Still Lives

By Maria H. Loh,

Book cover of Still Lives: Death, Desire, and the Portrait of the Old Master

Book description

Michelangelo was one of the biggest international art stars of his time, but being Michelangelo was no easy thing: he was stalked by fans, lauded and lambasted by critics, and depicted in unauthorized portraits. Still Lives traces the process by which artists such as Michelangelo, Durer, and Titian became early…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Still Lives as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Loh’s gorgeous book pursues Renaissance artists, including Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, and Dürer, into their studios, bedrooms, and graves to examine artists’ self-portraits and portraits.

I found the self-portraits of Sofonisba Anguissola, Parmigianino, Jacopo da Pontormo, Nicolas Poussin, and the Carracci family particularly remarkable. Loh evokes the fear and pathos of living in an age of plague and syphilis. She told tales of art-world friendship and rivalries, including pranks and poisonings.

The book is lavishly illustrated, and I enjoyed her evident delight in the vivacious text she was generating. This book took me on a fascinating journey into the necromantic powers…

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