Marinazzo said, “He was very frugal, he didn’t waste paper.” We also briefly touched on the complicated politics that Michelangelo had to navigate between the Vatican and the Medici family, both of whom were his patrons at various points in his career. “He led a dangerous life dealing with dangerous people, but he was a tough cookie.” 

When asked what exhibition visitors seemed to be responding to, Marinazzo elaborated, “What people really like is the comparison of the drawings with the larger-than-life-sized painting, the scale is astonishing, realizing how he went from these small sketches, people can see this…also including documents, letters in his own hand, you feel a special connection, a feeling of intimacy, like stepping into his mind.” 

Addenda
“Michelangelo: The Genesis of the Sistine” is accompanied by a richly illustrated 244-page full color catalog authored by Adriano Marinazzo, with contributions from Cristina Acidini, president of the Casa Buonarroti; Alessandro Cecchi, director of the Casa Buonarroti; Laura Donati, curator of the Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe at Gallerie degli Uffizi; and Fabrizio Biferali, curator of the department of art of the 15th-16th centuries at the Vatican Museums. The Vatican Museums provided original images of the Sistine Chapel for the publication.