Michelangelo: Sculptures & Paintings

The program is divided into four areas: Narrative, Work, Places, and Characters. Narrative, the only spoken portion of the package, allows users to select a year and listen to a summary of the artist's life during that time. Work presents the artist's architecture, drawings, sculptures, paintings, bas-reliefs, and frescoes. Places--divided between Bologna, Florence, and Rome--features locations that were significant in the artist's life and those spots where his work is set. (The one glaring error is a button for the "Sixtine" Chapel.) And Characters offers short biographies of some important figures from the Italian Renaissance who influenced Michelangelo. The featured characters come from all walks of life--the worlds of art, politics, religion, and philosophy, all of which mingled more closely than today.

This CD-ROM takes just minutes to load and is easily navigated, perfect for casual art lovers as well as students in junior high or older who want an in-depth introduction to the life and art of a Renaissance genius. --Matt Kohut

Amazon.com Product Description
More than just an encyclopedia, this CD-ROM brings Michelangelo to life among his contemporaries in 10 different studios in Rome, Florence, and Bologna. Numerous animated interactive scenes written by the French filmmaker Olivier Nolin lead you through this museum of the imagination. From Lorenzo the Magnificent's Florence to the Rome of Julius II, follow the work of this exceptional artist in his studio; meet his contemporaries like Giuliano da Sangallo, Raphael Sanzio, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and his patrons. Also, learn about his tumultuous relations with the princes and popes of the Renaissance.