Artwork
Michelangelo
Michelangelo is an ink print by the Renaissance artist Giulio Bonasone. It dates from 1546 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
If you like this style, look up engraving to see how artists create detailed prints like this.
This is a black-and-white portrait of a man’s head turned slightly to the side. His curly hair and beard are detailed, and his expression looks serious. The image sits inside a decorative frame with swirls and straight lines around it.
The text below the portrait says "Michael Angelus Bonarotus" and gives his age as 72. The year 1546 is also written at the bottom, along with some Latin words.
If you like this style, look up engraving to see how artists create detailed prints like this.
Overview
Giulio Bonasone, a Bolognese painter and engraver active in the mid‑16th century, produced an engraved portrait titled *Michelangelo* in 1546. The print presents a finely rendered head of the renowned artist, his hair and beard rendered in delicate lines, set within an ornamental frame of swirls and straight‑edge motifs. The work bears the inscription “Michael Angelus Bonarotus,” noting the engraver’s age as 72, and includes a date and brief Latin legend at the bottom.
Subject & Meaning
The portrait depicts Michelangelo Buonarroti, the celebrated sculptor, painter and architect of the High Renaissance, rendered here in a sober, contemplative pose. By focusing on the sitter’s facial features and serious expression, Bonasone emphasizes the intellectual gravitas associated with Michelangelo’s creative legacy, offering a visual homage to the artist’s stature within contemporary artistic circles.
Technique & Style
Executed as a black‑and‑white intaglio engraving, the image relies on fine cross‑hatching and stippling to model the curls of hair, the texture of the beard, and the subtle shading of the face. The surrounding decorative frame, composed of interlacing scrolls and linear borders, reflects the ornamental conventions of mid‑Renaissance print design, while the crisp lettering demonstrates Bonasone’s precise hand in both image and text.
History & Provenance
Bonasone, likely trained under Lorenzo Sabbatini and later Marcantonio Raimondi, worked in Mantua, Rome and Venice, producing prints after older masters as well as original designs. This 1546 portrait of Michelangelo stands among his signed works, which appear under various forms of his name. The engraving’s date and age inscription suggest it was created toward the end of Bonasone’s career, shortly before his death in the late 1540s.
Artist & collection
Artist
Giulio Bonasone (c. 1498 – after 1574) (or Giulio de Antonio Buonasone or Julio Bonoso) was an Italian painter and engraver born in Bologna. He possibly studied painting under Lorenzo Sabbatini, and painted a Purgatory…
