Michelangelo's “Rime”: a Reading Itinerary

  • Enrico Fenzi University of Genova
DOI: https://doi.org/10.6093/sigma.v0i4.7494
Keywords: Ficino, Nifo, beauty, love, fire

Abstract

The essay, as the title suggests, consists of a reading of Michelangelo's Rime following the thread of some central metaphors and images (for example, that of fire) and trying to reconstruct the dialectic that animates them. In particular, the importance of Ficino's Platonism, to which Michelangelo's poetry has often been connected, is reduced, while the probable influence of the works of his contemporary Agostino Nifo on beauty and love is pointed out. It also highlights Michelangelo's attitude towards his own art and his own destiny as an artist, and the dramatic colours of his late meditations on old age and death, through which the poet reconfirms the vitality of his passions, which he has nothing to regret.

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Author Biography

Enrico Fenzi, University of Genova

The essay, as the title suggests, consists of a reading of Michelangelo’s Rime following the thread of some central metaphors and images (for example, that of fire) and trying to reconstruct the dialectic that animates them. In particular, the importance of Ficino’s Platonism, to which Michelangelo’s poetry has often been connected, is reduced, while the probable influence of the works of his contemporary Agostino Nifo on beauty and love is pointed out. It also highlights Michelangelo’s attitude towards his own art and his own destiny as an artist, and the dramatic colours of his late meditations on old age and death, through which the poet reconfirms the vitality of his passions, which he has nothing to regret.

Published
2020-12-21
How to Cite
FenziE. (2020). Michelangelo’s “Rime”: a Reading Itinerary. SigMa - Rivista Di Letterature Comparate, Teatro E Arti Dello Spettacolo, (4), 377-432. https://doi.org/10.6093/sigma.v0i4.7494
Issue
No 4 (2020): The representation of the Cold war in literature and the arts (1947-1989)
Section
Monographic section II

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