Dialogues with Michelangelo

The Dialogues by Portuguese painter and writer Francisco de Holanda give unprecedented insight into the opinions, preoccupations and character of Michelangelo, already in his lifetime the most celebrated and influential artist in Europe. These Dialogues record his participation in the discussions about art hosted by Vittoria Colonna, his closest friend. Michelangelo’s opinions and ambitions during the period when he was painting The Last Judgement come vividly to life, as does the world in which he moved. No other text brings us so close to Michelangelo the artist, poet and thinker. The Dialogues are presented here in the classic translation by Charles Holroyd, painter, engraver, art historian and director of the National Gallery. The introduction by David Hemsoll situates the Dialogues in the context of Michelangelo’s career and the artistic world in Rome. Sixteen pages of illustrations include some of Michelangelo’s finest drawings, and views of the Rome he knew.

The author, Francisco de Holanda (c. 1517-1584), was a distinguished Portuguese painter and writer who had been sent to the papal court as the artistic envoy of the Portuguese king John III. His Dialogues are a polished and thoughtful evocation of the intellectual society he found in Rome. David Hemsoll, a Renaissance art and architectural historian, teaches at the University of Birmingham. Among other specialities, he is an expert on Michelangelo and his artistic theory.