A record number of attendees – more than 700 – attended the Syracuse University Shaffer Art Gallery opening of ‘Michelangelo: The Man and the Myth’ earlier this month. The exhibit features more than twice the amount of Michelangelo works displayed anywhere else in the country.

‘If you add up all the pieces (by Michelangelo in the U.S.), it is less than a dozen drawings,’ said Gary Radke, a professor of fine arts in The College of Arts and Sciences.

Radke was one of the people responsible for bringing the exhibit to Syracuse.

The exhibit opened Aug. 12 and is centered on 14 original drawings using a number of mediums, including pen, pencil and chalk. The works are accompanied by several paintings by various artists, most of which are portraits of Michelangelo.

Radke worked with SU Art Gallery director Domenic Iacono to bring the exhibit to SU. The two worked with Pina Ragionieri, the curator of the Casa Buonarroti, a private foundation located in Florence, Italy. Florence is the homestead of the famous artist and still houses many of his works.

Radke previously worked with Ragionieri and approached her several years ago about bringing a Michelangelo collection to Syracuse. Originally, the two envisioned a smaller exhibit, but as they continued to work on bringing Michelangelo to Central New York, the exhibit grew in size.

Shaffer Gallery has previously hosted exhibits featuring world famous artists. Last year it housed Francisco Goya’s world-renowned collection ‘The Disasters of War,’ an exhibit featuring the artist’s haunting portrayal of the brutality of war using prints and etches.

The Michelangelo exhibit will be accompanied by events on campus, ranging from a concert featuring Michelangelo’s poetry to a symposium that will host the leading American scholars on Michelangelo on Oct. 3 and 4.

‘Michelangelo: The Man and the Myth’ is free and open to the public through Oct. 19, when it will depart for the SU gallery house in New York City.

adbrow03@syr.edu

Published on August 24, 2008 at 12:00 pm