Mike Stafford
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- Location
- Coastal plain of North Carolina
I don't have any idea how life was for artists in past times. If you have ever seen the movie The Agony and the Ecstasy with Charlton Heston as Michelangelo and Rex Harrison as Pope Julius you might get an idea of how driven artists were to create masterpieces and how demanding were their patrons who wanted everything the artist could give for their payment.
In this movie, the warrior Pope Julius wants the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel painted and he wants it to be a masterpiece but done within a specific amount of time. He hires Michelangelo for the job. Michelangelo is driven by his own desires to create the perfect masterpiece and he has very specific ideas about how it should look. The conflict is between Michelangelo's patron, the Pope and his own desire for perfection. Michelangelo doubts he has the skills to create the paintings he envisions for the ceiling.
It is a marvelous movie. I think it is one of Heston's best performances. The Pope drives, demands, cajoles, threatens and entreats Michelangelo to get the job done without delay. Michelangelo is driven by his desire for perfection and resists the time constraints of the Pope. We know how it ends as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is still considered one of the great masterpieces of all time.
The Irving Stone historical novel of the same name is a wonderful read. Highly recommended movie and book.
In this movie, the warrior Pope Julius wants the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel painted and he wants it to be a masterpiece but done within a specific amount of time. He hires Michelangelo for the job. Michelangelo is driven by his own desires to create the perfect masterpiece and he has very specific ideas about how it should look. The conflict is between Michelangelo's patron, the Pope and his own desire for perfection. Michelangelo doubts he has the skills to create the paintings he envisions for the ceiling.
It is a marvelous movie. I think it is one of Heston's best performances. The Pope drives, demands, cajoles, threatens and entreats Michelangelo to get the job done without delay. Michelangelo is driven by his desire for perfection and resists the time constraints of the Pope. We know how it ends as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is still considered one of the great masterpieces of all time.
The Irving Stone historical novel of the same name is a wonderful read. Highly recommended movie and book.
