Genius of Michelangelo
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Narrated by:
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William E. Wallace
About this listen
How much do we really know about Michelangelo? Conflicting viewpoints and much confusion surround many aspects of the Renaissance artist's life and art; myth and legend so envelop him that he sometimes seems more like a caricature than a complete human being. Despite a familiarity with some of his works, aspects of Michelangelo's art and life remain open to interpretation.
In The Genius of Michelangelo, internationally recognized Michelangelo expert and award-winning Professor of Art History William E. Wallace gives you a comprehensive perspective on one of history's greatest artists, unavailable in any other course. Drawing on a vast command of artistic knowledge and period detail, these 36 intellectually rewarding and dazzling lectures explore the relationship between truth and legend to reveal a groundbreaking new picture of Michelangelo as an artist, a businessman, an aristocrat, and a genius.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
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This is Irving Stone's powerful and passionate biographical novel of Michelangelo. His time: the turbulent Renaissance, the years of poisoning princes, warring popes, the all-powerful Medici family, the fanatic monk Savonarola. His loves: the frail and lovely daughter of Lorenzo de Medici; the ardent mistress of Marco Aldovrandi; and his last love - his greatest love - the beautiful, unhappy Vittoria Colonna.
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One of the Best Historical Novels Ever Written
- By Amazon Customer on 03-22-12
By: Irving Stone
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Existentialism and the Authentic Life
- By: Skye C. Cleary, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Skye C. Cleary
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
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In the 24 fascinating lectures of Existentialism and the Authentic Life, Professor Skye C. Cleary will lead you through the writings of many existentialists to help you understand how they addressed the biggest of all questions. Writing about love, death, sex, war, plagues, intrigue, murder, deception, and more, these thinkers guide you toward living an authentic and meaningful life in a world that often seems absurd.
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Friendly presentation
- By Anonymous User on 06-04-24
By: Skye C. Cleary, and others
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Stories of America’s National Parks
- By: Megan Kate Nelson, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Megan Kate Nelson
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
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Many Americans remember a family road trip to visit one of our 63 national parks. Why did Americans start preserving these sites of natural and historic interest? How were these parks selected, and what steps did conservationists, activists, philanthropists, politicians, and others take to protect millions of acres against the booming developments of an expanding nation? An award-winning writer, researcher, and American Studies scholar, Dr. Megan Kate Nelson tackles these questions as she takes you on a marvelous journey through some of the most beautiful places on Earth.
By: Megan Kate Nelson, and others
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The New Testament
- By: Bart D. Ehrman, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Bart D. Ehrman
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization’s most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.
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If you want a balanced overview this is not it
- By Amazon Customer on 02-27-16
By: Bart D. Ehrman, and others
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The Great Trials of World History and the Lessons They Teach Us
- By: Douglas O. Linder, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Douglas O. Linder JD
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Original Recording
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No understanding of the past is complete without an understanding of the legal battles and struggles that have done so much to shape it. Inside a survey of world history's greatest trials are the key insights to critical issues we still talk about today, including freedom of speech, the death penalty, religious freedom, and the meaning of equality. Join Professor Linder for these 24 lectures that investigate important legal cases from around the world and across the centuries.
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Interesting material, but . . .
- By Mark on 12-29-17
By: Douglas O. Linder, and others
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The American Civil War
- By: Gary W. Gallagher, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Gary W. Gallagher
- Length: 24 hrs and 37 mins
- Original Recording
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Between 1861 and 1865, the clash of the greatest armies the Western hemisphere had ever seen turned small towns, little-known streams, and obscure meadows in the American countryside into names we will always remember. In those great battles, those streams ran red with blood-and the United States was truly born.
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Excellent Series
- By Rodney on 07-09-13
By: Gary W. Gallagher, and others
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Mind-Body Philosophy
- By: Patrick Grim, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Patrick Grim
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Original Recording
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How is it that our brain creates all the subjective experiences of our lives every single day - the experiences we call reality? That is the mind-body problem. In Mind-Body Philosophy, Professor Patrick Grim of the State University of New York at Stony Brook leads an intellectually exhilarating tour through millennia of philosophy and science addressing one of life's greatest conundrums. But you won't just be a spectator as Dr. Grim engages and encourages each of us to come to our own conclusions.
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Another Great Courses Homerun!
- By Mike on 01-24-17
By: Patrick Grim, and others
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Food: A Cultural Culinary History
- By: Ken Albala, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Ken Albala
- Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins
- Original Recording
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Eating is an indispensable human activity. As a result, whether we realize it or not, the drive to obtain food has been a major catalyst across all of history, from prehistoric times to the present. Epicure Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin said it best: "Gastronomy governs the whole life of man."
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One of my top 3 favorite courses!
- By Jessica on 12-28-13
By: Ken Albala, and others
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Understanding the Brain
- By: Jeanette Norden, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Jeanette Norden
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
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Considering everything the brain does, how can it possibly be the source of our personalities, dreams, thoughts, sensations, utterances, and movements? Understanding the Brain, a 36-lecture course by award-winning Professor Jeanette Norden of Vanderbilt University, takes you inside this astonishingly complex organ and shows you how it works. With its combination of neurology, biology, and psychology, this course helps you understand how we perceive the world through our senses, how we move, how we learn and remember, and how emotions affect our thoughts and actions.
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This is essentially a scam
- By George H. on 05-23-19
By: Jeanette Norden, and others
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Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion
- By: Bill Messenger, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Bill Messenger
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
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Jazz is a uniquely American art form, one of America's great contributions to not only musical culture, but world culture, with each generation of musicians applying new levels of creativity that take the music in unexpected directions that defy definition, category, and stagnation. Now you can learn the basics and history of this intoxicating genre in an eight-lecture series that is as free-flowing and original as the art form itself.
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A Disappointingly Distorted, Myopic View Of Jazz
- By Parallax View on 08-18-13
By: Bill Messenger, and others
What listeners say about Genius of Michelangelo
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Mallard
- 07-12-20
Very good, but . . .
This is an excellent program and story of Michelangelo's life. William Wallace has dedicated his life to studying Michelangelo and has a very approachable style when presenting the story. It is very good. However, I am only giving the book 4 stars for one reason. This program is the audio tracks to a video course by The Great Courses. The author references visual examples extensively, which in a video program is understandable and expected. In an audio only course, we miss out on seeing the images. There is a work-around if you are ambitious. The booklet that comes with the program has a good outline of each lecture. At the end of each chapter, there is a list of all the images references in the lecture. If you have the book and do internet searches for the images you can see what the author was describing.
If I was reviewing the video program, I would give this an unqualified 5 stars. Since it is only the audio, I give it a qualified 4 stars.
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14 people found this helpful
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- Maracapozzi
- 11-30-22
Excellent but get ready to google…
The only reason I don’t rate this 5 stars is that the professor mentions details in the artwork that you will need to google to picture. The course comes with a pdf, so how difficult would it have been to add a photo to each chapter? I ended up looking everything up in order to understand what he was describing.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kathleen Mccord
- 12-01-22
Michelangelo! The BEST
This audio book does justice to the genius of Michelangelo with profound insights and observations. It is mist informative and very inspiring. The reader is excellent and the "story"
is as well. A beautiful way to spend your time.
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- Suzanne Ciseaux
- 07-06-24
Skip this performance
While the content is very informative, the over-animated narration makes it inaccessible. Also, the narrator refers to works of art that he apparently shows in his lectures, but this is not provided with the audiobook, which is a significant detriment.
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- Margie
- 06-10-21
NO ART
I love this class and was thrilled to see an extensive accompanying PDF. However the PDF does not contain any of the art discussed during the class!
This is a huge oversight and renders this class virtually mute as a source for visual art education.
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10 people found this helpful