A compact biography of Michelangelo, tracing the life of the sculptor, painter, architect and impossible Renaissance personality behind the David, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the Medici tombs and St Peter’s.

Nardini writes Michelangelo as both historical figure and force of temperament: devotional, difficult, obsessive, physically and spiritually driven by the problem of making matter speak. Good for readers after a readable artist biography rather than a heavy academic monograph. It sits well with Renaissance art, Florence, Italian history, creative obsession, and the idea of “genius” as something less tidy than the word usually suggests: labour, patronage, politics, faith, ambition, loneliness, and a frankly alarming relationship to marble.

Giunti paperback. Original title Incontro con Michelangiolo, translated by Catherine Frost. First edition February 1999; this appears to be a later reprint, printed in Italy. Good second-hand condition overall, with light cover marking, edgewear and handling.