Michelangelo: The Last Decades
A new exhibition from the British Museum explores the last 30 years of the life and work of Michelangelo.
Michelangelo: The Last Decades picks up the artist’s story in 1534 – when, at the age of 59, Michelangelo leaves Florence and moves to Rome. The exhibition traces his work and influence throughout this period until his death in 1564, at the age of 88.
When he moved to Rome, Michelangelo was already the most famous and most celebrated artist in Europe. But he continued to work – creating challenging pieces and demonstrating his strength as an architect.
As an exhibition, this is fine. I guess I was hoping for a bit more of a queer perspective on the work of Michelangelo.
While we do get some mention of Tommaso dei Cavalieri – the younger man that Michelangelo met in 1532 – we don’t get any sense of how Michelangelo’s sexuality infused and shaped his work.
The Punishment of Tityus – which Michelangelo created for Tommaso – is literally Renaissance porn.
Tommaso wasn’t the first or the last man that caught Michelangelo’s attention. Also, Michelangelo’s sexuality wasn’t some kind of aberration in the world of Renaissance art – anyone who was a bit creative seemed to very into man-on-man encounters.
But that sexual energy is missing from this exhibition.
Any opportunity to see Michelangelo’s work and understand his creative process is worth experiencing, and Michelangelo: The Last Decades shows us some lovely churches, some interesting insights on religion, and quite a lot of architecture.
Personally, I would have liked a bit more Renaissance porn.