Landmark exhibition at British Museum to explore Michelangelo’s ‘most demanding’ decades

The only complete surviving drawing by Michelangelo, Epifania, is also one of the largest Renaissance works on paper.

For the first time in four centuries Epifania will be reunited with the painting made from it by Michelangelo’s biographer, Ascanio Condivi, as part of a landmark exhibition at the British Museum.

Michelangelo: the last decades, opening in May, will focus on the work the Italian artist made in his “most demanding” last decades.

Sarah Vowles, the museum’s curator of Italian and French prints and drawings said: “When Michelangelo moved to Rome in 1534, he was almost sixty years old. 

“This exhibition follows him through the next three decades, until his death at the age of almost 89, exploring the variety of works he produced –from the Last Judgment to the dome of St Peter’s –and the ways in which he evolved his working practice in later life. 

“It also introduces visitors to Michelangelo as a man, bound in a rich network of friendships, and brings his own voice to the fore –articulate, impassioned, often prickly, but never anything less than compelling.”

Many previous exhibitions of Michelangelo have focused on works he created in his youth. For example, David, which was made in 1501 when the artist was in his 20s, or the Sistine Chapel ceiling which he began in his early 30s.

But, as he aged his art and faith evolved. Michelangelo: the last decades, will focus on these lesser known works as well as the impact the artist had on iconography and religious art.

Pieces not seen for more than a decade will be on show including preparatory drawings from the Last Judgment, charting Michelangelo’s vision of how the human form would be refashioned at the end of the world. At the time they were created these pieces were so controversial they were fiercely criticised and then censored.

Letters, drawings and poems created for his friends will also be on display, to shine a light on Michelangelo’s private life.

Michelangelo: the last decades will run from May 2 until July 28, in the Joseph Hotung Great Court Gallery at the British Museum.

Pictured top: Michelangelo – study of the Last Judgment (Picture: The Trustees of the British Museum)