THE ALBERTINA, VIENNA: MICHELANGELO AND HIS TIME

Stepping into the twilight of a large room, in which the only illumination comes from small shining windows, the viewer inevitably feels a sensation of being invited into another, unearthly, world. “Another” it may indeed be -but in no way an unearthly one. The windows concerned are chalk and pen sketches which illustrate “Michelangelo und Seine Zeit” (Michelangelo and his time), now on display in the Albertina museum in Vienna. The old sheets of paper in simple classical frames seem to shine from within with some magical, unreal light. They are known to bear the touch of the hands of many of the greatest artists of the past: Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and others. It is the inspiration, name and personality of each of them that is evident in these antique drawings marked with the artist's passion, tenderness or despair. Laboring on those sheets, the masters concerned may have been conversing with god — and the viewer feels in some way, almost involuntarily, that their holy murmurs can be overheard.