Irving Stone's *The Agony and the Ecstasy* is the story of a man who carved his way from stone to immortality. In this book, Stone portrays not just the life of an artist, but a painful, human struggle – a battle between the torment of existence and the ecstasy of creation. More than a biography, it's a chronicle of the spiritual suffering of a brilliant but lonely and tormented genius. Michelangelo is a vulnerable artist who, throughout his life, finds his body, talent, time, and art exploited...

One should not become an artist because he can, but because he must. It is only for those who would be miserable without it.The Agony and the Ecstasy ~~~ Irving StoneThe PietaThere are books – very few books – that just completely overtake you. Some books have that kind of power. Especially if you have that weird relationship with the book, one that nothing else can compensate for, and if you lie down with it and get up with it for a long time, it's inevitable that you feel a real sense of loss ...

Irving Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy was a magnificent literary biographical novel about the renowned and beloved artist Michelangelo. It beautifully details the complexity, not only of the man himself, but also a lifetime of his works, including the many famous sculptures from Carrara marble, paintings, frescos, and architecture, not only in Florence, but also in Bologna and Rome. Michelangelo's vast body of work included his iconic sculptures of David and the Pietà. Although he preferred o...

The "agony" and the "ecstasy" of "The Agony and the Ecstasy"!I wonder if Irving Stone would feel honored or slightly miffed at my brazen theft of HIS title, The Agony and the Ecstasy, as the basis for my review of his wonderful work!Irving Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy is an enormous, comprehensive re-creation of the life and times of Michelangelo Buonarroti, one of the undisputed giants of the art world. Stone doesn't just let us witness Michelangelo's triumphs as a sculptor, painter, archi...

At the age of thirteen, Michelangelo enters the workshop of painter Ghirlandaio and studies the fresco painting technique. The son of a surly bourgeois father of noble descent, having lost his mother at an early age, Michelangelo eventually becomes fascinated by the texture of marble and wishes to release the trapped forms which, according to his neo-Platonic worldview, are already hidden inside the raw material. A book is simply not big enough to contain the magnitude of Michelangelo Buonarroti...

***4.5 stars out of 5***”To some people stone was dead; ‘hard as stone,’ ‘stone cold,’ they said. To him, as he once again ran his fingers along its contours, it was the most alive substance in the world, rhythmic, responsive, tractable: warm, resilient, colorful, vibrant. He was in love with stone.” Michelangelo portrait by VolterraMichelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was born in Florence on March 6th, 1475. It was a fortuitous time to be born. He was coming of age just as the Renaissa...

I discovered Irving Stone's *The Agony and the Ecstasy* in high school many, many years ago, but I hadn't picked it up since, so it felt fresh, new, and incredibly stunning. We meet Michelangelo as a thirteen-year-old and follow him through his almost tortured life until his death at 88. In between, we see him become an Artist unlike any before or since. We delve into Art History, Italian History, Vatican History, and encounter a host of Popes, all of whom keep Michelangelo on a short leash. I c...

Oh, good lord. No wonder I'm reading *The Agony and the Ecstasy* so slowly. I have to keep putting it down and fanning myself. Here's the young Michelangelo carving marble for the first time: "He had removed the outer shell. Now he dug into the mass, entered in the biblical sense." Really? He's fucking the marble? Apparently, yes..."In this act of creation there was needed the thrust, the penetration, the beating and pulsating upward to a mighty climax, the total possession. It was not merely an...

Even with Art History 101 barely under my belt, I was floored to learn about Michelangelo's monumental contributions to sculpture, painting, architecture, and even politics. But I was even more inspired by the incredible challenges he overcame throughout his 90 years. Nothing came easy for him. What an inspiration! Here’s a quote from his deathbed:"Life has been good. God did not create me to abandon me. I have loved marble, yes, and paint too. I have loved architecture, and poetry too. I have l...

Goodreads crashed on me – I didn't realize the five stars were posted but not my review. You might be wondering why I rated Irving Stone's *The Agony and the Ecstasy* so highly. Let me tell you… This book truly brought Michelangelo and his era to life for me. I feel like I personally know, like, and respect Michelangelo as a person now. He was so recognizably human, dealing with family issues, rivalries, loyal friends, treacherous friends, and above all, that fierce, driving passion for his art...