The Grocery List Sketched by Michelangelo
You can’t sculpt like Michelangelo, but you can eat like him.
In March 1518, Michelangelo feasted on fish and bread.
ACCORDING TO MICHELANGELO’S SHOPPING LIST, genius thrives on a diet of fish, bread, and lots of wine.
Owned by the Casa Buonarroti museum in Florence, Italy, this 500-year-old list was written and illustrated by the sculptor/painter/poet/personality on the back of a letter. Michelangelo’s servant was likely illiterate, so Michelangelo sketched out what he wanted to eat.
And Michelangelo wanted a feast, spread out over three meals. He depicted bread rolls as quickly-drawn circles, and for one meal, Michelangelo wanted two rolls. For another, he wanted six. On the page, an elegant herring floats in the air, while bowls overflow with salad and anchovies. Two dishes of stewed fennel are sketched side by side, and when asking for a smaller amount of dry wine, Michelangelo carefully drew a small wine jug next to a larger one. Sadly, he did not draw two plates of tortelli—he only asked for the ravioli-like pasta pouches in writing.
The menu consists mostly of vegetables, fish, wine, and bread. This might seem particularly healthy, but the letter on the other side of the list is dated March 18, 1518, around the time of Lent. Since eating meat was frowned upon, Michelangelo ate the requisite vegetables. However, Gillian Riley writes in The Oxford Guide to Italian Food that this was definitely an upscale menu. Despite his frugal reputation, the artist was probably used to dining with nobility.
By 1518, Michelangelo had already finished many of his most famous works, including the Pietà, the David, and the Sistine Chapel ceiling. But among all his work, this rough list is perhaps the most down-to-earth glimpse of the artist himself. It’s interesting to imagine the famously mercurial Michelangelo taking the time to illustrate for his servant what he wanted for dinner.
The survival of this list is remarkable, too. Only around 600 of Michelangelo’s sketches still exist. 1518 marked the year that Michelangelo burned many of his early drawings, and 46 years later, he ordered many of his papers to be torched in anticipation of his death. Maybe he wanted to preserve the aura of divine genius that surrounded his art. A list showing his sketched takeout order might not have given the right impression.
—
“all writing is an act of self-exploration.
even a grocery list says something about you;
how much more does a novel say?”
-steven saylor
—
credits: atlas obscura/gastro obscura, anne ewebank,Casa Buonarroti- Florence, Italy
Fascinating!
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isn’t it interesting ?
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Very! Imagine!
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Wow. Now this is something….
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it would be hilarious to see the sketch of many of your lists, i’m quite sure –
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Trust me. It would touch this one.
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Loved this, and also his diet which has the mark of wisdom about I feel ( hic.) I am starting to teach a class in Creative Writing today at a local school so I need all the inspiration I can get, although it may well be better if I don’t get that precious substance from a bottle!
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always a good thing to be inspired by the master, best of luck today –
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Fascinating! Fish, bread, and lots of wine. Who am I to argue? What a shame so much of his work was lost.
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yes, to all of that –
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Everything about da Vinci seem interesting. I’ve seen other stuff on da Vinci and cooking–maybe also on Atlas Obscura (great site).
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i agree –
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You discover the greatest stuff, Beth!
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i love discovering interesting things in the world. it’s never-ending.
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Wow!!
>
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yep!
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I love the look into, the glimpse of, the human being.
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yes, it says a lot –
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Hey that’s what I had for dinner last night! Well no bread but bok choy….look at me! Genius.
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that’s it! who knew?
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I’m totally going to start illustrating my grocery lists now.
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me too )
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Love Michelangelo, and loved this post! So great……..
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thanks, he was so interesting in so many areas –
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This is so much fun! If I had to sketch my suppers, I’d be in trouble:) Sounds like a great meal to me.
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i would never eat ) it does sound wonderful –
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Love this
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it was amazing on so many levels )
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I could live on fish and bread and wine! 🙂
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So could I,jodi
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Fascinating indeed. thanks for sharing
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My pleasure
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That’s awesome. How ingenious.
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I thought so, too-
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I must practice drawing chocolate, biscuits and wine or goodness knows what I’ll be eating.
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Cookies will be easy -pasta not so much)
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Good one! I’ve always liked seeing that.
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Yes-
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I love this very interesting post!
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thank you –
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That is the coolest thing I have seen all day!
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glad you enjoyed it –
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How incredible! What a treat to see his list. 🙂 No matter what your day job is…one must still eat.
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absolutely, it’s a great leveler –
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Here I was going g to be proud of his eating citrus like oranges and tangerines! Bread rolls do fill a starving artist’s stomach. . . 🍞
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yes – you have to eat what you have to eat to keep going )
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This is so interesting, Beth! I could survive on his menu, and how true that what we eat says a lot about us. Uh oh. 🙂
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I know!
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Good to know…thank you for sharing Beth
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happy to, della –
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https://priyankagupta2597.wordpress.com
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