THE COURTAULD GALLERY PODCASTS

MICHELANGELO'S DREAM

"If one chaste love, if one sublime compassion, if one fortune affects two lovers equally,

if one harsh fate matters as much to both, if one spirit, if one will rules two hearts..."
S'un casto amor, s'una pieta superna

Michelangelo Buonarroti, c.1532



The exhibition Michelangelo's Dream contains not only drawings but also the manuscripts
of some of his most important letters and poems. The poems, recorded for the exhibition and available here as podcasts, were composed for the Roman nobleman Tommaso de' Cavalieri and deal with spiritual longing and passionate desire. Michelangelo's sonnets and madrigals are perhaps less well known than his sculpture and painting but were considered of great worth by humanist intellectuals in his time.

Introduction to the Michelangelo Podcasts

PODCAST 1: IF ONE CHASTE LOVE....
Listen to podcast 1

PODCAST 2: IF DESIRE OF THE IMMORTAL...
Listen to podcast 2

PODCAST 3: YOU KNOW THAT I KNOW, MY LORD...
Listen to podcast 3

PODCAST 4: NOT EVEN BY RAISING MY THOUGHTS...
Listen to podcast 4

PODCAST 5: TO BURN FIERCELY FOR IMMENSE BEAUTY...
Listen to podcast 5

Each podcast is of a single poem and includes an introduction by Jim Harris, visiting lecturer at The Courtauld Institute of Art, an English translation and then the original Italian.

Audio recordings of the poems supplied by ATS Heritage.