Michelangelo in Print: The Early Reproductions in the Creation of a Canonical Figure

FAIN: FT-51696-03

Bernadine A. Barnes
Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC 27109-6000)

Michelangelo is one of the great canonical figures in Western art history, but we often forget that during his lifetime and for the next two centuries, his work was often difficult to access or to know in any sense of the word. The availability of printed images of Michelangelo's work allowed a critical discussion to take place, and allowed a method of art historical study to begin to take shape around his work. In this project, I will examine how Michelangelo's art became public--how his works were selected for publication, then edited, marketed, and received in the printed medium.