The Mystery of Michelangelo Buonarroti's Goiter

A late self-portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) in the cartoon of the Epifania in the British Museum

The scientific literature has shown that the renowned Italian Renaissance artist and genius of human anatomy Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) included his self-portrait into some of his most famous works. It has been suggested that the various self-portraits and self-caricatures the artist used in his works over the years may offer some insight into Michelangelo’s physical form and, consequently, provide evidence of his health at different stages of his life. Accordingly, this manuscript presents new evidence [based on facial features described by Daniele of Volterra (1509-1566) and Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)] that Michelangelo may have inserted his self-portrait into one of the figures that make up the Epifania cartoon, made by the artist in 1553, which is currently in the collection of the British Museum in London, England. Thus, the information contained in this manuscript is not only useful for future analyses of Michelangelo’s health [based on facial features] when he was approximately 78 years old, but also how the artist, who was known for being very introspective, saw himself physically in his old age. (www.actabiomedica.it)

A Self-Portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti Hidden in a Drawing from the Ashmolean Museum

The discovery was recently announced in the scientific literature of a self-caricature of the great Renaissance artist and genius of human anatomy, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), concealed in a drawing from 1525. This drawing is held in the collection of the British Museum in London, England. In it, the artist portrayed the Marchesa di Pescara, Vittoria Colonna (1490-1547). The present article considers evidence that Michelangelo may have depicted himself in another portrait of Vittoria Colonna, dated to approximately 1522, which is currently in the collection of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England. This concealed silhouetted figure displays physical features strikingly similar to those depicted in portraits of Michelangelo by his contemporaries, and in the description of the artist by Michelangelo's biographer, Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574): the large body, the shape of the face, the beard and the flattened nose. In this context, the present article could serve to facilitate analyses of the physical form and even of the state of health (from 1522) of one of the foremost anatomists of the Renaissance. Clin. Anat., 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The handedness of Michelangelo Buonarroti

The handedness of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), one of the greatest artists of all time, is still controversial. Although there is no doubt that almost all of his well-attributed drawings were drawn with the right hand, the hatch marks of the shading going downward from right to left; it has been often neglected in the literature that he was an innate left-hander. An unfairly unknown autobiography of Raffaello da Montelupo stated that Michelangelo, a natural left-hander, trained himself from a young age to become right-handed. The same biography also underlined that Michelangelo restricted the use of his left hand only to works requiring force such as hammering, carving, and chiseling marble. The sign of the wooden crucifix donated to Santo Spirito in 1492 and two autographic sketches by Michelangelo-one left alongside a poem in 1509, and the other in the dress of the Vittoria Colonna sketch in 1525-are useful tools for analyzing the artist's evolution from left to right handedness when drawing, writing, and painting. Clin. Anat. 31:645-647, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A self-caricature of michelangelo buonarroti hidden in the portrait of vittoria colonna

The specialized literature has described how the great anatomist par excellence, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564), like many other renowned artists of his time, included a self-portrait in many of his works. This article presents novel evidence that Michelangelo inserted his self-portrait into a sketch of his close friend, Vittoria Colonna (1490-1547). This work, made by Michelangelo in 1525, is currently in the collection of the British Museum in London, England. This self-portrait of Michelangelo can serve as a tool for analyzing the artist's probable bodily dimensions and even his state of health during this period of his life. Clin. Anat. 31:335-338, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.