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First Time In USA! Teylers Museum's Collection of Michelangelo Drawings at Cleveland Museum of Art!

Blog Date
Author(s)
Stuart O. Smith, Jr.
Tags
Cleveland
Museums
University Circle
Art
Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Science
Think & Drink

Note: I have included a section about the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's Think & Drink (click here to jump down), since it took place on the same night as the Michelangelo: Mind of the Master preview.

First Time In USA! Teylers Museum's Collection of Michelangelo Drawings at Cleveland Museum of Art!
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Michelangelo: Mind of the Master
Sun, 09/22/2019 to Sun, 01/05/2020

. . . These working sketches invite us to look over the shoulder of one of Western art history’s most influential masters and to experience firsthand his boundless creativity and extraordinary mastery of the human form. These drawings demonstrate Michelangelo’s inventive preparations for his most important and groundbreaking commissions, including the Sistine Chapel ceiling fresco, sculptures for the tomb of Giuliano de’ Medici, and the dome of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

Michelangelo: Mind of the Master brings to the United States for the first time a group of drawings by Michelangelo from the remarkable collection of the Teylers Museum (Haarlem, The Netherlands), which was formed in the 18th century in part from the collection of Queen Christina of Sweden (1626–1689). Additional drawings from the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum round out the display. . . .

On January 20, 2019, my wife and co-blogger, Julie, told me about an incredible exhibition coming to the Cleveland Museum of Art (@ClevelandArt) in the fall!! Since reading Steven Litt's (@Steven_Litt) article Michelangelo's "Hand of God" and other must-see objects coming to Cleveland Museum of Art in 2019, I have been excitedly waiting for this exhibition to open!

I learned from Steven Litt about Michelangelo's "Hand of God" coming to Cleveland!
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In late August 2019, since I am a Museum member, I received in the mail the paper version of the September/October 2019 Cleveland Art magazine, which had as its cover story: "Mind of the Master." I tried making a simple sketch of a Michelangelo drawing shown in the magazine to study the drawing closely before going to the Michelangelo: Mind of the Master exhibition.

Note that all the online versions of the Cleveland Art magazines can be read for FREE on the Museum's website at: ClevelandArt.org/Magazine Here is a PDF version (2.3 MB) of the full September/October 2019 Cleveland Art magazine and a PDF version (240 KB) of the "Mind of the Master" article for your use. Enjoy reading before attending Michelangelo: Mind of the Master.

September/October 2019 Cleveland Art magazine
Open PDF File:
September/October 2019 Cleveland Art magazine

 

Cleveland Art magazine: "Mind of the Master"
Open PDF File:
Cleveland Art magazine: "Mind of the Master"

This whole year, I have been looking forward to this exhibition, so imagine how excited I was to receive an invitation to attend the Media & Influencer Preview of "Michelangelo: Mind of the Master." I want to thank Daphne Kacludis of the Cleveland Museum of Art Communications and External Relations department for sending me the invitation, and providing me with outstanding resources about the exhibition in the Michelangelo Press Kit.

Here are the tweets about Michelangelo: Mind of the Master from before I attended the opening preview on Thursday, September 19, 2019:

Note that I had the wrong dates listed in the above tweet that I wrote back on January 20, 2019. The correct dates for the Michelangelo: Mind of the Master exhibition are September 22, 2019, to January 5, 2020.

Media & Influencer Preview of "Michelangelo: Mind of the Master"

Media & Influencer Preview of "Michelangelo: Mind of the Master"
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On Thursday night, September 19, 2019, a huge crowd gathered in the Museum's Ames Family Atrium. Usually, I am able to go directly into an exhibition at a preview event, but when I asked a Museum guard, I learned that there would be a special welcoming message from the Museum's president before the exhibtion would open.

Cleveland Museum of Art Director and President, William M. Griswold, did more than only welcomed the attendees to the opening. He did an excellent talk about the importance of Michelangelo's body of work. He spoke of how fortunate we are in Cleveland to have the the Teylers Museum (@TEYLERS) collection of Michelangelo drawings here for its first visit to the United States. This was truly a historic event.

Cleveland Museum of Art President William M. Griswold talks about the importance of Michelangelo's body of work.
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Thank you, sponsors and organizers of Michelangelo: Mind of the Master
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Thank You, Sponsors!!

Once I entered the exhibtion, I found it interesting to see people interacting and learning about the exhibtion. I also greatly enjoyed talking to others I knew at the preview, and sharing impressions with people who I met for the first time, as we enjoyed the drawings.

Here are my 71 photos from the evening in a slideshow. I have placed the photos so that the descriptions of some of the drawings appear immediately following the photo of the drawing.

Please click on the right arrow to view the slideshow of all the photos:

Media & Influencer Preview of "Michelangelo: Mind of the Master"

Here are my @sos_jr tweets and retweets from the event. These tweets tell the story of my experience that evening:

 

Cleveland Museum of Natural History's Think & Drink with the Extinct - Summer Camp

On the same evening as the Michelangelo: Mind of the Master preview, I attended the last hour of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's (@goCMNH) Think & Drink with the Extinctevent. It was a great way to end the evening in University Circle (@InTheCircle)! (Learn more by seeing past Think & Drink blog posts here.)

Arriving at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History

I was very interested to learn from Cleveland Metroparks Outdoor Recreation Inclusion Specialist Matt Chesebrough about opportunities for outdoor adventures for people with disabilities. If you are interested in participating in the program or helping with this program as a volunteer, contact Matt Chesebrough. You can also see volunteering information on the park's website. Check out what I shared in the links in this next tweet:

"During the Renaissance and beyond, every artist wanted to be Michelangelo"

I love the above quote! The quote is taken from the subtitle of a Cleveland Art magazine article about an upcoming companion show to the Michelangelo: Mind of the Master exhibition. Yes, in addition to the main exhibition, there will be other opportunities related to the works of Michelangelo to enrich your experience at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Master/Apprentice: Imitation and Inspiration in the Renaissance
Read Online:
Cleveland Art magazine: "Master/Apprentice"

Here are some of the resouces/events that I learned about while writing this blog post. This list is followed by my @sos_jr tweets and retweets with additional information.

 

Related Blog Posts

There are many blog posts that I have written about both the Cleveland Museum of Art (read them here), and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History (read them here). (See all the blog posts about the museums in University Circle here.)

In addition to following these two museums' twitter feeds -- @ClevelandArt and @goCMNH -- I also recommend following @InTheCircle on Twitter, and exploring University Circle's website: UniversityCircle.org

I am grateful to be able to attend many great events as a member of both the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and particularly want to thank the Cleveland Museum of Art Communications and External Relations department for reaching out to invite me to the preview openings for many exhibitions at the Museum.

 

 

Disclosure: I received an invitation to attend the Thursday, September 19, 2019, Media & Influencer Preview of "Michelangelo: Mind of the Master," which included admission to the event and one free drink ticket. As a member of the Cleveland Museum of Art, I am entitled to free tickets to Michelangelo: Mind of the Master, but admission to this special preview was a benefit beyond my normal membership. After the event, I was sent a copy of the catalog, Michelangelo: Mind of the Master, which has a retail value of $40.00. The invitation to attend came as a result of my support of the Cleveland Museum of Art via my @sos_jr Twitter feed and sosAssociates.com blog posts. I enjoyed the event, and wrote this blog to share my experience at the Michelangelo: Mind of the Master preview at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Admission to the Think & Drink with the Extinct events is a normal benefit I receive through my Cleveland Museum of Natural History membership, which my wife/co-blogger and I have purchased. I have not received any special benefits beyond the standard membership.