Michelangelo vs Da Vinci: The Show Down

Filed in archive Destination: UK + Ireland on June 9, 2006

Almost 150,000 visitors have shuffled through the British Museum's exhibit "Michelangelo drawings: Closer to the Master" since its opening in March. So great is the demand that the museum has just announced it will remain open until midnight on Saturday evenings until the exhibit closes at the end of July.

According to CNN, "The museum's first Michelangelo exhibition in 30 years features 90 drawings by the Renaissance master. A collection of thumbnail sketches and red chalk studies traces the evolution of the painting of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican."

The museum reported an unprecedented 11,000 pre-bookings for the show prior to opening in March, beating a previous record of 3,500 bookings for a Persian art exhibition.

Eh? I'm unduly suspicious of anything Reniassance related right now and am not completely convinced this isn't a mob of tourists confusing Michaelangelo with Da Vinci, but I suppose if it exposes people to art its no bad thing.

But still, you have to wonder. Or is it just me?