Michelangelo: The Last Decades

In 1534, Michelangelo left Florence for Rome, never to see his native city again. He was 59, which many contemporaries regarded as old, but for Michelangelo this move marked the beginning of a dramatic new chapter which would fundamentally shape his experiences as an artist and as a man.

This exhibition looks at the last 30 years of Michelangelo’s remarkable life, when his return to Rome brought him new commissions and reunited him with some of his closest friends. Forceful preparatory drawings for the monumental Last Judgement fresco as well as the newly conserved cartoon of the Epifania will be displayed alongside studies for Michelangelo’s grand architectural projects, including the rebuilding of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Intimate letters, poems and drawings will offer powerful insights into his faith, relationships and experiences of old age.