Michelangelo, Raphael, and the Genius Paradox

In many respects, Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Raphael crafted the image of the creative genius that we still hold today. But if we allow ourselves to look more closely at the artistic practices of these central figures, we find a number of apparent contradictions. Rather than fonts of continuously new and original ideas, springing freely from their heads as we might have been led to imagine, we find that both artists borrowed or stole a great deal from each other, repeated themselves prodigiously, and collaborated widely. Taking examples from painting, architecture, and drawing, the lecture suggests how the works of Michelangelo and Raphael suggest a distinct model for aesthetic invention and exploration.  

The Sydney J. Freedberg Lecture on Italian Art features distinguished scholars presenting original research. This annual lecture series offered by the National Gallery of Art began in 1997 and is named after the great specialist of Italian art Sydney J. Freedberg (1914–1997). Professor Freedberg earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1940, where he taught for 29 years until he was appointed chief curator of the National Gallery of Art in 1983.