Michelangelo 1764

Editor: This is Francesco Bartolozzi’s "Michelangelo," a portrait print from the 18th century held at the Harvard Art Museums. It looks like it was etched or engraved. What is your interpretation of this piece? Curator: Well, considering the time this portrait was made, it's easy to see it as part of a larger project of canonizing the Renaissance masters. But who gets remembered, and how? I wonder what it means to create a portrait of someone who pushed boundaries, through what lens were they seen by the 18th century? Editor: That makes me wonder about what other contemporary influences might have helped shape Bartolozzi's vision. Curator: Precisely! Thinking about the social and political climate, how might those tensions be visible, even in a seemingly straightforward portrait of a giant like Michelangelo? It really adds another layer. Editor: I agree. It encourages me to look beyond the surface representation of the figure. Curator: Exactly. And that’s where the real dialogue begins.