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"John Addington Symonds (5 October 1840 – 19 April 1893) was an English poet and literary critic. Although he married and had a family, he was an early advocate of male love (homosexuality), which he believed could include pederastic as well as egalitarian relationships. He referred to it as l'amour de l'impossible (love of the impossible). A cultural historian, he was known for his work on the Renaissance, as well as numerous biographies about writers and artists. He also wrote much poetry inspired by his homosexual affairs." from wiki

Who better then, to write a biography of Michelangelo Buonarroti and Symonds does a superb job. His lifetime interest, love and knowledge of the Renaissance combines with his sensitive translations of the Italian used by Michelangelo and his compatriots to provide an intimate portrait of one of the greatest artists of the Italian renaissance. The Woeful Victorian is how Phyllis Grosskurth (biographer) describes John Addington Symonds and assuming that this refers to Symond's melancholia then Symonds finds a like minded subject in Michelangelo.

His biography is exhaustive; following the long life of Michelangelo and dealing equally with his triumphs and failures. Symonds in typical Victorian style can be gushing about Michelangelo's unique talent, but he never loses his critical eye when studying a particular work of art. For example his description of the giant David reveals issues that surprised me so much that it led me to look again at the statue (the internet is a wonderful thing). It is the sort of commentary that I would like to refer to when next I am in Florence.

Symonds punctuates his biography with translations of a selection of Michelangelo's sonnets where they comment on issues raised in the book. There are also extracts from letters written by and to his subject, so that the reader is able to make up his own mind as to the character of the man without having to wade through numerous footnotes. Symonds is a master of integrating relevant material into his text. This can lead to an over embellishment of points made, but this is a biography published in 1893 and so the reader should not be too surprised. Symonds has a style of writing that might not suit every reader, concise he is not, but it suits my temperament and I was happy to follow him through.

Symonds does an excellent job of building in the historical background, his feel for the culture of the Italian renaissance allows him to place Michelangelo firmly in his milieu and so the reader can understand Michelangelo's actions, his panics, his irascibility, his deeply religious mindset that towards the end of his life provided him with much comfort. Michelangelo emerges as a man whose immense talent led him into a life that revolved only around his art, there was little time for anything else. His fame and reputation which he seems not to have considered overmuch himself was a bugbear, as his patrons (a succession of Popes) were instrumental in leading him away from the work that he wanted to do. He became an architect because of his intellectual ability and skill in fashioning objects, which were the requirements that his patrons saw fit to use.

Michelangelo was no iconoclast he worked within the system and culture of his times, but it was his unique vision that set him apart from other artists. His continual obsession with the human form that produced such wonderful art eventually led him down a blind alley and his later works seemed mannered. His solitary disposition and his desire not to share his skills meant that unlike many of his fellow artists he did not become the head of a school or workshop. He was a man who wanted to do things his own way and he was reluctant to share out duties. This meant that many of his projects remained unfinished.

There is little to be said about his private life. He felt no attraction to the opposite sex and although he loved and admired the physicality of well formed young men there is very little evidence that this led to sexual relationships. Symonds thinks that Michelangelo's solitary and at times austere characteristics along with his sincere religious beliefs and his obsession with his art filled his life. I have recently read Ross King's [Michelangelo and the Popes ceiling], which provided a good snapshot of the life and times of Michelangelo, but Symonds biography is for those that want to delve deeper and get a fuller picture of a long and productive life. ( )