Bellissimo

Fifteen bucks to see a drawing. Okay, it's one of Michelangelo's finest, of the kind of beauty that can only be described as paradaisical. Also "etherial," "supernatural," "eternal," and " I want that."* At first gaze, it's female. The text declares it's male, from one of Michelangelo's models. I don't care. It's a face that remains on the cranium through wind, cold, and extenuating circumstances. It's with me, still. This "Study For the Head of Leda" would have make even Zeus turn into, oh I don't know, maybe something white, long-necked and feathery.
The rest of this sparse (borderline stingy) show reveals the painter as also sculptor, poet and architect. This is nothing new. Yes, there are several more drawings (two handsful) depicting work in progress; they are suitably magnificent. They're from the Casa Buonarotti, in Florence. And although the works are mesmerizing, depicting the body in motion and architectural renderings, one wants more. The bulk of paper (poems, notes) written by the artist is from charming to whatever; reproduction would have sufficed. Subtitling the show "The Man and the Myth" sounds sensational; this discomfort is exacerbated by the lobby shop, where all manner of Michelangelo paraphernalia is hawked, including an insulated coffee mug. The tote bag has the venue and dates prominently displayed; it was suitably on sale.


Michelangelo, the Man and the Myth, at the Palitz Gallery
11 E. 61 st.
212-754-5121 (no, you don't need an advance ticket)
through Jan. 4
michelangelo.syr.edu


*I've been really good this year and discarded my cradle-robbing ways. But now all I want for Christmas is a catamite.


image:
Michelangelo, Studies for the Head of Leda, c1530
red graphite, 354 x 269 mm