Few mortals have made a discipline of art and of life or devoted themselves to learning with the singleness of purpose of Michelangelo. Even in the magnificent turmoil of the Italian Renaissance, when Boticelli and Leonardo and Cellini electrified the civilized world with their creative genius, one man towers over them all -- Michelangelo, the master artist. Out of Michelangelo's reading, associations, and the everyday ordeal of art there emerged a complete theory of art, at once personal and representative of his times. This volume traces the development of that theory by drawing upon his letters, poetry, conversations, Renaissance biographies, and his works of art themselves. Professor Clements offers a unified view of the artist's thoughts, opinions, and seeming contradictions on all the arts he practiced so vigorously and brilliantly. Michelangelo's artistic biases, his personality, and his temperament are brought into sharp focus. The result is a complete and revealing image of a man hailed by his age as "divine." - Jacket flap.