Il Gigante: Michelangelo, Florence, and the David 1492-1504

Il Gigante: Michelangelo, Florence, and the David 1492-1504 - Paperback

$25.00
$25.00
Skip to product information
Il Gigante: Michelangelo, Florence, and the David 1492-1504
  • Il Gigante: Michelangelo, Florence, and the David 1492-1504
Il Gigante: Michelangelo, Florence, and the David 1492-1504 - Paperback

Il Gigante: Michelangelo, Florence, and the David 1492-1504 - Paperback

by Anton Gill
$25.00
$25.00

Book Overview

At the turn of the 16th century, Italy was a turbulent territory made up of independent states, each at war with or intriguing against its neighbor. There were the proud, cultivated, and degenerate Sforzas in Milan, and in Rome, the corrupt Spanish family of the Borgia whose head, Rodrigo, ascended to St Peter's throne as Pope Alexander VI. In Florence, a golden age of culture and sophistication ended with the death of the greatest of the Medici family, Lorenzo the Magnificent, giving way to an era of uncertainty, cruelty, and religious fundamentalism.

In the midst of this turmoil, there existed the greatest concentration of artists that Europe has ever known. Influenced by the rediscovery of the ancient cultures of Greece and Rome, artists and thinkers such as Botticelli and da Vinci threw off the shackles of the Middle Ages to produce one of the most creative periods in history - the Renaissance.

This is the story of twelve years when war, plague, famine, and chaos made their mark on a volatile Italy, and when a young, erratic genius, Michelangelo Buonarroti, made his first great statue - the David. It was to become a symbol not only of the independence and defiance of the city of Florence but also of the tortured soul who created it. This is a wonderful history of the artist, his times, and one of his most magnificent works.

Back Jacket

British Praise for Il Gigante:

There is certainly nothing rushed about this excellent account of the world's greatest sculptor... Through Gill's sensitive and accessible reading of the David in particular we can perhaps feel a little closer to [Michelangelo]... It would be well-deserved if this book is as successful as those by [Dava] Sobel and [Ross] King - Gill is a perceptive and accessible critic
- Sunday Herald

A few pages into Anton Gill's new book and any readers who have never seen a Renaissance painting or sculpture will be packing their bags and heading for Italy. Not a page goes by without the excitement and drama of this period catching at your imagination... A compelling story that is well told.
- Country Living

Gill's project may be ambitious, but his style and approach are aimed firmly at the general reader. In this he succeeds admirably and as an introduction to the Italian Renaissance Il Gigante could hardly be bettered.
- Daily Mail
ISBN9780312314439
Author Anton Gill
PublisherSt. Martins Press-3PL
GenreBiography, History, and Arts
FormatPaperback
PublishedDecember 2004
LanguageENG- English
Pages352
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Art Biography & Autobiography History Nonfiction

1% fer Each of the Seven Seas

Every purchase sends 7% of our profits to The Ocean Cleanup. No fine print, no opt-in — just how we sail.

Whoever Ye Be, Welcome Aboard

Queer lit, music, art, philosophy, fiction — stories for every kind of soul. Come as ye are, matey.

More by Anton Gill

Il Gigante: Michelangelo, Florence, and the David 1492-1504

Il Gigante: Michelangelo, Florence, and the David 1492-1504 - Paperback

Il Gigante: Michelangelo, Florence, and the David 1492-1504 - Paperback

By Anton Gill

About Anton Gill

Anton Gill has written several plays and features for radio and television, novels and many distinguished works of non-fiction, including THE JOURNEY BACK FROM HELL: Conversations with Concentration Camp Survivors, which won the H.H. Wingate Prize in 1988 and is still in print as a HarperCollins paperback; BERLIN TO BUCHAREST (HC); AN HONOURABLE DEFEAT: A HISTORY OF THE GERMAN RESISTANCE TO HITLER; and THE DEVIL'S MARINER: A BIOGRAPHY OF WILLIAM DAMPIER.

You may also like