The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone

776 pages paperback (Historical Fiction) - 1961

My wife has urged me to read this book for a while. I had read Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling by Ross King and she thought I would like this as well. King's book focuses solely on Michelangelo's work in the Sistine Chapel, The Agony and the Ecstasy covers most of his life. The most obvious difference is that Stone takes liberty in making the book into a novel that uses history. King's book is non-fiction. 

The book follows Michelangelo from a young boy until his death at age 88. We see how he spent time in stone quarries dealing with marble almost from birth. He is apprenticed to merchants, but jumps at the chance to join the painting studio under the tutelage of Ghirlandaio. He studies the art of fresco, but when given the opportunity to learn sculpture carving under Bertoldo he leaves the fresco studio. He starts with small works and then catches the attention of the Medici family. He soon becomes an in house artist and continues to work for them. He is hired to make the Medici family tomb, but soon after his benefactor dies. 

As Michelangelo fame grows, after sculpting David, he gets the attention of the Pope. He soon is forced into painting the Sistine chapel even though he declares it isn't his art. We continue to following him as he makes some of the greatest works of art ever created on earth.

I immediately got sucked into this book. Michelangelo has always been one of my favorite artists and since it was presented in novel form it was easy to get wrapped up in the story. Before reading it, I had reservations that it was a novel. I was worried about what would be real and what would be false. As I read I looked up each of the works that he created and tried to keep an accurate account of what happened. There were references in the book to a couple works of art that I couldn't find real life reference to, but for the most part the book seems to be accurate.

I enjoyed his style overall. I was influenced by my interest in the subject, but I found it to be engaging and I read through most of the book very quickly. The last two hundred pages or so focused less on the art he was creating and had more to do with the politics that Michelangelo was forced to participate in. He dealt with numerous Popes as they ascended to the papacy and then eventually died. Each one had different views on what he was doing and different work each one wanted him to do. Throughout it all he continued to create and inspire.

4 - Intellectual/Emotional - I became invested in the story and also appreciated getting a realistic view of Michelangelo's life. The only draw back was not being 100% sure what is accurate and what was not.

3 - Style/Readability - Overall, it was great and I was very pleased. As mentioned the last 200 pages or so was less appealing.

4 - Long term Impact - The book has been around for 50 years already. It has been read by millions and was made into a movie. I would say if you are interested in Michelangelo's life this is a great place to start.

11 out of 13. If the subject is at all appealing, or you have interest in Renaissance Italy this book is well worth the read.

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