,,the ,,life ,,of ,,michelangelo ,,buonarroti ,by ,,john ,,addington ,,symonds ,,to ,,the ,,cavaliere ,,guido ,,biagi1 ,,doctor ,,in ,,letters1 ,,prefect ,,of ,,the ,,mediceo-,,laurentian ,,library1 ,,etc41 ,,etc4 ,i ,,dedicate ,,this ,,work ,,on ,,michelangelo ,,in ,,respect ,,for ,,his ,,scholarship ,,and ,,learning ,,admiration ,,of ,,his ,,tuscan ,,style ,,and ,,grateful ,,acknowledgment ,,of ,,his ,,generous ,,assistance ,,contents ,,chapter ,i4 ,,birth1 ,,boyhood1 ,,youth ,,at ,,florence1 ,,down ,,to ,,lorenzo ,,de' ,,medici',s ,,death4 #adge-adib4 ,,ii4 ,,first ,,visits ,,to ,,bologna ,,and ,,rome--,,the ,,madonna ,,della ,,febbre ,,and ,,other ,,works ,,in ,,marble4 #adib-aeja4 ,,iii4 ,,residence ,,in ,,florence--,,the ,,david4 #aeja-aeje4 ,,iv4 ,,julius ,,ii4 ,,calls ,,michelangelo ,,to ,,rome--,,project ,,for ,,the ,,pope',s ,,tomb--,,the ,,rebuilding ,,of ,s4 ,,peter',s--,,flight ,,from ,,rome--,,cartoon ,,for ,,the ,,battle ,,of ,,pisa4 #aeje1 #aejf4 ,v4 ,,second ,,visit ,,to ,,bologna--,,the ,,bronze ,,statue ,,of ,,julius ,,ii--,,painting ,,of ,,the ,,sistine ,,vault4 #aejf-aeab4 ,,vi4 ,,on ,,michelangelo ,,as ,,draughtsman1 ,,painter1 ,,sculptor4 ,,vii4 ,,leo ,x4 ,,plans ,,for ,,the ,,church ,,of ,s4 ,,lorenzo ,,at ,,florence--,,michelangelo',s ,,life ,,at ,,carrara4 #aeac-aeba4 ,,viii4 ,,adrian ,,vi ,,and ,,clement ,,vii--,,the ,,sacristy ,,and ,,library ,,of ,s4 ,,lorenzo4 #aeba-aebf4 ,,ix4 ,,sack ,,of ,,rome ,,and ,,siege ,,of ,,florence--,,michelangelo',s ,,flight ,,to ,,venice--,,his ,,relations ,,to ,,the ,,medici4 #aebg-aecd4 ,x4 ,,on ,,michelangelo ,,as ,,architect4 ,,xi4 ,,final ,,settlement ,,in ,,rome--,,paul ,,iii4--,,the ,,last ,,judgment ,,and ,,the ,,paoline ,,chapel--,,the ,,tomb ,,of ,,julius4 #aece-aedb4 ,,xii4 ,,vittoria ,,colonna ,,and ,,tommaso ,,cavalieri--,,michelangelo ,,as ,,poet ,,and ,,man ,,of ,,feeling4 ,,xiii4 ,,michelangelo ,,appointed ,,architect-,,in-,,chief ,,at ,,the ,,vatican--,,history ,,of ,s4 ,,peter',s4 #aedb-aeeg4 ,,xiv4 ,,last ,,years ,,of ,,life--,,michelangelo',s ,,portraits--,,illness ,,of ,,old ,,age4 #aeeg-aefd4 ,,xv4 ,,death ,,at ,,rome--,,burial ,,and ,,obsequies ,,at ,,florence--,,anecdotes--,,estimate ,,of ,,michelangelo ,,as ,,man ,,and ,,artist4 ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,michelangelo ,,buonarroti ,,chapter ,i ,i ,the ,buonarroti ,simoni1 to whom ,michelangelo belonged1 were a ,florentine family of ancient burgher nobility4 ,their arms appear to have been originally azure two bends or4 ,to this coat was added a label of four points gules inclosing three fleur-de-lys or4 ,that augmentation1 adopted from the shield of ,charles of ,anjou1 occurs upon the scutcheons of many ,guelf houses and cities4 ,in the case of the ,florentine ,simoni1 it may be ascribed to the period when ,buonarrota di ,simone ,simoni held office as a captain of the ,guelf party 7#acib74 ,such1 then1 was the paternal coat borne by the subject of this ,memoir4 ,his brother ,buonarroto received a further augmentation in #aeae from ,leo ,x41 to wit3 upon a chief or1 a pellet azure charged with fleur-de-lys or1 between the capital letters ,l4 and ,x4 ,at the same time he was created ,count ,palatine4 ,the old and simple bearing of the two bends was then crowded down into the extreme base of the shield1 while the ,angevine label found room beneath the chief4 ,according to a vague tradition1 the ,simoni drew their blood from the high and puissant ,counts of ,canossa4 ,michelangelo himself believed in this pedigree1 for which there is1 however1 no foundation in fact1 and no heraldic corroboration4 ,according to his friend and biographer ,condivi1 the sculptor's first ,florentine ancestor was a ,messer ,simone dei ,conti di ,canossa1 who came in #abej as ,podest to ,florence4 ,the eminent qualities of this man gained for him admission into the burghership of the city1 and he was appointed captain of a ,sestiere2 for ,florence in those days was divided into ,sestieri1 instead of ,quartieri1 as according to the present usage4 ,michelangelo's contemporary1 the ,count ,alessandro da ,canossa1 acknowledged this relationship4 ,writing on the #ith of ,october #aebj1 he addresses the then famous sculptor as honoured kinsman1 and gives the following piece of information3 ,turning over my old papers1 ,i have discovered that a ,messere ,simone da ,canossa was ,podest of ,florence1 as ,i have already mentioned to the above-named ,giovanni da ,reggio4 ,nevertheless1 it appears now certain that no ,simone da ,canossa held the office of ,podest at ,florence in the thirteenth century4 ,the family can be traced up to one ,bernardo1 who died before the year #abbh4 ,his grandson was called ,buonarrota1 and the fourth in descent was ,simone4 ,these names recur frequently in the next generations4 ,michelangelo always addressed his father as ,lodovico di ,lionardo di ,buonarrota ,simoni1 or ,louis1 the son of ,leonard1 son of ,buonarrota ,simoni2 and he used the family surname of ,simoni in writing to his brothers and his nephew ,lionardo4 ,yet he preferred to call himself ,michelangelo ,buonarroti2 and after his lifetime ,buonarroti became fixed for the posterity of his younger brother4 ,the reason1 says ,condivi1 why the family in ,florence changed its name from ,canossa to ,buonarroti was this3 ,buonarroto continued for many generations to be repeated in their house1 down to the time of ,michelangelo1 who had a brother of that name2 and inasmuch as several of these ,buonarroti held rank in the supreme magistracy of the republic1 especially the brother ,i have just mentioned1 who filled the office of ,prior during ,pope ,leo's visit to ,florence1 as may be read in the annals of that city1 this baptismal name1 by force of frequent repetition1 became the cognomen of the whole family2 the more easily1 because it is the custom at ,florence1 in elections and nominations of officers1 to add the ,christian names of the father1 grandfather1 great-grandfather1 and sometimes even of remoter ancestors1 to that of each citizen4 ,consequently1 through the many ,buonarroti who followed one another1 and from the ,simone who was the first founder of the house in ,florence1 they gradually came to be called ,buonarroti ,simoni1 which is their present designation4 ,excluding the legend about ,simone da ,canossa1 this is a pretty accurate account of what really happened4 ,italian patronymics were formed indeed upon the same rule as those of many ,norman families in ,great ,britain4 ,when the use of ,di and ,fitz expired1 ,simoni survived from ,di ,simone1 as did my surname ,symonds from ,fitz-,symond4 ,on the #fth of ,march #adge1 according to our present computation1 ,lodovico di ,lionardo ,buonarroti ,simoni wrote as follows in his private notebook3 ,i record that on this day1 ,march #f1 #adgd1 a male child was born to me4 ,i gave him the name of ,michelangelo1 and he was born on a ,monday morning four or five hours before daybreak1 and he was born while ,i was ,podest of ,caprese1 and he was born at ,caprese2 and the godfathers were those ,i have named below4 ,he was baptized on the eighth of the same month in the ,church of ,san ,giovanni at ,caprese4 ,these are the godfathers3-- ,,don ,,daniello ,,di ,,ser ,,buonaguida of ,florence1 ,rector of ,san ,giovanni at ,caprese2 ,,don ,,andrea ,,di 4444 of ,poppi1 ,rector of the ,abbey of ,diasiano 7i4e41 ,dicciano72 ,,jacopo ,,di ,,francesco of ,casurio 7872 ,,marco ,,di ,,giorgio of ,caprese2 ,,giovanni ,,di ,,biagio of ,caprese2 ,,andrea ,,di ,,biagio of ,caprese2 ,,francesco ,,di ,,jacopo ,,del ,,anduino 787 of ,caprese2 ,,ser ,,bartolommeo ,,di ,,santi ,,del ,,lanse 7871 ,notary4 ,note that the date is ,march #f1 #adgd1 according to ,florentine usage ab incarnatione1 and according to the ,roman usage1 a nativitate1 it is #adge4 ,vasari tells us that the planets were propitious at the moment of ,michelangelo's nativity3 ,mercury and ,venus having entered with benign aspect into the house of ,jupiter1 which indicated that marvellous and extraordinary works1 both of manual art and intellect1 were to be expected from him4 ,,ii ,caprese1 from its beauty and remoteness1 deserved to be the birthplace of a great artist4 ,it is not improbable that ,lodovico ,buonarroti and his wife ,francesca approached it from ,pontassieve in ,valdarno1 crossing the little pass of ,consuma1 descending on the famous battle-field of ,campaldino1 and skirting the ancient castle of the ,conti ,guidi at ,poppi4 ,every step in the romantic journey leads over ground hallowed by old historic memories4 ,from ,poppi the road descends the ,arno to a richly cultivated district1 out of which emerges on its hill the prosperous little town of ,bibbiena4 ,high up to eastward springs the broken crest of ,la ,vernia1 a mass of hard millstone rock 7macigno7 jutting from desolate beds of lime and shale at the height of some #cejj feet above the sea4 ,it was here1 among the sombre groves of beech and pine which wave along the ridge1 that ,s4 ,francis came to found his infant ,order1 composed the ,hymn to the ,sun1 and received the supreme honour of the stigmata4 ,to this point ,dante retired when the death of ,henry ,,vii4 extinguished his last hopes for ,italy4 ,at one extremity of the wedge-like block which forms ,la ,vernia1 exactly on the watershed between ,arno and ,tiber1 stands the ruined castle of ,chiusi in ,casentino4 ,this was one of the two chief places of ,lodovico ,buonarroti's podesteria4 ,it may be said to crown the valley of the ,arno2 for the waters gathered here flow downwards toward ,arezzo1 and eventually wash the city walls of ,florence4 ,a few steps farther1 travelling south1 we pass into the valley of the ,tiber1 and1 after traversing a barren upland region for a couple of hours1 reach the verge of the descent upon ,caprese4 ,here the landscape assumes a softer character4 ,far away stretch blue ,apennines1 ridge melting into ridge above ,perugia in the distance4 ,gigantic oaks begin to clothe the stony hillsides1 and little by little a fertile mountain district of chestnut-woods and vineyards expands before our eyes1 equal in charm to those arial hills and vales above ,pontremoli4 ,caprese has no central commune or head-village4 ,it is an aggregate of scattered hamlets and farmhouses1 deeply embosomed in a sea of greenery4 ,where the valley contracts and the infant ,tiber breaks into a gorge1 rises a wooded rock crowned with the ruins of an ancient castle4 ,it was here1 then1 that ,michelangelo first saw the light4 ,when we discover that he was a man of more than usually nervous temperament1 very different in quality from any of his relatives1 we must not forget what a fatiguing journey had been performed by his mother1 who was then awaiting her delivery4 ,even supposing that ,lodovico ,buonarroti travelled from ,florence by ,arezzo to ,caprese1 many miles of rough mountain-roads must have been traversed by her on horseback4 ,,iii ,ludovico1 who1 as we have seen1 was ,podest of ,caprese and of ,chiusi in the ,casentino1 had already one son by his first wife1 ,francesca1 the daughter of ,neri di ,miniato del ,sera and ,bonda ,rucellai4 ,this elder brother1 ,lionardo1 grew to manhood1 and become a devoted follower of ,savonarola4 ,under the influence of the ,ferrarese friar1 he determined to abjure the world1 and entered the ,dominican ,order in #adia4 ,we know very little about him1 and he is only once mentioned in ,michelangelo's correspondence4 ,even this reference cannot be considered certain4 ,writing to his father from ,rome1 ,july #a1 #adig1 ,michelangelo says3 ,i let you know that ,fra ,lionardo returned hither to ,rome4 ,he says that he was forced to fly from ,viterbo1 and that his frock had been taken from him1 wherefore he wished to go there 7i4e41 to ,florence74 ,so ,i gave him a golden ducat1 which he asked for2 and ,i think you ought already to have learned this1 for he should be there by this time4 ,when ,lionardo died is uncertain4 ,we only know that he was in the convent of ,s4 ,mark at ,florence in the year #aeaj4 ,owing to this brother's adoption of the religious life1 ,michelangelo became1 early in his youth1 the eldest son of ,lodovico's family4 ,it will be seen that during the whole course of his long career he acted as the mainstay of his father1 and as father to his younger brothers4 ,the strength and the tenacity of his domestic affections are very remarkable in a man who seems never to have thought of marrying4 ,art1 he used to say1 is a sufficiently exacting mistress4 ,instead of seeking to beget children for his own solace1 he devoted himself to the interests of his kinsmen4 ,the office of ,podest lasted only six months1 and at the expiration of this term ,lodovico returned to ,florence4 ,he put the infant ,michelangelo out to nurse in the village of ,settignano1 where the ,buonarroti ,simoni owned a farm4 ,most of the people of that district gained their livelihood in the stone-quarries around ,settignano and ,maiano on the hillside of ,fiesole4 ,michelangelo's foster-mother was the daughter and the wife of stone-cutters4 ,george1 said he in after-years to his friend ,vasari1 if ,i possess anything of good in my mental constitution1 it comes from my having been born in your keen climate of ,arezzo2 just as ,i drew the chisel and the mallet with which ,i carve statues in together with my nurse's milk4 ,when ,michelangelo was of age to go to school1 his father put him under a grammarian at ,florence named ,francesco da ,urbino4 ,it does not appear1 however1 that he learned more than reading and writing in ,italian1 for later on in life we find him complaining that he knew no ,latin4 ,the boy's genius attracted him irresistibly to art4 ,he spent all his leisure time in drawing1 and frequented the society of youths who were apprenticed to masters in painting and sculpture4 ,among these he contracted an intimate friendship with ,francesco ,granacci1 at that time in the workshop of ,domenico ,ghirlandajo4 ,granacci used to lend him drawings by ,ghirlandajo1 and inspired him with the resolution to become a practical artist4 ,condivi says that ,francesco's influence1 combined with the continual craving of his nature1 made him at last abandon literary studies4 ,this brought the boy into disfavour with his father and uncles1 who often used to beat him severely2 for1 being insensible to the excellence and nobility of ,art1 they thought it shameful to give her shelter in their house4 ,nevertheless1 albeit their opposition caused him the greatest sorrow1 it was not sufficient to deter him from his steady purpose4 ,on the contrary1 growing even bolder he determined to work in colours4 ,condivi1 whose narrative preserves for us ,michelangelo's own recollections of his youthful years1 refers to this period the painted copy made by the young draughtsman from a copper-plate of ,martin ,schngauer4 ,we should probably be right in supposing that the anecdote is slightly antedated4 ,i give it1 however1 as nearly as possible in the biographer's own words4 ,granacci happened to show him a print of ,s4 ,antonio tormented by the devils4 ,this was the work of ,martino d',olanda1 a good artist for the times in which he lived2 and ,michelangelo transferred the composition to a panel4 ,assisted by the same friend with colours and brushes1 he treated his subject in so masterly a way that it excited surprise in all who saw it1 and even envy1 as some say1 in ,domenico1 the greatest painter of his age4 ,in order to diminish the extraordinary impression produced by this picture1 ,ghirlandajo went about saying that it came out of his own workshop1 as though he had some part in the performance4 ,while engaged on this piece1 which1 beside the figure of the saint1 contained many strange forms and diabolical monstrosities1 ,michelangelo coloured no particular without going first to ,nature and comparing her truth with his fancies4 ,thus he used to frequent the fish-market1 and study the shape and hues of fishes' fins1 the colour of their eyes1 and so forth in the case of every part belonging to them2 all of which details he reproduced with the utmost diligence in his painting4 ,whether this transcript from ,schngauer was made as early as ,condivi reports may1 as ,i have said1 be reasonably doubted4 ,the anecdote is interesting1 however1 as showing in what a naturalistic spirit ,michelangelo began to work4 ,the unlimited mastery which he acquired over form1 and which certainly seduced him at the close of his career into a stylistic mannerism1 was based in the first instance upon profound and patient interrogation of reality4 ,,iv ,lodovico perceived at length that it was useless to oppose his son's natural bent4 ,accordingly1 he sent him into ,ghirlandajo's workshop4 ,a minute from ,ghirlandajo's ledger1 under the date #adhh1 gives information regarding the terms of the apprenticeship4 ,i record this first of ,april how ,i1 ,lodovico di ,lionardo di ,buonarrota1 bind my son ,michelangelo to ,domenico and ,davit di ,tommaso di ,currado for the next three ensuing years1 under these conditions and contracts3 to wit1 that the said ,michelangelo shall stay with the above-named masters during this time1 to learn the art of painting1 and to practise the same1 and to be at the orders of the above-named2 and they1 for their part1 shall give to him in the course of these three years twenty-four florins 7fiorini di suggello73 to wit1 six florins in the first year1 eight in the second1 ten in the third2 making in all the sum of ninety-six pounds 7lire74 ,a postscript1 dated ,april #afth of the same year1 #adhh1 records that two florins were paid to ,michelangelo upon that day4 ,it seems that ,michelangelo retained no very pleasant memory of his sojourn with the ,ghirlandajo brothers4 ,condivi1 in the passage translated above1 hints that ,domenico was jealous of him4 ,he proceeds as follows3 ,this jealousy betrayed itself still more when ,michelangelo once begged the loan of a certain sketch-book1 wherein ,domenico had portrayed shepherds with their flocks and watchdogs1 landscapes1 buildings1 ruins1 and such-like things4 ,the master refused to lend it2 and indeed he had the fame of being somewhat envious2 for not only showed he thus scant courtesy toward ,michelangelo1 but he also treated his brother likewise1 sending him into ,france when he saw that he was making progress and putting forth great promise2 and doing this not so much for any profit to ,david1 as that he might himself remain the first of ,florentine painters4 ,i have thought fit to mention these things1 because ,i have been told that ,domenico's son is wont to ascribe the genius and divinity of ,michelangelo in great part to his father's teaching1 whereas the truth is that he received no assistance from that master4 ,i ought1 however1 to add that ,michelangelo does not complain3 on the contrary1 he praises ,domenico both as artist and as man4 ,this passage irritated ,vasari beyond measure4 ,he had written his first ,life of ,michelangelo in #aeej4 ,condivi published his own modest biography in #aeec1 with the expressed intention of correcting errors and supplying deficiencies made by others1 under which vague word he pointed probably at ,vasari4 ,michelangelo1 who furnished ,condivi with materials1 died in #aefd2 and ,vasari1 in #aefh1 issued a second enlarged edition of the ,life1 into which he cynically incorporated what he chose to steal from ,condivi's sources4 ,the supreme ,florentine sculptor being dead and buried1 ,vasari felt that he was safe in giving the lie direct to this humble rival biographer4 ,accordingly1 he spoke as follows about ,michelangelo's relations with ,domenico ,ghirlandajo3 ,he was fourteen years of age when he entered that master's service1 and inasmuch as one 7,condivi71 who composed his biography after #aeej1 when ,i had published these ,lives for the first time1 declares that certain persons1 from want of familiarity with ,michelangelo1 have recorded things that did not happen1 and have omitted others worthy of relation2 and in particular has touched upon the point at issue1 accusing ,domenico of envy1 and saying that he never rendered ,michelangelo assistance4--,here ,vasari1 out of breath with indignation1 appeals to the record of ,lodovico's contract with the ,ghirlandajo brothers4 ,these minutes1 he goes on to say1 ,i copied from the ledger1 in order to show that everything ,i formerly published1 or which will be published at the present time1 is truth4 ,nor am ,i acquainted with any one who had greater familiarity with ,michelangelo than ,i had1 or who served him more faithfully in friendly offices2 nor do ,i believe that a single man could exhibit a larger number of letters written with his own hand1 or evincing greater personal affection1 than ,i can4 ,this contention between ,condivi and ,vasari1 our two contemporary authorities upon the facts of ,michelangelo's life1 may not seem to be a matter of great moment for his biographer after the lapse of four centuries4 ,yet the first steps in the art-career of so exceptional a genius possess peculiar interest4 ,it is not insignificant to ascertain1 so far as now is possible1 what ,michelangelo owed to his teachers4 ,in equity1 we acknowledge that ,lodovico's record on the ledger of the ,ghirlandajo brothers proves their willingness to take him as a prentice1 and their payment to him of two florins in advance2 but the same record does not disprove ,condivi's statement1 derived from his old master's reminiscences1 to the effect that ,domenico ,ghirlandajo was in no way greatly serviceable to him as an instructor4 ,the fault1 in all probability1 did not lie with ,ghirlandajo alone4 ,michelangelo1 as we shall have occasions in plenty to observe1 was difficult to live with2 frank in speech to the point of rudeness1 ready with criticism1 incapable of governing his temper1 and at no time apt to work harmoniously with fellow-craftsmen4 ,his extraordinary force and originality of genius made themselves felt1 undoubtedly1 at the very outset of his career2 and ,ghirlandajo may be excused if1 without being positively jealous of the young eagle settled in his homely nest1 he failed to do the utmost for this gifted and rough-natured child of promise4 ,beethoven's discontent with ,haydn as a teacher offers a parallel2 and sympathetic students of psychology will perceive that ,ghirlandajo and ,haydn were almost superfluous in the training of phenomenal natures like ,michelangelo and ,beethoven4 ,vasari1 passing from controversy to the gossip of the studio1 has sketched a pleasant picture of the young ,buonarroti in his master's employ4 ,the artistic and personal qualities of ,michelangelo developed so rapidly that ,domenico was astounded by signs of power in him beyond the ordinary scope of youth4 ,he perceived1 in short1 that he not only surpassed the other students1 of whom ,ghirlandajo had a large number under his tuition1 but also that he often competed on an equality with the master4 ,one of the lads who worked there made a pen-drawing of some women1 clothed1 from a design of ,ghirlandajo4 ,michelangelo took up the paper1 and with a broader nib corrected the outline of a female figure1 so as to bring it into perfect truth to life4 ,wonderful it was to see the difference of the two styles1 and to note the judgment and ability of a mere boy1 so spirited and bold1 who had the courage to chastise his master's handiwork6 ,this drawing ,i now preserve as a precious relique1 since it was given me by ,granacci1 that it might take a place in my ,book of ,original ,designs1 together with others presented to me by ,michelangelo4 ,in the year #aeej1 when ,i was in ,rome1 ,i ,giorgio showed it to ,michelangelo1 who recognised it immediately1 and was pleased to see it again1 observing modestly that he knew more about the art when he was a child than now in his old age4 ,it happened then that ,domenico was engaged upon the great ,chapel of ,s4 ,maria ,novella2 and being absent one day1 ,michelangelo set himself to draw from nature the whole scaffolding1 with some easels and all the appurtenances of the art1 and a few of the young men at work there4 ,when ,domenico returned and saw the drawing1 he exclaimed3 ',this fellow knows more about it than ,i do1' and remained quite stupefied by the new style and the new method of imitation1 which a boy of years so tender had received as a gift from heaven4 ,both ,condivi and ,vasari relate that1 during his apprenticeship to ,ghirlandajo1 ,michelangelo demonstrated his technical ability by producing perfect copies of ancient drawings1 executing the facsimile with consummate truth of line1 and then dirtying the paper so as to pass it off as the original of some old master4 ,his only object1 adds ,vasari1 was to keep the originals1 by giving copies in exchange2 seeing that he admired them as specimens of art1 and sought to surpass them by his own handling2 and in doing this he acquired great renown4 ,we may pause to doubt whether at the present time--in the case1 for instance1 of ,shelley letters or ,rossetti drawings--clever forgeries would be accepted as so virtuous and laudable4 ,but it ought to be remembered that a ,florentine workshop at that period contained masses of accumulated designs1 all of which were more or less the common property of the painting firm4 ,no single specimen possessed a high market value4 ,it was1 in fact1 only when art began to expire in ,italy1 when ,vasari published his extensive necrology and formed his famous collection of drawings1 that property in a sketch became a topic for moral casuistry4 ,of ,michelangelo's own work at this early period we possess probably nothing except a rough scrawl on the plaster of a wall at ,settignano4 ,even this does not exist in its original state4 ,the ,satyr which is still shown there may1 according to ,mr4 ,heath ,wilson's suggestion1 be a rifacimento from the master's hand at a subsequent period of his career4 ,v ,condivi and ,vasari differ considerably in their accounts of ,michelangelo's departure from ,ghirlandajo's workshop4 ,the former writes as follows3 ,so then the boy1 now drawing one thing and now another1 without fixed place or steady line of study1 happened one day to be taken by ,granacci into the garden of the ,medici at ,san ,marco1 which garden the magnificent ,lorenzo1 father of ,pope ,leo1 and a man of the first intellectual distinction1 had adorned with antique statues and other reliques of plastic art4 ,when ,michelangelo saw these things and felt their beauty1 he no longer frequented ,domenico's shop1 nor did he go elsewhere1 but1 judging the ,medicean gardens to be the best school1 spent all his time and faculties in working there4 ,vasari reports that it was ,lorenzo's wish to raise the art of sculpture in ,florence to the same level as that of painting2 and for this reason he placed ,bertoldo1 a pupil and follower of ,donatello1 over his collections1 with a special commission to aid and instruct the young men who used them4 ,with the same intention of forming an academy or school of art1 ,lorenzo went to ,ghirlandajo1 and begged him to select from his pupils those whom he considered the most promising4 ,ghirlandajo accordingly drafted off ,francesco ,granacci and ,michelangelo ,buonarroti4 ,since ,michelangelo had been formally articled by his father to ,ghirlandajo in #adhh1 he can hardly have left that master in #adhi as unceremoniously as ,condivi asserts4 ,therefore we may1 ,i think1 assume that ,vasari upon this point has preserved the genuine tradition4 ,having first studied the art of design and learned to work in colours under the supervision of ,ghirlandajo1 ,michelangelo now had his native genius directed to sculpture4 ,he began with the rudiments of stone-hewing1 blocking out marbles designed for the ,library of ,san ,lorenzo1 and acquiring that practical skill in the manipulation of the chisel which he exercised all through his life4 ,condivi and ,vasari agree in relating that a copy he made for his own amusement from an antique ,faun first brought him into favourable notice with ,lorenzo4 ,the boy had begged a piece of refuse marble1 and carved a grinning mask1 which he was polishing when the ,medici passed by4 ,the great man stopped to examine the work1 and recognised its merit4 ,at the same time he observed with characteristic geniality3 ,oh1 you have made this ,faun quite old1 and yet have left him all his teeth6 ,do you not know that men of that great age are always wanting in one or two8 ,michelangelo took the hint1 and knocked a tooth out from the upper jaw4 ,when ,lorenzo saw how cleverly he had performed the task1 he resolved to provide for the boy's future and to take him into his own household4 ,so1 having heard whose son he was1 ,go1 he said1 and tell your father that ,i wish to speak with him4 ,a mask of a grinning ,faun may still be seen in the sculpture-gallery of the ,bargello at ,florence1 and the marble is traditionally assigned to ,michelangelo4 ,it does not exactly correspond to the account given by ,condivi and ,vasari2 for the mouth shows only two large tusk-like teeth1 with the tip of the tongue protruding between them4 ,still1 there is no reason to feel certain that we may not have here ,michelangelo's first extant work in marble4 ,michelangelo accordingly went home1 and delivered the message of the ,magnificent4 ,his father1 guessing probably what he was wanted for1 could only be persuaded by the urgent prayers of ,granacci and other friends to obey the summons4 ,indeed1 he complained loudly that ,lorenzo wanted to lead his son astray1 abiding firmly by the principle that he would never permit a son of his to be a stonecutter4 ,vainly did ,granacci explain the difference between a sculptor and a stone-cutter3 all his arguments seemed thrown away4 ,nevertheless1 when ,lodovico appeared before the ,magnificent1 and was asked if he would consent to give his son up to the great man's guardianship1 he did not know how to refuse4 ',in faith1' he added1 'not ,michelangelo alone1 but all of us1 with our lives and all our abilities1 are at the pleasure of your ,magnificence6' ,when ,lorenzo asked what he desired as a favour to himself1 he answered3 ',i have never practised any art or trade1 but have lived thus far upon my modest income1 attending to the little property in land which has come down from my ancestors2 and it has been my care not only to preserve these estates1 but to increase them so far as ,i was able by my industry4' ,the ,magnificent then added3 ',well1 look about1 and see if there be anything in ,florence which will suit you4 ,make use of me1 for ,i will do the utmost that ,i can for you4' ,it so happened that a place in the ,customs1 which could only be filled by a ,florentine citizen1 fell vacant shortly afterwards4 ,upon this ,lodovico returned to the ,magnificent1 and begged for it in these words3 ',lorenzo1 ,i am good for nothing but reading and writing4 ,now1 the mate of ,marco ,pucci in the ,customs having died1 ,i should like to enter into this office1 feeling myself able to fulfil its duties decently4' ,the ,magnificent laid his hand upon his shoulder1 and said with a smile3 ',you will always be a poor man2' for he expected him to ask for something far more valuable4 ,then he added3 ',if you care to be the mate of ,marco1 you can take the post1 until such time as a better becomes vacant4' ,it was worth eight crowns the month1 a little more or a little less4 ,a document is extant which shows that ,lodovico continued to fill this office at the ,customs till #adid1 when the heirs of ,lorenzo were exiled2 for in the year #aeab1 after the ,medici returned to ,florence1 he applied to ,giuliano1 ,duke of ,nemours1 to be reinstated in the same4 ,if it is true1 as ,vasari asserts1 that ,michelangelo quitted ,ghirlandajo in #adhi1 and if ,condivi is right in saying that he only lived in the ,casa ,medici for about two years before the death of ,lorenzo1 ,april #adib1 then he must have spent some twelve months working in the gardens at ,san ,marco before the ,faun's mask called attention to his talents4 ,his whole connection with ,lorenzo1 from the spring of #adhi to the spring of #adib1 lasted three years2 and1 since he was born in ,march #adge1 the space of his life covered by this patronage extended from the commencement of his fifteenth to the commencement of his eighteenth year4 ,these three years were decisive for the development of his mental faculties and special artistic genius4 ,it is not necessary to enlarge here upon ,lorenzo de' ,medici's merits and demerits1 either as the ruler of ,florence or as the central figure in the history of the ,italian ,renaissance4 ,these have supplied stock topics for discussion by all writers who have devoted their attention to that period of culture4 ,still we must remember that ,michelangelo enjoyed singular privileges under the roof of one who was not only great as diplomatist and politician1 and princely in his patronage1 but was also a man of original genius in literature1 of fine taste in criticism1 and of civil urbanity in manners4 ,the palace of the ,medici formed a museum1 at that period unique1 considering the number and value of its art treasures--bas-reliefs1 vases1 coins1 engraved stones1 paintings by the best contemporary masters1 statues in bronze and marble by ,verocchio and ,donatello4 ,its library contained the costliest manuscripts1 collected from all quarters of ,europe and the ,levant4 ,the guests who assembled in its halls were leaders in that intellectual movement which was destined to spread a new type of culture far and wide over the globe4 ,the young sculptor sat at the same board as ,marsilio ,ficino1 interpreter of ,plato2 ,pico della ,mirandola1 the phoenix of ,oriental erudition2 ,angelo ,poliziano1 the unrivalled humanist and melodious ,italian poet2 ,luigi ,pulci1 the humorous inventor of burlesque romance--with artists1 scholars1 students innumerable1 all in their own departments capable of satisfying a youth's curiosity1 by explaining to him the particular virtues of books discussed1 or of antique works of art inspected4 ,during those halcyon years1 before the invasion of ,charles ,,viii41 it seemed as though the peace of ,italy might last unbroken4 ,no one foresaw the apocalyptic vials of wrath which were about to be poured forth upon her plains and cities through the next half-century4 ,rarely1 at any period of the world's history1 perhaps only in ,athens between the ,persian and the ,peloponnesian wars1 has culture1 in the highest and best sense of that word1 prospered more intelligently and pacifically than it did in the ,florence of ,lorenzo1 through the co-operation and mutual zeal of men of eminence1 inspired by common enthusiasms1 and labouring in diverse though cognate fields of study and production4 ,michelangelo's position in the house was that of an honoured guest or adopted son4 ,lorenzo not only allowed him five ducats a month by way of pocket-money1 together with clothes befitting his station1 but he also1 says ,condivi1 appointed him a good room in the palace1 together with all the conveniences he desired1 treating him in every respect1 as also at his table1 precisely like one of his own sons4 ,it was the custom of this household1 where men of the noblest birth and highest public rank assembled round the daily board1 for the guests to take their places next the master in the order of their arrival2 those who were present at the beginning of the meal sat1 each according to his degree1 next the ,magnificent1 not moving afterwards for any one who might appear4 ,so it happened that ,michelangelo found himself frequently seated above ,lorenzo's children and other persons of great consequence1 with whom that house continually flourished and abounded4 ,all these illustrious men paid him particular attention1 and encouraged him in the honourable art which he had chosen4 ,but the chief to do so was the ,magnificent himself1 who sent for him oftentimes in a day1 in order that he might show him jewels1 cornelians1 medals1 and such-like objects of great rarity1 as knowing him to be of excellent parts and judgment in these things4 ,it does not appear that ,michelangelo had any duties to perform or services to render4 ,probably his patron employed him upon some useful work of the kind suggested by ,condivi4 ,but the main business of his life in the ,casa ,medici was to make himself a valiant sculptor1 who in after years should confer lustre on the city of the lily and her ,medicean masters4 ,what he produced during this period seems to have become his own property1 for two pieces of statuary1 presently to be described1 remained in the possession of his family1 and now form a part of the collection in the ,casa ,buonarroti4 ,,vi ,angelo ,poliziano1 who was certainly the chief scholar of his age in the new learning1 and no less certainly one of its truest poets in the vulgar language1 lived as tutor to ,lorenzo's children in the palace of the ,medici at ,florence4 ,benozzo ,gozzoli introduced his portrait1 together with the portraits of his noble pupils1 in a fresco of the ,pisan ,campo ,santo4 ,this prince of humanists recommended ,michelangelo to treat in bas-relief an antique fable1 involving the strife of young heroes for some woman's person4 ,probably he was also able to point out classical examples by which the boyish sculptor might be guided in the undertaking4 ,the subject made enormous demands upon his knowledge of the nude4 ,adult and youthful figures1 in attitudes of vehement attack and resistance1 had to be modelled2 and the conditions of the myth required that one at least of them should be brought into harmony with equine forms4 ,michelangelo wrestled vigorously with these difficulties4 ,he produced a work which1 though it is imperfect and immature1 brings to light the specific qualities of his inherent art-capacity4 ,the bas-relief1 still preserved in the ,casa ,buonarroti at ,florence1 is1 so to speak1 in fermentation with powerful half-realised conceptions1 audacities of foreshortening1 attempts at intricate grouping1 violent dramatic action and expression4 ,no previous tradition1 unless it was the genius of ,greek or ,greco-,roman antiquity1 supplied ,michelangelo with the motive force for this prentice-piece in sculpture4 ,donatello and other ,florentines worked under different sympathies for form1 affecting angularity in their treatment of the nude1 adhering to literal transcripts from the model or to conventional stylistic schemes4 ,michelangelo discarded these limitations1 and showed himself an ardent student of reality in the service of some lofty intellectual ideal4 ,following and closely observing ,nature1 he was also sensitive to the light and guidance of the classic genius4 ,yet1 at the same time1 he violated the aesthetic laws obeyed by that genius1 displaying his ,tuscan proclivities by violent dramatic suggestions1 and in loaded1 overcomplicated composition4 ,thus1 in this highly interesting essay1 the horoscope of the mightiest ,florentine artist was already cast4 ,nature leads him1 and he follows ,nature as his own star bids4 ,but that star is double1 blending classic influence with ,tuscan instinct4 ,the roof of the ,sistine was destined to exhibit to an awe-struck world what wealths of originality lay in the artist thus gifted1 and thus swayed by rival forces4 ,for the present1 it may be enough to remark that1 in the geometrical proportions of this bas-relief1 which is too high for its length1 ,michelangelo revealed imperfect feeling for antique principles2 while1 in the grouping of the figures1 which is more pictorial than sculpturesque1 he already betrayed1 what remained with him a defect through life1 a certain want of organic or symmetrical design in compositions which are not rigidly subordinated to architectural framework or limited to the sphere of an intaglio4 ,vasari mentions another bas-relief in marble as belonging to this period1 which1 from its style1 we may1 ,i think1 believe to have been designed earlier than the ,centaurs4 ,it is a seated ,madonna with the ,infant ,jesus1 conceived in the manner of ,donatello1 but without that master's force and power over the lines of drapery4 ,except for the interest attaching to it as an early work of ,michelangelo1 this piece would not attract much attention4 ,vasari praises it for grace and composition above the scope of ,donatello2 and certainly we may trace here the first germ of that sweet and winning majesty which ,buonarroti was destined to develop in his ,piet of ,s4 ,peter1 the ,madonna at ,bruges1 and the even more glorious ,madonna of ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,it is also interesting for the realistic introduction of a ,tuscan cottage staircase into the background4 ,this bas-relief was presented to ,cosimo de' ,medici1 first ,grand ,duke of ,tuscany1 by ,michelangelo's nephew ,lionardo4 ,it afterwards came back into the possession of the ,buonarroti family1 and forms at present an ornament of their house at ,florence4 ,,vii ,we are accustomed to think of ,michelangelo as a self-withdrawn and solitary worker1 living for his art1 avoiding the conflict of society1 immersed in sublime imaginings4 ,on the whole1 this is a correct conception of the man4 ,many passages of his biography will show how little he actively shared the passions and contentions of the stirring times through which he moved4 ,yet his temperament exposed him to sudden outbursts of scorn and anger1 which brought him now and then into violent collision with his neighbours4 ,an incident of this sort happened while he was studying under the patronage of ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 and its consequences marked him physically for life4 ,the young artists whom the ,magnificent gathered round him used to practise drawing in the ,brancacci ,chapel of the ,carmine4 ,there ,masaccio and his followers bequeathed to us noble examples of the grand style upon the frescoed panels of the chapel walls4 ,it was the custom of industrious lads to make transcripts from those broad designs1 some of which ,raphael deigned in his latest years to repeat1 with altered manner1 for the ,stanze of the ,vatican and the ,cartoons4 ,michelangelo went one day into the ,carmine with ,piero ,torrigiano and other comrades4 ,what ensued may best be reported in the narration which ,torrigiano at a later time made to ,benvenuto ,cellini4 ,this ,buonarroti and ,i used1 when we were boys1 to go into the ,church of the ,carmine to learn drawing from the chapel of ,masaccio4 ,it was ,buonarroti's habit to banter all who were drawing there2 and one day1 when he was annoying me1 ,i got more angry than usual1 and1 clenching my fist1 ,i gave him such a blow on the nose that ,i felt bone and cartilage go down like biscuit beneath my knuckles2 and this mark of mine he will carry with him to the grave4 ,the portraits of ,michelangelo prove that ,torrigiano's boast was not a vain one4 ,they show a nose broken in the bridge4 ,but ,torrigiano1 for this act of violence1 came to be regarded by the youth of ,florence with aversion1 as one who had laid sacrilegious hands upon the sacred ark4 ,cellini himself would have wiped out the insult with blood4 ,still ,cellini knew that personal violence was not in the line of ,michelangelo's character2 for ,michelangelo1 according to his friend and best biographer1 ,condivi1 was by nature1 as is usual with men of sedentary and contemplative habits1 rather timorous than otherwise1 except when he is roused by righteous anger to resent unjust injuries or wrongs done to himself or others1 in which case he plucks up more spirit than those who are esteemed brave2 but1 for the rest1 he is most patient and enduring4 ,cellini1 then1 knowing the quality of ,michelangelo's temper1 and respecting him as a deity of art1 adds to his report of ,torrigiano's conversation3 ,these words begat in me such hatred of the man1 since ,i was always gazing at the masterpieces of the divine ,michelangelo1 that1 although ,i felt a wish to go with him to ,england1 ,i now could never bear the sight of him4 ,,viii ,the years ,michelangelo spent in the ,casa ,medici were probably the blithest and most joyous of his lifetime4 ,the men of wit and learning who surrounded the ,magnificent were not remarkable for piety or moral austerity4 ,lorenzo himself found it politically useful to occupy the ,florentines with shows and festivals1 in order that they might think of their own pastimes and not of his designs1 and1 growing unused to the conduct of the commonwealth1 might leave the reins of government in his hands4 ,accordingly he devised those ,carnival triumphs and processions which filled the sombre streets of ,florence with ,bacchanalian revellers1 and the ears of her grave citizens with ill-disguised obscenity4 ,lorenzo took part in them himself1 and composed several choruses of high literary merit to be sung by the masqueraders4 ,one of these carries a refrain which might be chosen as a motto for the spirit of that age upon the brink of ruin3-- ,youths and maids1 enjoy to-day3 ,naught ye know about to-morrow6 ,he caused the triumphs to be carefully prepared by the best artists1 the dresses of the masquers to be accurately studied1 and their chariots to be adorned with illustrative paintings4 ,michelangelo's old friend ,granacci dedicated his talents to these shows1 which also employed the wayward fancy of ,piero di ,cosimo and ,pontormo's power as a colourist4 ,it was their wont1 says ,il ,lasca1 to go forth after dinner2 and often the processions paraded through the streets till three or four hours into the night1 with a multitude of masked men on horseback following1 richly dressed1 exceeding sometimes three hundred in number1 and as many on foot with lighted torches4 ,thus they traversed the city1 singing to the accompaniment of music arranged for four1 eight1 twelve1 or even fifteen voices1 and supported by various instruments4 ,lorenzo represented the worst as well as the best qualities of his age4 ,if he knew how to enslave ,florence1 it was because his own temperament inclined him to share the amusements of the crowd1 while his genius enabled him to invest corruption with charm4 ,his friend ,poliziano entered with the zest of a poet and a pleasure-seeker into these diversions4 ,he helped ,lorenzo to revive the ,tuscan ,mayday games1 and wrote exquisite lyrics to be sung by girls in summer evenings on the public squares4 ,this giant of learning1 who filled the lecture-rooms of ,florence with ,students of all nations1 and whose critical and rhetorical labours marked an epoch in the history of scholarship1 was by nature a versifier1 and a versifier of the people4 ,he found nothing' easier than to throw aside his professor's mantle and to improvise ballate for women to chant as they danced their rounds upon the ,piazza di ,s4 ,trinit4 ,the frontispiece to an old edition of such lyrics represents ,lorenzo surrounded with masquers in quaint dresses1 leading the revel beneath the walls of the ,palazzo4 ,another woodcut shows an angle of the ,casa ,medici in ,via ,larga1 girls dancing the carola upon the street below1 one with a wreath and thyrsus kneeling1 another presenting the ,magnificent with a book of loveditties4 ,the burden of all this poetry was3 ,gather ye roses while ye may1 cast prudence to the winds1 obey your instincts4 ,there is little doubt that ,michelangelo took part in these pastimes2 for we know that he was devoted to poetry1 not always of the gravest kind4 ,an anecdote related by ,cellini may here be introduced1 since it illustrates the ,florentine customs ,i have been describing4 ,luigi ,pulci was a young man who possessed extraordinary gifts for poetry1 together with sound ,latin scholarship4 ,he wrote well1 was graceful in manners1 and of surpassing personal beauty4 ,while he was yet a lad and living in ,florence1 it was the habit of folk in certain places of the city to meet together during the nights of summer on the open streets1 and he1 ranking among the best of the improvisatori1 sang there4 ,his recitations were so admirable that the divine ,michelangelo1 that prince of sculptors and of painters1 went1 wherever he heard that he would be1 with the greatest eagerness and delight to listen to him4 ,there was a man called ,piloto1 a goldsmith1 very able in his art1 who1 together with myself1 joined ,buonarroti upon these occasions4 ,in like manner1 the young ,michelangelo probably attended those nocturnal gatherings upon the steps of the ,duomo which have been so graphically described by ,doni3 ,the ,florentines seem to me to take more pleasure in summer airings than any other folk2 for they have1 in the square of ,s4 ,liberata1 between the antique temple of ,mars1 now the ,baptistery1 and that marvellous work of modern architecture1 the ,duomo3 they have1 ,i say1 certain steps of marble1 rising to a broad flat space1 upon which the youth of the city come and lay themselves full length during the season of extreme heat4 ,the place is fitted for its purpose1 because a fresh breeze is always blowing1 with the blandest of all air1 and the flags of white marble usually retain a certain coolness4 ,there then ,i seek my chiefest solace1 when1 taking my arial flights1 ,i sail invisibly above them2 see and hear their doings and discourses3 and forasmuch as they are endowed with keen and elevated understanding1 they always have a thousand charming things to relate2 as novels1 intrigues1 fables2 they discuss duels1 practical jokes1 old stories1 tricks played off by men and women on each other3 things1 each and all1 rare1 witty1 noble1 decent and in proper taste4 ,i can swear that during all the hours ,i spent in listening to their nightly dialogues1 ,i never heard a word that was not comely and of good repute4 ,indeed1 it seemed to me very remarkable1 among such crowds of young men1 to overhear nothing but virtuous conversation4 ,at the same period1 ,michelangelo fell under very different influences2 and these left a far more lasting impression on his character than the gay festivals and witty word-combats of the lords of ,florence4 ,in #adia ,savonarola1 the terrible prophet of coming woes1 the searcher of men's hearts1 and the remorseless denouncer of pleasant vices1 began that ,florentine career which ended with his martyrdom in #adih4 ,he had preached in ,florence eight years earlier1 but on that occasion he passed unnoticed through the crowd4 ,now he took the whole city by storm4 ,obeying the magic of his eloquence and the magnetism of his personality1 her citizens accepted this ,dominican friar as their political leader and moral reformer1 when events brought about the expulsion of the ,medici in #adid4 ,michelangelo was one of his constant listeners at ,s4 ,marco and in the ,duomo4 ,he witnessed those stormy scenes of religious revival and passionate fanaticism which contemporaries have impressively described4 ,the shorthand-writer to whom we owe the text of ,savonarola's sermons at times breaks off with words like these3 ,here ,i was so overcome with weeping that ,i could not go on4 ,pico della ,mirandola tells that the mere sound of the monk's voice1 startling the stillness of the ,duomo1 thronged through all its space with people1 was like a clap of doom2 a cold shiver ran through the marrow of his bones the hairs of his head stood on end while he listened4 ,another witness reports3 ,those sermons caused such terror1 alarm1 sobbing1 and tears1 that every one passed through the streets without speaking1 more dead than alive4 ,one of the earliest extant letters of ,michelangelo1 written from ,rome in #adig to his brother ,buonarroto1 reveals a vivid interest in ,savonarola4 ,he relates the evil rumours spread about the city regarding his heretical opinions1 and alludes to the hostility of ,fra ,mariano da ,genezzano2 adding this ironical sentence3 ,therefore he ought by all means to come and prophesy a little in ,rome1 when afterwards he will be canonised2 and so let all his party be of good cheer4 ,in later years1 it is said that the great sculptor read and meditated ,savonarola's writings together with the ,bible4 ,the apocalyptic thunderings and voices of the ,sistine ,chapel owe much of their soul-thrilling impressiveness to those studies4 ,michelet says1 not without justice1 that the spirit of ,savonarola lives again in the frescoes of that vault4 ,on the #hth of ,april #adib1 ,michelangelo lost his friend and patron4 ,lorenzo died in his villa at ,careggi1 aged little more than forty-four years4 ,guicciardini implies that his health and strength had been prematurely broken by sensual indulgences4 ,about the circumstances of his last hours there are some doubts and difficulties2 but it seems clear that he expired as a ,christian1 after a final interview with ,savonarola4 ,his death cast a gloom over ,italy4 ,princes and people were growing uneasy with the presentiment of impending disaster2 and now the only man who by his diplomatical sagacity could maintain the balance of power had been taken from them4 ,to his friends and dependants in ,florence the loss appeared irreparable4 ,poliziano poured forth his sorrow in a ,latin threnody of touching and simple beauty4 ,two years later both he and ,pico della ,mirandola followed their master to the grave4 ,marsilio ,ficino passed away in #adii2 and a friend of his asserted that the sage's ghost appeared to him4 ,the atmosphere was full of rumours1 portents1 strange premonitions of revolution and doom4 ,the true golden age of the ,italian ,renaissance may almost be said to have ended with ,lorenzo de' ,medici's life4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,i ,after the death of ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 ,michelangelo returned to his father's home1 and began to work upon a statue of ,hercules1 which is now lost4 ,it used to stand in the ,strozzi ,palace until the siege of ,florence in #aecj1 when ,giovanni ,battista della ,palla bought it from the steward of ,filippo ,strozzi1 and sent it into ,france as a present to the king4 ,the ,magnificent left seven children by his wife ,clarice1 of the princely ,roman house of the ,orsini4 ,the eldest1 ,piero1 was married to ,alfonsina1 of the same illustrious family4 ,giovanni1 the second1 had already received a cardinal's hat from his kinsman1 ,innocent ,,viii4 ,guiliano1 the third1 was destined to play a considerable part in ,florentine history under the title of ,duke of ,nemours4 ,one daughter was married to a ,salviati1 another to a ,ridolfi1 a third to the ,pope's son1 ,franceschetto ,cyb4 ,the fourth1 ,luisa1 had been betrothed to her distant cousin1 ,giovanni de' ,medici2 but the match was broken off1 and she remained unmarried4 ,piero now occupied that position of eminence and semi-despotic authority in ,florence which his father and grandfather had held2 but he was made of different stuff1 both mentally and physically4 ,the ,orsini blood1 which he inherited from his mother1 mixed but ill in his veins with that of ,florentine citizens and bankers4 ,following the proud and insolent traditions of his maternal ancestors1 he began to discard the mask of civil urbanity with which ,cosimo and ,lorenzo had concealed their despotism4 ,he treated the republic as though it were his own property1 and prepared for the coming disasters of his race by the overbearing arrogance of his behaviour4 ,physically1 he was powerful1 tall1 and active2 fond of field-sports1 and one of the best pallone-players of his time in ,italy4 ,though he had been a pupil of ,poliziano1 he displayed but little of his father's interest in learning1 art1 and literature4 ,chance brought ,michelangelo into personal relations with this man4 ,on the #bjth of ,january #adid there was a heavy fall of snow in ,florence1 and ,piero sent for the young sculptor to model a colossal snow-man in the courtyard of his palace4 ,critics have treated this as an insult to the great artist1 and a sign of ,piero's want of taste2 but nothing was more natural than that a previous inmate of the ,medicean household should use his talents for the recreation of the family who lived there4 ,piero upon this occasion begged ,michelangelo to return and occupy the room he used to call his own during ,lorenzo's lifetime4 ,and so1 writes ,condivi1 he remained for some months with the ,medici1 and was treated by ,piero with great kindness2 for the latter used to extol two men of his household as persons of rare ability1 the one being ,michelangelo1 the other a ,spanish groom1 who1 in addition to his personal beauty1 which was something wonderful1 had so good a wind and such agility that when ,piero was galloping on horseback he could not outstrip him by a hand's-breadth4 ,,ii ,at this period of his life ,michelangelo devoted himself to anatomy4 ,he had a friend1 the ,prior of ,s4 ,spirito1 for whom he carved a wooden crucifix of nearly life-size4 ,this liberal-minded churchman put a room at his disposal1 and allowed him to dissect dead bodies4 ,condivi tells us that the practice of anatomy was a passion with his master4 ,his prolonged habits of dissection injured his stomach to such an extent that he lost the power of eating or drinking to any profit4 ,it is true1 however1 that he became so learned in this branch of knowledge that he has often entertained the idea of composing a work for sculptors and painters1 which should treat exhaustively of all the movements of the human body1 the external aspect of the limbs1 the bones1 and so forth1 adding an ingenious discourse upon the truths discovered by him through the investigations of many years4 ,he would have done this if he had not mistrusted his own power of treating such a subject with the dignity and style of a practised rhetorician4 ,i know well that when he reads ,albert ,drer's book1 it seems to him of no great value2 his own conception being so far fuller and more useful4 ,truth to tell1 ,drer only treats of the measurements and varied aspects of the human form1 making his figures straight as stakes2 and1 what is more important1 he says nothing about the attitudes and gestures of the body4 ,inasmuch as ,michelangelo is now advanced in years1 and does not count on bringing his ideas to light through composition1 he has disclosed to me his theories in their minutest details4 ,he also began to discourse upon the same topic with ,messer ,realdo ,colombo1 an anatomist and surgeon of the highest eminence4 ,for the furtherance of such studies this good friend of ours sent him the corpse of a ,moor1 a young man of incomparable beauty1 and admirably adapted for our purpose4 ,it was placed at ,s4 ,agata1 where ,i dwelt and still dwell1 as being a quarter removed from public observation4 ,on this corpse ,michelangelo demonstrated to me many rare and abstruse things1 which perhaps have never yet been fully understood1 and all of which ,i noted down1 hoping one day1 by the help of some learned man1 to give them to the public4 ,of ,michelangelo's studies in anatomy we have one grim but interesting record in a pen-drawing by his hand at ,oxford4 ,a corpse is stretched upon a plank and trestles4 ,two men are bending over it with knives in their hands2 and1 for light to guide them in their labours1 a candle is stuck into the belly of the subject4 ,as it is not my intention to write the political history of ,michelangelo's period1 ,i need not digress here upon the invasion of ,italy by ,charles ,,viii41 which caused the expulsion of the ,medici from ,florence1 and the establishment of a liberal government under the leadership of ,savonarola4 ,michelangelo appears to have anticipated the catastrophe which was about to overwhelm his patron4 ,he was by nature timid1 suspicious1 and apt to foresee disaster4 ,possibly he may have judged that the haughty citizens of ,florence would not long put up with ,piero's aristocratical insolence4 ,but ,condivi tells a story on the subject which is too curious to be omitted1 and which he probably set down from ,michelangelo's own lips4 ,in the palace of ,piero a man called ,cardiere was a frequent inmate4 ,the ,magnificent took much pleasure in his society1 because he improvised verses to the guitar with marvellous dexterity1 and the ,medici also practised this art2 so that nearly every evening after supper there was music4 ,this ,cardiere1 being a friend of ,michelangelo1 confided to him a vision which pursued him1 to the following effect4 ,lorenzo de' ,medici appeared to him barely clad in one black tattered robe1 and bade him relate to his son ,piero that he would soon be expelled and never more return to his home4 ,now ,piero was arrogant and overbearing to such an extent that neither the good-nature of the ,cardinal ,giovanni1 his brother1 nor the courtesy and urbanity of ,giuliano1 was so strong to maintain him in ,florence as his own faults to cause his expulsion4 ,michelangelo encouraged the man to obey ,lorenzo and report the matter to his son2 but ,cardiere1 fearing his new master's temper1 kept it to himself4 ,on another morning1 when ,michelangelo was in the courtyard of the palace1 ,cardiere came with terror and pain written on his countenance4 ,last night ,lorenzo had again appeared to him in the same garb of woe2 and while he was awake and gazing with his eyes1 the spectre dealt him a blow on the cheek1 to punish him for omitting to report his vision to ,piero4 ,michelangelo immediately gave him such a thorough scolding that ,cardiere plucked up courage1 and set forth on foot for ,careggi1 a ,medicean villa some three miles distant from the city4 ,he had traveled about halfway1 when he met ,piero1 who was riding home2 so he stopped the cavalcade1 and related all that he had seen and heard4 ,piero laughed him to scorn1 and1 beckoning the running footmen1 bade them mock the poor fellow4 ,his ,chancellor1 who was afterwards the ,cardinal of ,bibbiena1 cried out3 ',you are a madman6 ,which do you think ,lorenzo loved best1 his son or you8 ,if his son1 would he not rather have appeared to him than to some one else8' ,having thus jeered him1 they let him go2 and he1 when he returned home and complained to ,michelangelo1 so convinced the latter of the truth of his vision that ,michelangelo after two days left ,florence with a couple of comrades1 dreading that if what ,cardiere had predicted should come true1 he would no longer be safe in ,florence4 ,this ghost-story bears a remarkable resemblance to what ,clarendon relates concerning the apparition of ,sir ,george ,villiers4 ,wishing to warn his son1 the ,duke of ,buckingham1 of his coming murder at the hand of ,lieutenant ,felton1 he did not appear to the ,duke himself1 but to an old man-servant of the family2 upon which behaviour of ,sir ,george's ghost the same criticism has been passed as on that of ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 ,michelangelo and his two friends travelled across the ,apennines to ,bologna1 and thence to ,venice1 where they stopped a few days4 ,want of money1 or perhaps of work there drove them back upon the road to ,florence4 ,when they reached ,bologna on the return journey1 a curious accident happened to the party4 ,the master of the city1 ,giovanni ,bentivoglio1 had recently decreed that every foreigner1 on entering the gates1 should be marked with a seal of red wax upon his thumb4 ,the three ,florentines omitted to obey this regulation1 and were taken to the office of the ,customs1 where they were fined fifty ,bolognese pounds4 ,michelangelo did not possess enough to pay this fine2 but it so happened that a ,bolognese nobleman called ,gianfrancesco ,aldovrandi was there1 who1 hearing that ,buonarroti was a sculptor1 caused the men to be released4 ,upon his urgent invitation1 ,michelangelo went to this gentleman's house1 after taking leave of his two friends and giving them all the money in his pocket4 ,with ,messer ,aldovrandi he remained more than a year1 much honoured by his new patron1 who took great delight in his genius2 and every evening he made ,michelangelo read aloud to him out of ,dante or ,petrarch1 and sometimes ,boccaccio1 until he went to sleep4 ,he also worked upon the tomb of ,san ,domenico during this first residence at ,bologna4 ,originally designed and carried forward by ,niccol ,pisano1 this elaborate specimen of mediaeval sculpture remained in some points imperfect4 ,there was a ,san ,petronio whose drapery1 begun by ,niccol da ,bari1 was unfinished4 ,to this statue ,michelangelo put the last touches2 and he also carved a kneeling angel with a candelabrum1 the workmanship of which surpasses in delicacy of execution all the other figures on the tomb4 ,,iii ,michelangelo left ,bologna hastily4 ,it is said that a sculptor who had expected to be employed upon the arca of ,s4 ,domenic threatened to do him some mischief if he stayed and took the bread out of the mouths of native craftsmen4 ,he returned to ,florence some time in #adie4 ,the city was now quiet again1 under the rule of ,savonarola4 ,its burghers1 in obedience to the friar's preaching1 began to assume that air of pietistic sobriety which contrasted strangely with the gay licentiousness encouraged by their former master4 ,though the reigning branch of the ,medici remained in exile1 their distant cousins1 who were descended from ,lorenzo1 the brother of ,cosimo1 ,pater ,patriae1 kept their place in the republic4 ,they thought it prudent1 however1 at this time1 to exchange the hated name of de' ,medici for ,popolano4 ,with a member of this section of the ,medicean family1 ,lorenzo di ,pierfrancesco1 ,michelangelo soon found himself on terms of intimacy4 ,it was for him that he made a statue of the young ,s4 ,john1 which was perhaps rediscovered at ,pisa in #ahgd4 ,for a long time this ,s4 ,giovannino was attributed to ,donatello2 and it certainly bears decided marks of resemblance to that master's manner1 in the choice of attitude1 the close adherence to the model1 and the treatment of the hands and feet4 ,still it has notable affinities to the style of ,michelangelo1 especially in the youthful beauty of the features1 the disposition of the hair1 and the sinuous lines which govern the whole composition4 ,it may also be remarked that those peculiarities in the hands and feet which ,i have mentioned as reminding us of ,donatello--a remarkable length in both extremities1 owing to the elongation of the metacarpal and metatarsal bones and of the spaces dividing these from the forearm and tibia--are precisely the points which ,michelangelo retained through life from his early study of ,donatello's work4 ,we notice them particularly in the ,dying ,slave of the ,louvre1 which is certainly one of his most characteristic works4 ,good judges are therefore perhaps justified in identifying this ,s4 ,giovannino1 which is now in the ,berlin ,museum1 with the statue made for ,lorenzo di ,pierfrancesco de' ,medici4 ,the next piece which occupied ,michelangelo's chisel was a ,sleeping ,cupid4 ,his patron thought this so extremely beautiful that he remarked to the sculptor3 ,if you were to treat it artificially1 so as to make it look as though it had been dug up1 ,i would send it to ,rome2 it would be accepted as an antique1 and you would be able to sell it at a far higher price4 ,michelangelo took the hint4 ,his ,cupid went to ,rome1 and was sold for thirty ducats to a dealer called ,messer ,baldassare del ,milanese1 who resold it to ,raffaello ,riario1 the ,cardinal di ,s4 ,giorgio1 for the advanced sum of #bjj ducats4 ,it appears from this transaction that ,michelangelo did not attempt to impose upon the first purchaser1 but that this man passed it off upon the ,cardinal as an antique4 ,when the ,cardinal began to suspect that the ,cupid was the work of a modern ,florentine1 he sent one of his gentlemen to ,florence to inquire into the circumstances4 ,the rest of the story shall be told in ,condivi's words4 ,this gentleman1 pretending to be on the lookout for a sculptor capable of executing certain works in ,rome1 after visiting several1 was addressed to ,michelangelo4 ,when he saw the young artist1 he begged him to show some proof of his ability2 whereupon ,michelangelo took a pen 7for at that time the crayon lapis had not come into use71 and drew a hand with such grace that the gentleman was stupefied4 ,afterwards1 he asked if he had ever worked in marble1 and when ,michelangelo said yes1 and mentioned among other things a ,cupid of such height and in such an attitude1 the man knew that he had found the right person4 ,so he related how the matter had gone1 and promised ,michelangelo1 if he would come with him to ,rome1 to get the difference of price made up1 and to introduce him to his patron1 feeling sure that the latter would receive him very kindly4 ,michelangelo1 then1 partly in anger at having been cheated1 and partly moved by the gentleman's account of ,rome as the widest field for an artist to display his talents1 went with him1 and lodged in his house1 near the palace of the ,cardinal4 ,s4 ,giorgio compelled ,messer ,baldassare to refund the #bjj ducats1 and to take the ,cupid back4 ,but ,michelangelo got nothing beyond his original price2 and both ,condivi and ,vasari blame the ,cardinal for having been a dull and unsympathetic patron to the young artist of genius he had brought from ,florence4 ,still the whole transaction was of vast importance1 because it launched him for the first time upon ,rome1 where he was destined to spend the larger part of his long life1 and to serve a succession of ,pontiffs in their most ambitious undertakings4 ,before passing to the events of his sojourn at ,rome1 ,i will wind up the story of the ,cupid4 ,it passed first into the hands of ,cesare ,borgia1 who presented it to ,guidobaldo di ,montefeltro1 ,duke of ,urbino4 ,on the #cjth of ,june #aejb1 the ,marchioness of ,mantua wrote a letter to the ,cardinal of ,este1 saying that she should very much like to place this piece1 together with an antique statuette of ,venus1 both of which had belonged to her brother-in-law1 the ,duke of ,urbino1 in her own collection4 ,apparently they had just become the property of ,cesare ,borgia1 when he took and sacked the town of ,urbino upon the #bjth of ,june in that year4 ,cesare ,borgia seems to have complied immediately with her wishes2 for in a second letter1 dated ,july #bb1 #aejb1 she described the ,cupid as without a peer among the works of modern times4 ,,iv ,michelangelo arrived in ,rome at the end of ,june #adif4 ,this we know from the first of his extant letters1 which is dated ,july #b1 and addressed to ,lorenzo di ,pierfrancesco de' ,medici4 ,the superscription1 however1 bears the name of ,sandro ,botticelli1 showing that some caution had still to be observed in corresponding with the ,medici1 even with those who latterly assumed the name of ,popolani4 ,the young ,buonarroti writes in excellent spirits3 ,i only write to inform you that last ,saturday we arrived safely1 and went at once to visit the ,cardinal di ,san ,giorgio2 and ,i presented your letter to him4 ,it appeared to me that he was pleased to see me1 and he expressed a wish that ,i should go immediately to inspect his collection of statues4 ,i spent the whole day there1 and for that reason was unable to deliver all your letters4 ,afterwards1 on ,sunday1 the ,cardinal came into the new house1 and had me sent for4 ,i went to him1 and he asked what ,i thought about the things which ,i had seen4 ,i replied by stating my opinion1 and certainly ,i can say with sincerity that there are many fine things in the collection4 ,then he asked me whether ,i had the courage to make some beautiful work of art4 ,i answered that ,i should not be able to achieve anything so great1 but that he should see what ,i could do4 ,we have bought a piece of marble for a life-size statue1 and on ,monday ,i shall begin to work4 ,after describing his reception1 ,michelangelo proceeds to relate the efforts he was making to regain his ,sleeping ,cupid from ,messer ,baldassare3 ,afterwards1 ,i gave your letter to ,baldassare1 and asked him for the child1 saying ,i was ready to refund his money4 ,he answered very roughly1 swearing he would rather break it in a hundred pieces2 he had bought the child1 and it was his property2 he possessed writings which proved that he had satisfied the person who sent it to him1 and was under no apprehension that he should have to give it up4 ,then he complained bitterly of you1 saying that you had spoken ill of him4 ,certain of our ,florentines sought to accommodate matters1 but failed in their attempt4 ,now ,i look to coming to terms through the ,cardinal2 for this is the advice of ,baldassare ,balducci4 ,what ensues ,i will report to you4 ,it is clear that ,lorenzo di ,pierfrancesco1 being convinced of the broker's sharp practice1 was trying to recover the ,sleeping ,cupid 7the child7 at the price originally paid for it1 either for himself or for ,buonarroti4 ,the ,cardinal is mentioned as being the most likely person to secure the desired result4 ,whether ,condivi is right in saying that ,s4 ,giorgio neglected to employ ,michelangelo may be doubted4 ,we have seen from this letter to ,lorenzo that the ,cardinal bought a piece of marble and ordered a life-size statue4 ,but nothing more is heard about the work4 ,professor ,milanesi1 however1 has pointed out that when the sculptor was thinking of leaving ,rome in #adig he wrote to his father on the #ast of ,july as follows3 ,most revered and beloved father1 do not be surprised that ,i am unable to return1 for ,i have not yet settled my affairs with the ,cardinal1 and ,i do not wish to leave until ,i am properly paid for my labour2 and with these great patrons one must go about quietly1 since they cannot be compelled4 ,i hope1 however1 at any rate during the course of next week1 to have completed the transaction4 ,michelangelo remained at ,rome for more than two years after the date of the letter just quoted4 ,we may conjecture1 then1 that he settled his accounts with the ,cardinal1 whatever these were1 and we know that he obtained other orders4 ,in a second letter to his father1 ,august #ai1 #adig1 he writes thus3 ,piero de' ,medici gave me a commission for a statue1 and ,i bought the marble4 ,but ,i did not begin to work upon it1 because he failed to perform what he promised4 ,wherefore ,i am acting on my own account1 and am making a statue for my own pleasure4 ,i bought the marble for five ducats1 and it turned out bad4 ,so ,i threw my money away4 ,now ,i have bought another at the same price1 and the work ,i am doing is for my amusement4 ,you will therefore understand that ,i too have large expenses and many troubles4 ,during the first year of his residence in ,rome 7between ,july #b1 #adif1 and ,august #ai1 #adig7 ,michelangelo must have made some money1 else he could not have bought marble and have worked upon his own account4 ,vasari asserts that he remained nearly twelve months in the household of the ,cardinal1 and that he only executed a drawing of ,s4 ,francis receiving the stigmata1 which was coloured by a barber in ,s4 ,giorgio's service1 and placed in the ,church of ,s4 ,pietro a ,montorio4 ,benedetto ,varchi describes this picture as having been painted by ,buonarroti's own hand4 ,we know nothing more for certain about it4 ,how he earned his money is therefore1 unexplained1 except upon the supposition that ,s4 ,giorgio1 unintelligent as he may have been in his patronage of art1 paid him for work performed4 ,i may here add that the ,piero de' ,medici who gave the commission mentioned in the last quotation was the exiled head of the ruling family4 ,nothing had to be expected from such a man4 ,he came to ,rome in order to be near the ,cardinal ,giovanni1 and to share this brother's better fortunes2 but his days and nights were spent in debauchery among the companions and accomplices of shameful riot4 ,michelangelo1 in short1 like most young artists1 was struggling into fame and recognition4 ,both came to him by the help of a ,roman gentleman and banker1 ,messer ,jacopo ,gallo4 ,it so happened that an intimate ,florentine friend of ,buonarroti1 the ,baldassare ,balducci mentioned at the end of his letter to ,lorenzo di ,pierfrancesco1 was employed in ,gallo's house of business4 ,it is probable1 therefore1 that this man formed the link of connection between the sculptor and his new patron4 ,at all events1 ,messer ,gallo purchased a ,bacchus1 which now adorns the sculpture-gallery of the ,bargello1 and a ,cupid1 which may possibly be the statue at ,south ,kensington4 ,condivi says that this gentleman1 a man of fine intelligence1 employed him to execute in his own house a marble ,bacchus1 ten palms in height1 the form and aspect of which correspond in all parts to the meaning of ancient authors4 ,the face of the youth is jocund1 the eyes wandering and wanton1 as is the wont with those who are too much addicted to a taste for wine4 ,in his right hand he holds a cup1 lifting it to drink1 and gazing at it like one who takes delight in that liquor1 of which he was the first discoverer4 ,for this reason1 too1 the sculptor has wreathed his head with vine-tendrils4 ,on his left arm hangs a tiger-skin1 the beast dedicated to ,bacchus1 as being very partial to the grape4 ,here the artist chose rather to introduce the skin than the animal itself1 in order to hint that sensual indulgence in the pleasure of the grape-juice leads at last to loss of life4 ,with the hand of this arm he holds a bunch of grapes1 which a little satyr1 crouched below him1 is eating on the sly with glad and eager gestures4 ,the child may seem to be seven years1 the ,bacchus eighteen of age4 ,this description is comparatively correct1 except that ,condivi is obviously mistaken when he supposes that ,michelangelo's young ,bacchus faithfully embodies the ,greek spirit4 ,the ,greeks never forgot1 in all their representations of ,dionysos1 that he was a mystic and enthusiastic deity4 ,joyous1 voluptuous1 androgynous1 he yet remains the god who brought strange gifts and orgiastic rites to men4 ,his followers1 ,silenus1 ,bacchantes1 ,fauns1 exhibit1 in their self-abandonment to sensual joy1 the operation of his genius4 ,the deity descends to join their revels from his clear ,olympian ether1 but he is not troubled by the fumes of intoxication4 ,michelangelo has altered this conception4 ,bacchus1 with him1 is a terrestrial young man1 upon the verge of toppling over into drunkenness4 ,the value of the work is its realism4 ,the attitude could not be sustained in actual life for a moment without either the goblet spilling its liquor or the body reeling side-ways4 ,not only are the eyes wavering and wanton1 but the muscles of the mouth have relaxed into a tipsy smile2 and1 instead of the tiger-skin being suspended from the left arm1 it has slipped down1 and is only kept from falling by the loose grasp of the trembling hand4 ,nothing1 again1 could be less godlike than the face of ,bacchus4 ,it is the face of a not remarkably good-looking model1 and the head is too small both for the body and the heavy crown of leaves4 ,as a study of incipient intoxication1 when the whole person is disturbed by drink1 but human dignity has not yet yielded to a bestial impulse1 this statue proves the energy of ,michelangelo's imagination4 ,the physical beauty of his adolescent model in the limbs and body redeems the grossness of the motive by the inalienable charm of health and carnal comeliness4 ,finally1 the technical merits of the work cannot too strongly be insisted on4 ,the modelling of the thorax1 the exquisite roundness and fleshiness of the thighs and arms and belly1 the smooth skin-surface expressed throughout in marble1 will excite admiration in all who are capable of appreciating this aspect of the statuary's art4 ,michelangelo produced nothing more finished in execution1 if we except the ,piet at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,his ,bacchus alone is sufficient to explode a theory favoured by some critics1 that1 left to work unhindered1 he would still have preferred a certain vagueness1 a certain want of polish in his marbles4 ,nevertheless1 the ,bacchus leaves a disagreeable impression on the mind--as disagreeable in its own way as that produced by the ,christ of the ,minerva4 ,that must be because it is wrong in spiritual conception--brutally materialistic1 where it ought to have been noble or graceful4 ,in my opinion1 the frank1 joyous naturalism of ,sansovino's ,bacchus 7also in the ,bargello7 possesses more of true ,greek inspiration than ,michelangelo's4 ,if ,michelangelo meant to carve a ,bacchus1 he failed2 if he meant to imitate a physically desirable young man in a state of drunkenness1 he succeeded4 ,what ,shelley wrote upon this statue may here be introduced1 since it combines both points of view in a criticism of much spontaneous vigour4 ,the countenance of this figure is the most revolting mistake of the spirit and meaning of ,bacchus4 ,it looks drunken1 brutal1 and narrow-minded1 and has an expression of dissoluteness the most revolting4 ,the lower part of the figure is stiff1 and the manner in which the shoulders are united to the breast1 and the neck to the head1 abundantly inharmonious4 ,it is altogether without unity1 as was the idea of the deity of ,bacchus in the conception of a ,catholic4 ,on the other hand1 considered merely as a piece of workmanship1 it has great merits4 ,the arms are executed in the most perfect and manly beauty2 the body is conceived with great energy1 and the lines which describe the sides and thighs1 and the manner in which they mingle into one another1 are of the highest order of boldness and beauty4 ,it wants1 as a work of art1 unity and simplicity2 as a representation of the ,greek deity of ,bacchus1 it wants everything4 ,jacopo ,gallo is said to have also purchased a ,cupid from ,michelangelo4 ,it has been suggested1 with great plausibility1 that this ,cupid was the piece which ,michelangelo began when ,piero de' ,medici's commission fell through1 and that it therefore preceded the ,bacchus in date of execution4 ,it has also been suggested that the so-called ,cupid at ,south ,kensington is the work in question4 ,we have no authentic information to guide us in the matter4 ,but the ,south ,kensington ,cupid is certainly a production of the master's early manhood4 ,it was discovered some forty years ago1 hidden away in the cellars of the ,gualfonda 7,rucellai7 ,gardens at ,florence1 by ,professor ,miliarini and the famous ,florentine sculptor ,santarelli4 ,on a cursory inspection they both declared it to be a genuine ,michelangelo4 ,the left arm was broken1 the right hand damaged1 and the hair had never received the sculptor's final touches4 ,santarelli restored the arm1 and the ,cupid passed by purchase into the possession of the ,english nation4 ,this fine piece of sculpture is executed in ,michelangelo's proudest1 most dramatic manner4 ,the muscular young man of eighteen1 a model of superb adolescence1 kneels upon his right knee1 while the right hand is lowered to lift an arrow from the ground4 ,the left hand is raised above the head1 and holds the bow1 while the left leg is so placed1 with the foot firmly pressed upon the ground1 as to indicate that in a moment the youth will rise1 fit the shaft to the string1 and send it whistling at his adversary4 ,this choice of a momentary attitude is eminently characteristic of ,michelangelo's style2 and1 if we are really to believe that he intended to portray the god of love1 it offers another instance of his independence of classical tradition4 ,no ,greek would have thus represented ,eros4 ,the lyric poets1 indeed1 ,ibycus and ,anacreon1 imaged him as a fierce invasive deity1 descending like the whirlwind on an oak1 or striking at his victim with an axe4 ,but these romantic ideas did not find expression1 so far as ,i am aware1 in antique plastic art4 ,michelangelo's ,cupid is therefore as original as his ,bacchus4 ,much as critics have written1 and with justice1 upon the classical tendencies of the ,italian ,renaissance1 they have failed to point out that the ,paganism of the ,cinque ,cento rarely involved a servile imitation of the antique or a sympathetic intelligence of its spirit4 ,least of all do we find either of these qualities in ,michelangelo4 ,he drew inspiration from his own soul1 and he went straight to ,nature for the means of expressing the conception he had formed4 ,unlike the ,greeks1 he invariably preferred the particular to the universal1 the critical moment of an action to suggestions of the possibilities of action4 ,he carved an individual being1 not an abstraction or a generalisation of personality4 ,the ,cupid supplies us with a splendid illustration of this criticism4 ,being a product of his early energy1 before he had formed a certain manneristic way of seeing ,nature and of reproducing what he saw1 it not only casts light upon the spontaneous working of his genius1 but it also shows how the young artist had already come to regard the inmost passion of the soul4 ,when quite an old man1 rhyming those rough platonic sonnets1 he always spoke of love as masterful and awful4 ,for his austere and melancholy nature1 ,eros was no tender or light-winged youngling1 but a masculine tyrant1 the tamer of male spirits4 ,therefore this ,cupid1 adorable in the power and beauty of his vigorous manhood1 may well remain for us the myth or symbol of love as ,michelangelo imagined that emotion4 ,in composition1 the figure is from all points of view admirable1 presenting a series of nobly varied line-harmonies4 ,all we have to regret is that time1 exposure to weather1 and vulgar outrage should have spoiled the surface of the marble4 ,,vi ,it is natural to turn from the ,cupid to another work belonging to the ,english nation1 which has recently been ascribed to ,michelangelo4 ,i mean the ,madonna1 with ,christ1 ,s4 ,john1 and four attendant male figures1 once in the possession of ,mr4 ,h4 ,labouchere1 and now in the ,national ,gallery4 ,we have no authentic tradition regarding this tempera painting1 which in my judgment is the most beautiful of the easel pictures attributed to ,michelangelo4 ,internal evidence from style renders its genuineness in the highest degree probable4 ,no one else upon the close of the fifteenth century was capable of producing a composition at once so complicated1 so harmonious1 and so clear as the group formed by ,madonna1 ,christ leaning on her knee to point a finger at the book she holds1 and the young ,s4 ,john turned round to combine these figures with the exquisitely blended youths behind him4 ,unfortunately the two angels or genii upon the left hand are unfinished2 but had the picture been completed1 we should probably have been able to point out another magnificent episode in the composition1 determined by the transverse line carried from the hand upon the last youth's shoulder1 through the open book and the upraised arm of ,christ1 down to the feet of ,s4 ,john and the last genius on the right side4 ,florentine painters had been wont to place attendant angels at both sides of their enthroned ,madonnas4 ,fine examples might be chosen from the work of ,filippino ,lippi and ,botticelli4 ,but their angels were winged and clothed like acolytes2 the ,madonna was seated on a rich throne or under a canopy1 with altar-candles1 wreaths of roses1 flowering lilies4 ,it is characteristic of ,michelangelo to adopt a conventional motive1 and to treat it with brusque originality4 ,in this picture there are no accessories to the figures1 and the attendant angels are ,tuscan lads half draped in succinct tunics4 ,the style is rather that of a flat relief in stone than of a painting2 and though we may feel something of ,ghirlandajo's influence1 the spirit of ,donatello and ,luca della ,robbia are more apparent4 ,that it was the work of an inexperienced painter is shown by the failure to indicate pictorial planes4 ,in spite of the marvellous and intricate beauty of the line-composition1 it lacks that effect of graduated distances which might perhaps have been secured by execution in bronze or marble4 ,the types have not been chosen with regard to ideal loveliness or dignity1 but accurately studied from living models4 ,this is very obvious in the heads of ,christ and ,s4 ,john4 ,the two adolescent genii on the right hand possess a high degree of natural grace4 ,yet even here what strikes one most is the charm of their attitude1 the lovely interlacing of their arms and breasts1 the lithe alertness of the one lad contrasted with the thoughtful leaning languor of his comrade4 ,only perhaps in some drawings of combined male figures made by ,ingres for his picture of the ,golden ,age have lines of equal dignity and simple beauty been developed4 ,i do not think that this ,madonna1 supposing it to be a genuine piece by ,michelangelo1 belongs to the period of his first residence in ,rome4 ,in spite of its immense intellectual power1 it has an air of immaturity4 ,probably ,heath ,wilson was right in assigning it to the time spent at ,florence after ,lorenzo de' ,medici's death1 when the artist was about twenty years of age4 ,i may take this occasion for dealing summarily with the ,entombment in the ,national ,gallery4 ,the picture1 which is half finished1 has no pedigree4 ,it was bought out of the collection of ,cardinal ,fesch1 and pronounced to be a ,michelangelo by the ,munich painter ,cornelius4 ,good judges have adopted this attribution1 and to differ from them requires some hardihood4 ,still it is painful to believe that at any period of his life ,michelangelo could have produced a composition so discordant1 so unsatisfactory in some anatomical details1 so feelingless and ugly4 ,it bears indubitable traces of his influence2 that is apparent in the figure of the dead ,christ4 ,but this colossal nude1 with the massive chest and attenuated legs1 reminds us of his manner in old age2 whereas the rest of the picture shows no trace of that manner4 ,i am inclined to think that the ,entombment was the production of a second-rate craftsman1 working upon some design made by ,michelangelo at the advanced period when the ,passion of our ,lord occupied his thoughts in ,rome4 ,even so1 the spirit of the drawing must have been imperfectly assimilated2 and1 what is more puzzling1 the composition does not recall the style of ,michelangelo's old age4 ,the colouring1 so far as we can understand it1 rather suggests ,pontormo4 ,,vii ,michelangelo's good friend1 ,jacopo ,gallo1 was again helpful to him in the last and greatest work which he produced during this ,roman residence4 ,the ,cardinal ,jean de la ,groslaye de ,villiers ,franois1 ,abbot of ,s4 ,denys1 and commonly called by ,italians the ,cardinal di ,san ,dionigi1 wished to have a specimen of the young sculptor's handiwork4 ,accordingly articles were drawn up to the following effect on ,august #bf1 #adih3 ,let it be known and manifest to whoso shall read the ensuing document1 that the most ,rev4 ,cardinal of ,s4 ,dionigi has thus agreed with the master ,michelangelo1 sculptor of ,florence1 to wit1 that the said master shall make a ,piet of marble at his own cost2 that is to say1 a ,virgin ,mary clothed1 with the dead ,christ in her arms1 of the size of a proper man1 for the price of #dej golden ducats of the ,papal mint1 within the term of one year from the day of the commencement of the work4 ,next follow clauses regarding the payment of the money1 whereby the ,cardinal agrees to disburse sums in advance4 ,the contract concludes with a guarantee and surety given by ,jacopo ,gallo4 ,and ,i1 ,jacopo ,gallo1 pledge my word to his most ,rev4 ,lordship that the said ,michelangelo will finish the said work within one year1 and that it shall be the finest work in marble which ,rome to-day can show1 and that no master of our days shall be able to produce a better4 ,and1 in like manner1 on the other side1 ,i pledge my word to the said ,michelangelo that the most ,rev4 ,card4 will disburse the payments according to the articles above engrossed4 ,to witness which1 ,i1 ,jacopo ,gallo1 have made this present writing with my own hand1 according to the date of year1 month1 and day as above4 ,the ,piet raised ,michelangelo at once to the highest place among the artists of his time1 and it still remains unrivalled for the union of sublime aesthetic beauty with profound religious feeling4 ,the mother of the dead ,christ is seated on a stone at the foot of the cross1 supporting the body of her son upon her knees1 gazing sadly at his wounded side1 and gently lifting her left hand1 as though to say1 ,behold and see6 ,she has the small head and heroic torso used by ,michelangelo to suggest immense physical force4 ,we feel that such a woman has no difficulty in holding a man's corpse upon her ample lap and in her powerful arms4 ,her face1 which differs from the female type he afterwards preferred1 resembles that of a young woman4 ,for this he was rebuked by critics who thought that her age should correspond more naturally to that of her adult son4 ,condivi reports that ,michelangelo explained his meaning in the following words3 ,do you not know that chaste women maintain their freshness far longer than the unchaste8 ,how much more would this be the case with a virgin1 into whose breast there never crept the least lascivious desire which could affect the body8 ,nay1 ,i will go further1 and hazard the belief that this unsullied bloom of youth1 besides being maintained in her by natural causes1 may have been miraculously wrought to convince the world of the virginity and perpetual purity of the ,mother4 ,this was not necessary for the ,son4 ,on the contrary1 in order to prove that the ,son of ,god took upon himself1 as in very truth he did take1 a human body1 and became subject to all that an ordinary man is subject to1 with the exception of sin2 the human nature of ,christ1 instead of being superseded by the divine1 was left to the operation of natural laws1 so that his person revealed the exact age to which he had attained4 ,you need not1 therefore1 marvel if1 having regard to these considerations1 ,i made the most ,holy ,virgin1 ,mother of ,god1 much younger relatively to her ,son than women of her years usually appear1 and left the ,son such as his time of life demanded4 ,this reasoning1 adds ,condivi1 was worthy of some learned theologian1 and would have been little short of marvellous in most men1 but not in him1 whom ,god and ,nature fashioned1 not merely to be peerless in his handiwork1 but also capable of the divinest concepts1 as innumerable discourses and writings which we have of his make clearly manifest4 ,the ,christ is also somewhat youthful1 and modelled with the utmost delicacy2 suggesting no lack of strength1 but subordinating the idea of physical power to that of a refined and spiritual nature4 ,nothing can be more lovely than the hands1 the feet1 the arms1 relaxed in slumber4 ,death becomes immortally beautiful in that recumbent figure1 from which the insults of the scourge1 the cross1 the brutal lance have been erased4 ,michelangelo did not seek to excite pity or to stir devotion by having recourse to those mediaeval ideas which were so passionately expressed in ,s4 ,bernard's hymn to the ,crucified4 ,the aesthetic tone of his dead ,christ is rather that of some sweet solemn strain of cathedral music1 some motive from a mass of ,palestrina or a ,passion of ,sebastian ,bach4 ,almost involuntarily there rises to the memory that line composed by ,bion for the genius of earthly loveliness bewailed by everlasting beauty-- ,e'en as a corpse he is fair1 fair corpse as fallen aslumber4 ,it is said that certain ,lombards passing by and admiring the ,piet ascribed it to ,christoforo ,solari of ,milan1 surnamed ,il ,gobbo4 ,michelangelo1 having happened to overhear them1 shut himself up in the chapel1 and engraved the belt upon the ,madonna's breast with his own name4 ,this he never did with any other of his works4 ,this masterpiece of highest art combined with pure religious feeling was placed in the old ,basilica of ,s4 ,peter's1 in a chapel dedicated to ,our ,lady of the ,fever1 ,madonna della ,febbre4 ,here1 on the night of ,august #ai1 #aejc1 it witnessed one of those horrid spectacles which in ,italy at that period so often intervened to interrupt the rhythm of romance and beauty and artistic melody4 ,the dead body of ,roderigo ,borgia1 ,alexander ,,vi41 lay in state from noon onwards in front of the high altar2 but since it was the most repulsive1 monstrous1 and deformed corpse which had ever yet been seen1 without any form or figure of humanity1 shame compelled them to partly cover it4 ,late in the evening it was transferred to the chapel of ,our ,lady of the ,fever1 and deposited in a corner by six hinds or porters and two carpenters1 who had made the coffin too narrow and too short4 ,joking and jeering1 they stripped the tiara and the robes of office from the body1 wrapped it up in an old carpet1 and then with force of fists and feet rammed it down into the box1 without torches1 without a ministering priest1 without a single person to attend and bear a consecrated candle4 ,of such sort was the vigil kept by this solemn statue1 so dignified in grief and sweet in death1 at the ignoble obsequies of him who1 occupying the loftiest throne of ,christendom1 incarnated the least erected spirit of his age4 ,the ivory-smooth white corpse of ,christ in marble1 set over against that festering corpse of his ,vicar on earth1 black as a piece of cloth or the blackest mulberry1 what a hideous contrast6 ,,viii ,it may not be inappropriate to discuss the question of the ,bruges ,madonna here4 ,this is a marble statue1 well placed in a chapel of ,notre ,dame1 relieved against a black marble niche1 with excellent illumination from the side4 ,the style is undoubtedly ,michelangelesque1 the execution careful1 the surface-finish exquisite1 and the type of the ,madonna extremely similar to that of the ,piet at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,she is seated in an attitude of almost haughty dignity1 with the left foot raised upon a block of stone4 ,the expression of her features is marked by something of sternness1 which seems inherent in the model4 ,between her knees stands1 half reclining1 half as though wishing to step downwards from the throne1 her infant ,son4 ,one arm rests upon his mother's knee2 the right hand is thrown round to clasp her left4 ,this attitude gives grace of rhythm to the lines of his nude body4 ,true to the realism which controlled ,michelangelo at the commencement of his art career1 the head of ,christ1 who is but a child1 slightly overloads his slender figure4 ,physically he resembles the ,infant ,christ of our ,national ,gallery picture1 but has more of charm and sweetness4 ,all these indications point to a genuine product of ,michelangelo's first ,roman manner2 and the position of the statue in a chapel ornamented by the ,bruges family of ,mouscron renders the attribution almost certain4 ,however1 we have only two authentic records of the work among the documents at our disposal4 ,condivi1 describing the period of ,michelangelo's residence in ,florence 7#aeja-aejd71 says3 ,he also cast in bronze a ,madonna with the ,infant ,christ1 which certain ,flemish merchants of the house of ,mouscron1 a most noble family in their own land1 bought for two hundred ducats1 and sent to ,flanders4 ,a letter addressed under date ,august #d1 #aejf1 by ,giovanni ,balducci in ,rome to ,michelangelo at ,florence1 proves that some statue which was destined for ,flanders remained among the sculptor's property at ,florence4 ,balducci uses the feminine gender in writing about this work1 which justifies us in thinking that it may have been a ,madonna4 ,he says that he has found a trustworthy agent to convey it to ,viareggio1 and to ship it thence to ,bruges1 where it will be delivered into the hands of the heir of ,john and ,alexander ,mouscron and ,co41 as being their property4 ,this statue1 in all probability1 is the ,madonna in marble about which ,michelangelo wrote to his father from ,rome on the #cast of ,january #aejg1 and which he begged his father to keep hidden in their dwelling4 ,it is difficult to reconcile ,condivi's statement with ,balducci's letter4 ,the former says that the ,madonna bought by the ,mouscron family was cast in bronze at ,florence4 ,the ,madonna in the ,mouscron ,chapel at ,notre ,dame is a marble4 ,i think we may assume that the ,bruges ,madonna is the piece which ,michelangelo executed for the ,mouscron brothers1 and that ,condivi was wrong in believing it to have been cast in bronze4 ,that the statue was sent some time after the order had been given1 appears from the fact that ,balducci consigned it to the heir of ,john and ,alexander1 as being their property2 but it cannot be certain at what exact date it was begun and finished4 ,,ix ,while ,michelangelo was acquiring immediate celebrity and immortal fame by these three statues1 so different in kind and hitherto unrivalled in artistic excellence1 his family lived somewhat wretchedly at ,florence4 ,lodovico had lost his small post at the ,customs after the expulsion of the ,medici2 and three sons1 younger than the sculptor1 were now growing up4 ,buonarroto1 born in #adgg1 had been put to the cloth-trade1 and was serving under the ,strozzi in their warehouse at the ,porta ,rossa4 ,giovan-,simone1 two years younger 7he was born in #adgi71 after leading a vagabond life for some while1 joined ,buonarroto in a cloth-business provided for them by ,michelangelo4 ,he was a worthless fellow1 and gave his eldest brother much trouble4 ,sigismondo1 born in #adha1 took to soldiering2 but at the age of forty he settled down upon the paternal farm at ,settignano1 and annoyed his brother by sinking into the condition of a common peasant4 ,the constant affection felt for these not very worthy relatives by ,michelangelo is one of the finest traits in his character4 ,they were continually writing begging letters1 grumbling and complaining4 ,he supplied them with funds1 stinting himself in order to maintain them decently and to satisfy their wishes4 ,but the more he gave1 the more they demanded2 and on one or two occasions1 as we shall see in the course of this biography1 their rapacity and ingratitude roused his bitterest indignation4 ,nevertheless1 he did not swerve from the path of filial and brotherly kindness which his generous nature and steady will had traced4 ,he remained the guardian of their interests1 the custodian of their honour1 and the builder of their fortunes to the end of his long life4 ,the correspondence with his father and these brothers and a nephew1 ,lionardo1 was published in full for the first time in #ahge4 ,it enables us to comprehend the true nature of the man better than any biographical notice2 and ,i mean to draw largely upon this source1 so as gradually1 by successive stipplings1 as it were1 to present a miniature portrait of one who was both admirable in private life and incomparable as an artist4 ,this correspondence opens in the year #adig4 ,from a letter addressed to ,lodovico under the date ,august #ai1 we learn that ,buonarroto had just arrived in ,rome1 and informed his brother of certain pecuniary difficulties under which the family was labouring4 ,michelangelo gave advice1 and promised to send all the money he could bring together4 ,although1 as ,i have told you1 ,i am out of pocket myself1 ,i will do my best to get money1 in order that you may not have to borrow from the ,monte1 as ,buonarroto says is possible4 ,do not wonder if ,i have sometimes written irritable letters2 for ,i often suffer great distress of mind and temper1 owing to matters which must happen to one who is away from home4444 ,in spite of all this1 ,i will send you what you ask for1 even should ,i have to sell myself into slavery4 ,buonarroto must have paid a second visit to ,rome2 for we possess a letter from ,lodovico to ,michelangelo1 under date ,december #ai1 #aejj1 which throws important light upon the latter's habits and designs4 ,the old man begins by saying how happy he is to observe the love which ,michelangelo bears his brothers4 ,then he speaks about the cloth-business which ,michelangelo intends to purchase for them4 ,afterwards1 he proceeds as follows3 ,buonarroto tells me that you live at ,rome with great economy1 or rather penuriousness4 ,now economy is good1 but penuriousness is evil1 seeing that it is a vice displeasing to ,god and men1 and moreover injurious both to soul and body4 ,so long as you are young1 you will be able for a time to endure these hardships2 but when the vigour of youth fails1 then diseases and infirmities make their appearance2 for these are caused by personal discomforts1 mean living1 and penurious habits4 ,as ,i said1 economy is good2 but1 above all things1 shun stinginess4 ,live discreetly well1 and see you have what is needful4 ,whatever happens1 do not expose yourself to physical hardships2 for in your profession1 if you were once to fall ill 7which ,god forbid71 you would be a ruined man4 ,above all things1 take care of your head1 and keep it moderately warm1 and see that you never wash3 have yourself rubbed down1 but do not wash4 ,this sordid way of life became habitual with ,michelangelo4 ,when he was dwelling at ,bologna in #aejf1 he wrote home to his brother ,buonarroto3 ,with regard to ,giovan-,simone's proposed visit1 ,i do not advise him to come yet awhile1 for ,i am lodged here in one wretched room1 and have bought a single bed1 in which we all four of us 7i4e41 himself and his three workmen7 sleep4 ,and again3 ,i am impatient to get away from this place1 for my mode of life here is so wretched1 that if you only knew what it is1 you would be miserable4 ,the summer was intensely hot at ,bologna1 and the plague broke out4 ,in these circumstances it seems miraculous that the four sculptors in one bed escaped contagion4 ,michelangelo's parsimonious habits were not occasioned by poverty or avarice4 ,he accumulated large sums of money by his labour1 spent it freely on his family1 and exercised bountiful charity for the welfare of his soul4 ,we ought rather to ascribe them to some constitutional peculiarity1 affecting his whole temperament1 and tinging his experience with despondency and gloom4 ,an absolute insensibility to merely decorative details1 to the loveliness of jewels1 stuffs1 and natural objects1 to flowers and trees and pleasant landscapes1 to everything1 in short1 which delighted the ,italians of that period1 is a main characteristic of his art4 ,this abstraction and aridity1 this ascetic devotion of his genius to pure ideal form1 this almost mathematical conception of beauty1 may be ascribed1 ,i think1 to the same psychological qualities which determined the dreary conditions of his home-life4 ,he was no niggard either of money or of ideas2 nay1 even profligate of both4 ,but melancholy made him miserly in all that concerned personal enjoyment2 and he ought to have been born under that leaden planet ,saturn rather than ,mercury and ,venus in the house of ,jove4 ,condivi sums up his daily habits thus3 ,he has always been extremely temperate in living1 using food more because it was necessary than for any pleasure he took in it2 especially when he was engaged upon some great work2 for then he usually confined himself to a piece of bread1 which he ate in the middle of his labour4 ,however1 for some time past1 he has been living with more regard to health1 his advanced age putting this constraint upon his natural inclination4 ,often have ,i heard him say3 ',ascanio1 rich as ,i may have been1 ,i have always lived like a poor man4' ,and this abstemiousness in food he has practised in sleep also2 for sleep1 according to his own account1 rarely suits his constitution1 since he continually suffers from pains in the head during slumber1 and any excessive amount of sleep deranges his stomach4 ,while he was in full vigour1 he generally went to bed with his clothes on1 even to the tall boots1 which he has always worn1 because of a chronic tendency to cramp1 as well as for other reasons4 ,at certain seasons he has kept these boots on for such a length of time1 that when he drew them off the skin came away together with the leather1 like that of a sloughing snake4 ,he was never stingy of cash1 nor did he accumulate money1 being content with just enough to keep him decently2 wherefore1 though innumerable lords and rich folk have made him splendid offers for some specimen of his craft1 he rarely complied1 and then1 for the most part1 more out of kindness and friendship than with any expectation of gain4 ,in spite of all this1 or rather because of his temperance in food and sleep and sexual pleasure1 together with his manual industry1 he preserved excellent health into old age4 ,i have thought it worth while to introduce this general review of ,michelangelo's habits1 without omitting some details which may seem repulsive to the modern reader1 at an early period of his biography1 because we ought to carry with us through the vicissitudes of his long career and many labours an accurate conception of our hero's personality4 ,for this reason it may not be unprofitable to repeat what ,condivi says about his physical appearance in the last years of his life4 ,michelangelo is of a good complexion2 more muscular and bony than fat or fleshy in his person3 healthy above all things1 as well by reason of his natural constitution as of the exercise he takes1 and habitual continence in food and sexual indulgence4 ,nevertheless1 he was a weakly child1 and has suffered two illnesses in manhood4 ,his countenance always showed a good and wholesome colour4 ,of stature he is as follows3 height middling2 broad in the shoulders2 the rest of the body somewhat slender in proportion4 ,the shape of his face is oval1 the space above the ears being one sixth higher than a semicircle4 ,consequently the temples project beyond the ears1 and the ears beyond the cheeks1 and these beyond the rest2 so that the skull1 in relation to the whole head1 must be called large4 ,the forehead1 seen in front1 is square2 the nose1 a little flattened--not by nature1 but because1 when he was a young boy1 ,torrigiano de' ,torrigiani1 a brutal and insolent fellow1 smashed in the cartilage with his fist4 ,michelangelo was carried home half dead on this occasion2 and ,torrigiano1 having been exiled from ,florence for his violence1 came to a bad end4 ,the nose1 however1 being what it is1 bears a proper proportion to the forehead and the rest of the face4 ,the lips are thin1 but the lower is slightly thicker than the upper2 so that1 seen in profile1 it projects a little4 ,the chin is well in harmony with the features ,i have described4 ,the forehead1 in a side-view1 almost hangs over the nose2 and this looks hardly less than broken1 were it not for a trifling proturberance in the middle4 ,the eyebrows are not thick with hair2 the eyes may even be called small1 of a colour like horn1 but speckled and stained with spots of bluish yellow4 ,the ears in good proportion2 hair of the head black1 as also the beard1 except that both are now grizzled by old age2 the beard double-forked1 about five inches long1 and not very bushy1 as may partly be observed in his portrait4 ,we have no contemporary account of ,michelangelo in early manhood2 but the tenor of his life was so even1 and1 unlike ,cellini1 he moved so constantly upon the same lines and within the same sphere of patient self-reserve1 that it is not difficult to reconstruct the young and vigorous sculptor out of this detailed description by his loving friend and servant in old age4 ,few men1 notably few artists1 have preserved that continuity of moral1 intellectual1 and physical development in one unbroken course which is the specific characterisation of ,michelangelo4 ,as years advanced1 his pulses beat less quickly and his body shrank4 ,but the man did not alter4 ,with the same lapse of years1 his style grew drier and more abstract1 but it did not alter in quality or depart from its ideal4 ,he seems to me in these respects to be like ,milton3 wholly unlike the plastic and assimilative genius of a ,raphael4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,i ,michelangelo returned to ,florence in the spring of #aeja4 ,condivi says that domestic affairs compelled him to leave ,rome1 and the correspondence with his father makes this not improbable4 ,he brought a heightened reputation back to his native city4 ,the ,bacchus and the ,madonna della ,febbre had placed him in advance of any sculptor of his time4 ,indeed1 in these first years of the sixteenth century he may be said to have been the only ,tuscan sculptor of commanding eminence4 ,ghiberti1 ,della ,quercia1 ,brunelleschi1 ,donatello1 all had joined the majority before his birth4 ,the second group of distinguished craftsmen--,verocchio1 ,luca della ,robbia1 ,rossellino1 ,da ,maiano1 ,civitali1 ,desiderio da ,settignano--expired at the commencement of the century4 ,it seemed as though a gap in the ranks of plastic artists had purposely been made for the entrance of a predominant and tyrannous personality4 ,jacopo ,tatti1 called ,sansovino1 was the only man who might have disputed the place of preeminence with ,michelangelo1 and ,sansovino chose ,venice for the theatre of his life-labours4 ,in these circumstances1 it is not singular that commissions speedily began to overtax the busy sculptor's power of execution4 ,i do not mean to assert that the ,italians1 in the year #aeja1 were conscious of ,michelangelo's unrivalled qualities1 or sensitive to the corresponding limitations which rendered these qualities eventually baneful to the evolution of the arts2 but they could not help feeling that in this young man of twenty-six they possessed a first-rate craftsman1 and one who had no peer among contemporaries4 ,the first order of this year came from the ,cardinal ,francesco ,piccolomini1 who was afterwards elected ,pope in #aejc1 and who died after reigning three weeks with the title of ,pius ,,iii4 ,he wished to decorate the ,piccolomini ,chapel in the ,duomo of ,siena with fifteen statues of male saints4 ,a contract was signed on ,june #e1 by which ,michelangelo agreed to complete these figures within the space of three years4 ,one of them1 a ,s4 ,francis1 had been already begun by ,piero ,torrigiano2 and this1 we have some reason to believe1 was finished by the master's hand4 ,accounts differ about his share in the remaining fourteen statues2 but the matter is of no great moment1 seeing that the style of the work is conventional1 and the scale of the figures disagreeably squat and dumpy4 ,it seems almost impossible that these ecclesiastical and tame pieces should have been produced at the same time as the ,david by the same hand4 ,neither ,vasari nor ,condivi speaks about them1 although it is certain that ,michelangelo was held bound to his contract during several years4 ,upon the death of ,pius ,,iii41 he renewed it with the ,pope's heirs1 ,jacopo and ,andrea ,piccolomini1 by a deed dated ,september #ae1 #aejd2 and in #aecg ,anton ,maria ,piccolomini1 to whom the inheritance succeeded1 considered himself ,michelangelo's creditor for the sum of a hundred crowns1 which had been paid beforehand for work not finished by the sculptor4 ,a far more important commission was intrusted to ,michelangelo in ,august of the same year1 #aeja4 ,condivi1 after mentioning his return to ,florence1 tells the history of the colossal ,david in these words3 ,here he stayed some time1 and made the statue which stands in front of the great door of the ,palace of the ,signory1 and is called the ,giant by all people4 ,it came about in this way4 ,the ,board of ,works at ,s4 ,maria del ,fiore owned a piece of marble nine cubits in height1 which had been brought from ,carrara some hundred years before by a sculptor insufficiently acquainted with his art4 ,this was evident1 inasmuch as1 wishing to convey it more conveniently and with less labour1 he had it blocked out in the quarry1 but in such a manner that neither he nor any one else was capable of extracting a statue from the block1 either of the same size1 or even on a much smaller scale4 ,the marble being1 then1 useless for any good purpose1 ,andrea del ,monte ,san ,savino thought that he might get possession of it from the ,board1 and begged them to make him a present of it1 promising that he would add certain pieces of stone and carve a statue from it4 ,before they made up their minds to give it1 they sent for ,michelangelo2 then1 after explaining the wishes and the views of ,andrea1 and considering his own opinion that it would be possible to extract a good thing from the block1 they finally offered it to him4 ,michelangelo accepted1 added no pieces1 and got the statue out so exactly1 that1 as any one may see1 in the top of the head and at the base some vestiges of the rough surface of the marble still remain4 ,he did the same in other works1 as1 for instance1 in the ,contemplative ,life upon the tomb of ,julius2 indeed1 it is a sign left by masters on their work1 proving them to be absolute in their art4 ,but in the ,david it was much more remarkable1 for this reason1 that the difficulty of the task was not overcome by adding pieces2 and also he had to contend with an ill-shaped marble4 ,as he used to say himself1 it is impossible1 or at least extraordinarily difficult in statuary to set right the faults of the blocking out4 ,he received for this work #djj ducats1 and carried it out in eighteen months4 ,the sculptor who had spoiled this block of marble is called ,maestro ,simone by ,vasari2 but the abundant documents in our possession1 by aid of which we are enabled to trace the whole history of ,michelangelo's ,david with minuteness1 show that ,vasari was misinformed4 ,the real culprit was ,agostino di ,antonio di ,duccio1 or ,guccio1 who had succeeded with another colossal statue for the ,duomo4 ,he is honourably known in the history of ,tuscan sculpture by his reliefs upon the faade of the ,duomo at ,modena1 describing episodes in the life of ,s4 ,gemignano1 by the romantically charming reliefs in marble1 with terracotta settings1 on the ,oratory of ,s4 ,bernardino at ,perugia1 and by a large amount of excellent surface-work in stone upon the chapels of ,s4 ,francesco at ,rimini4 ,we gather from one of the contracts with ,agostino that the marble was originally blocked out for some prophet4 ,but ,michelangelo resolved to make a ,david2 and two wax models1 now preserved in the ,museo ,buonarroti1 neither of which corresponds exactly with the statue as it exists1 show that he felt able to extract a colossal figure in various attitudes from the damaged block4 ,in the first contract signed between the ,consuls of the ,arte della ,lana1 the ,operai del ,duomo1 and the sculptor1 dated ,august #af1 #aeja1 the terms are thus settled3 ,that the worthy master ,michelangelo1 son of ,lodovico ,buonarroti1 citizen of ,florence1 has been chosen to fashion1 complete1 and finish to perfection that male statue called the ,giant1 of nine cubits in height1 now existing in the workshop of the cathedral1 blocked out aforetime by ,master ,agostino of ,florence1 and badly blocked2 and that the work shall be completed within the term of the next ensuing two years1 dating from ,september1 at a salary of six golden florins per month2 and that what is needful for the accomplishment of this task1 as workmen1 timbers1 c41 which he may require1 shall be supplied him by the ,operai2 and when the statue is finished1 the ,consuls and ,operai who shall be in office shall estimate whether he deserve a larger recompense1 and this shall be left to their consciences4 ,,ii ,michelangelo began to work on ,monday morning1 ,september #ac1 in a wooden shed erected for the purpose1 not far from the cathedral4 ,on the #bhth of ,february #aejb1 the statue1 which is now called for the first time the ,giant1 or ,david1 was brought so far forward that the judges declared it to be half finished1 and decided that the sculptor should be paid in all #djj golden florins1 including the stipulated salary4 ,he seems to have laboured assiduously during the next two years1 for by a minute of the #beth of ,january #aejd the ,david is said to be almost entirely finished4 ,on this date a solemn council of the most important artists resident in ,florence was convened at the ,opera del ,duomo to consider where it should be placed4 ,we possess full minutes of this meeting1 and they are so curious that ,i shall not hesitate to give a somewhat detailed account of the proceedings4 ,messer ,francesco ,filarete1 the chief herald of the ,signory1 and himself an architect of some pretensions1 opened the discussion in a short speech to this effect3 ,i have turned over in my mind those suggestions which my judgment could afford me4 ,you have two places where the statue may be set up3 the first1 that where the ,judith stands2 the second1 in the middle of the courtyard where the ,david is4 ,the first might be selected1 because the ,judith is an omen of evil1 and no fit object where it stands1 we having the cross and lily for our ensign2 besides1 it is not proper that the woman should kill the male2 and1 above all1 this statue was erected under an evil constellation1 since you have gone continually from bad to worse since then4 ,pisa has been lost too4 ,the ,david of the courtyard is imperfect in the right leg2 and so ,i should counsel you to put the ,giant in one of these places1 but ,i give the preference myself to that of the ,judith4 ,the herald1 it will be perceived1 took for granted that ,michelangelo's ,david would be erected in the immediate neighbourhood of the ,palazzo ,vecchio4 ,the next speaker1 ,francesco ,monciatto1 a wood-carver1 advanced the view that it ought to be placed in front of the ,duomo1 where the ,colossus was originally meant to be put up4 ,he was immediately followed1 and his resolution was seconded1 by no less personages than the painters ,cosimo ,rosselli and ,sandro ,botticelli4 ,then ,giuliano da ,san ,gallo1 the illustrious architect1 submitted a third opinion to the meeting4 ,he began his speech by observing that he agreed with those who wished to choose the steps of the ,duomo1 but due consideration caused him to alter his mind4 ,the imperfection of the marble1 which is softened by exposure to the air1 rendered the durability of the statue doubtful4 ,he therefore voted for the middle of the ,loggia dei ,lanzi1 where the ,david would be under cover4 ,messer ,angelo di ,lorenzo ,manfidi1 second herald of the ,signory1 rose to state a professional objection4 ,the ,david1 if erected under the middle arch of the ,loggia1 would break the order of the ceremonies practised there by the ,signory and other magistrates4 ,he therefore proposed that the arch facing the ,palazzo 7where ,donatello's ,judith is now7 should be chosen4 ,the three succeeding speakers1 people of no great importance1 gave their votes in favour of the chief herald's resolution4 ,others followed ,san ,gallo1 among whom was the illustrious ,lionardo da ,vinci4 ,he thought the statue could be placed under the middle arch of the ,loggia without hindrance to ceremonies of state4 ,salvestro1 a jeweller1 and ,filippino ,lippi1 the painter1 were of opinion that the neighbourhood of the ,palazzo should be adopted1 but that the precise spot should be left to the sculptor's choice4 ,gallieno1 an embroiderer1 and ,david ,ghirlandajo1 the painter1 suggested a new place--namely1 where the lion or ,marzocco stood on the ,piazza4 ,antonio da ,san ,gallo1 the architect1 and ,michelangelo1 the goldsmith1 father of ,baccio ,bandinelli1 supported ,giuliano da ,san ,gallo's motion4 ,then ,giovanni ,piffero--that is1 the father of ,benvenuto ,cellini--brought the discussion back to the courtyard of the palace4 ,he thought that in the ,loggia the statue would be only partly seen1 and that it would run risks of injury from scoundrels4 ,giovanni delle ,corniole1 the incomparable gem-cutter1 who has left us the best portrait of ,savonarola1 voted with the two ,san ,galli1 because he hears the stone is soft4 ,piero di ,cosimo1 the painter1 and teacher of ,andrea del ,sarto1 wound up the speeches with a strong recommendation that the choice of the exact spot should be left to ,michelangelo ,buonarroti4 ,this was eventually decided on1 and he elected to have his ,david set up in the place preferred by the chief herald--that is to say1 upon the steps of the ,palazzo ,vecchio1 on the right side of the entrance4 ,the next thing was to get the mighty mass of sculptured marble safely moved from the ,duomo to the ,palazzo4 ,on the #ast of ,april1 ,simone del ,pollajuolo1 called ,il ,cronaca1 was commissioned to make the necessary preparations2 but later on1 upon the #cjth1 we find ,antonio da ,san ,gallo1 ,baccio d',agnolo1 ,bernardo della ,ciecha1 and ,michelangelo associated with him in the work of transportation4 ,an enclosure of stout beams and planks was made and placed on movable rollers4 ,in the middle of this the statue hung suspended1 with a certain liberty of swaying to the shocks and lurches of the vehicle4 ,more than forty men were employed upon the windlasses which drew it slowly forward4 ,in a contemporary record we possess a full account of the transit3 ,on the #adth of ,may #aejd1 the marble ,giant was taken from the ,opera4 ,it came out at #bd o'clock1 and they broke the wall above the gateway enough to let it pass4 ,that night some stones were thrown at the ,colossus with intent to harm it4 ,watch had to be kept at night2 and it made way very slowly1 bound as it was upright1 suspended in the air with enormous beams and intricate machinery of ropes4 ,it took four days to reach the ,piazza1 arriving on the #ahth at the hour of #ab4 ,more than forty men were employed to make it go2 and there were fourteen rollers joined beneath it1 which were changed from hand to hand4 ,afterwards1 they worked until the #hth of ,june #aejd to place it on the platform 7ringhiero7 where the ,judith used to stand4 ,the ,judith was removed and set upon the ground within the palace4 ,the said ,giant was the work of ,michelangelo ,buonarroti4 ,where the masters of ,florence placed it1 under the direction of its maker1 ,michelangelo's great white ,david stood for more than three centuries uncovered1 open to all injuries of frost and rain1 and to the violence of citizens1 until1 for the better preservation of this masterpiece of modern art1 it was removed in #ahgc to a hall of the ,accademia delle ,belle ,arti4 ,on the whole1 it has suffered very little4 ,weather has slightly worn away the extremities of the left foot2 and in #aebg1 during a popular tumult1 the left arm was broken by a huge stone cast by the assailants of the palace4 ,giorgio ,vasari tells us how1 together with his friend ,cecchino ,salviati1 he collected the scattered pieces1 and brought them to the house of ,michelangelo ,salviati1 the father of ,cecchino4 ,they were subsequently put together by the care of the ,grand ,duke ,cosimo1 and restored to the statue in the year #aedc4 ,,iii ,in the ,david ,michelangelo first displayed that quality of terribilit1 of spirit-quailing1 awe-inspiring force1 for which he afterwards became so famous4 ,the statue imposes1 not merely by its size and majesty and might1 but by something vehement in the conception4 ,he was1 however1 far from having yet adopted those systematic proportions for the human body which later on gave an air of monotonous impressiveness to all his figures4 ,on the contrary1 this young giant strongly recalls the model2 still more strongly indeed than the ,bacchus did4 ,wishing perhaps to adhere strictly to the ,biblical story1 ,michelangelo studied a lad whose frame was not developed4 ,the ,david1 to state the matter frankly1 is a colossal hobbledehoy4 ,his body1 in breadth of the thorax1 depth of the abdomen1 and general stoutness1 has not grown up to the scale of the enormous hands and feet and heavy head4 ,we feel that he wants at least two years to become a fully developed man1 passing from adolescence to the maturity of strength and beauty4 ,this close observance of the imperfections of the model at a certain stage of physical growth is very remarkable1 and not altogether pleasing in a statue more than nine feet high4 ,both ,donatello and ,verocchio had treated their ,davids in the same realistic manner1 but they were working on a small scale and in bronze4 ,i insist upon this point1 because students of ,michelangelo have been apt to overlook his extreme sincerity and naturalism in the first stages of his career4 ,having acknowledged that the head of ,david is too massive and the extremities too largely formed for ideal beauty1 hypercriticism can hardly find fault with the modelling and execution of each part4 ,the attitude selected is one of great dignity and vigour4 ,the heroic boy1 quite certain of victory1 is excited by the coming contest4 ,his brows are violently contracted1 the nostrils tense and quivering1 the eyes fixed keenly on the distant ,philistine4 ,his larynx rises visibly1 and the sinews of his left thigh tighten1 as though the whole spirit of the man were braced for a supreme endeavour4 ,in his right hand1 kept at a just middle point between the hip and knee1 he holds the piece of wood on which his sling is hung4 ,the sling runs round his back1 and the centre of it1 where the stone bulges1 is held with the left hand1 poised upon the left shoulder1 ready to be loosed4 ,we feel that the next movement will involve the right hand straining to its full extent the sling1 dragging the stone away1 and whirling it into the air2 when1 after it has sped to strike ,goliath in the forehead1 the whole lithe body of the lad will have described a curve1 and recovered its perpendicular position on the two firm legs4 ,michelangelo invariably chose some decisive moment2 in the action he had to represent2 and though he was working here under difficulties1 owing to the limitations of the damaged block at his disposal1 he contrived to suggest the imminence of swift and sudden energy which shall disturb the equilibrium of his young giant's pose4 ,critics of this statue1 deceived by its superficial resemblance to some ,greek athletes at rest1 have neglected the candid realism of the momentary act foreshadowed4 ,they do not understand the meaning of the sling4 ,even ,heath ,wilson1 for instance1 writes3 ,the massive shoulders are thrown back1 the right arm is pendent1 and the right hand grasps resolutely the stone with which the adversary is to be slain4 ,this entirely falsifies the sculptor's motive1 misses the meaning of the sling1 renders the broad strap behind the back superfluous1 and changes into mere plastic symbolism what ,michelangelo intended to be a moment caught from palpitating life4 ,it has often been remarked that ,david's head is modelled upon the type of ,donatello's ,s4 ,george at ,orsanmichele4 ,the observation is just2 and it suggests a comment on the habit ,michelangelo early formed of treating the face idealistically1 however much he took from study of his models4 ,vasari1 for example1 says that he avoided portraiture1 and composed his faces by combining several individuals4 ,we shall see a new ideal type of the male head emerge in a group of statues1 among which the most distinguished is ,giuliano de' ,medici at ,san ,lorenzo4 ,we have already seen a female type created in the ,madonnas of ,s4 ,peter's and ,notre ,dame at ,bruges4 ,but this is not the place to discuss ,michelangelo's theory of form in general4 ,that must be reserved until we enter the ,sistine ,chapel1 in order to survey the central and the crowning product of his genius in its prime4 ,we have every reason to believe that ,michelangelo carved his ,david with no guidance but drawings and a small wax model about eighteen inches in height4 ,the inconvenience of this method1 which left the sculptor to wreak his fury on the marble with mallet and chisel1 can be readily conceived4 ,in a famous passage1 disinterred by ,m4 ,mariette from a ,french scholar of the sixteenth century1 we have this account of the fiery master's system3 ,i am able to affirm that ,i have seen ,michelangelo1 at the age of more than sixty years1 and not the strongest for his time of life1 knock off more chips from an extremely hard marble in one quarter of an hour than three young stone-cutters could have done in three or four--a thing quite incredible to one who has not seen it4 ,he put such impetuosity and fury into his work that ,i thought the whole must fly to pieces2 hurling to the ground at one blow great fragments three or four inches thick1 shaving the line so closely that if he had overpassed it by a hair's-breadth he ran the risk of losing all1 since one cannot mend a marble afterwards or repair mistakes1 as one does with figures of clay and stucco4 ,it is said that1 owing to this violent way of attacking his marble1 ,michelangelo sometimes bit too deep into the stone1 and had to abandon a promising piece of sculpture4 ,this is one of the ways of accounting for his numerous unfinished statues4 ,accordingly a myth has sprung up representing the great master as working in solitude upon huge blocks1 with nothing but a sketch in wax before him4 ,fact is always more interesting than fiction2 and1 while ,i am upon the topic of his method1 ,i will introduce what ,cellini has left written on this subject4 ,in his treatise on the ,art of ,sculpture1 ,cellini lays down the rule that sculptors in stone ought first to make a little model two palms high1 and after this to form another as large as the statue will have to be4 ,he illustrates this by a critique of his illustrious predecessors4 ,albeit many able artists rush boldly on the stone with the fierce force of mallet and chisel1 relying on the little model and a good design1 yet the result is never found by them to be so satisfactory as when they fashion the model on a large scale4 ,this is proved by our ,donatello1 who was a ,titan in the art1 and afterwards by the stupendous ,michelangelo1 who worked in both ways4 ,discovering latterly that the small models fell far short of what his excellent genius demanded1 he adopted the habit of making most careful models exactly of the same size as the marble statue was to be4 ,this we have seen with our own eyes in the ,sacristy of ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,next1 when a man is satisfied with his full-sized model1 he must take charcoal1 and sketch out the main view of his figure on the marble in such wise that it shall be distinctly traced2 for he who has not previously settled his design may sometimes find himself deceived by the chiselling irons4 ,michelangelo's method in this matter was the best4 ,he used first to sketch in the principal aspect2 and then to begin work by removing the surface stone upon that side1 just as if he intended to fashion a figure in half-relief2 and thus he went on gradually uncovering the rounded form4 ,vasari1 speaking of four rough-hewn ,captives1 possibly the figures now in a grotto of the ,boboli ,gardens1 says3 ,they are well adapted for teaching a beginner how to extract statues from the marble without injury to the stone4 ,the safe method which they illustrate may be described as follows4 ,you first take a model in wax or some other hard material1 and place it lying in a vessel full of water4 ,the water1 by its nature1 presents a level surface2 so that1 if you gradually lift the model1 the higher parts are first exposed1 while the lower parts remain submerged2 and1 proceeding thus1 the whole round shape at length appears above the water4 ,precisely in the same way ought statues to be hewn out from the marble with the chisel2 first uncovering the highest surfaces1 and proceeding to disclose the lowest4 ,this method was followed by ,michelangelo while blocking out the ,captives1 and therefore his ,excellency the ,duke was fain to have them used as models by the students in his ,academy4 ,it need hardly be remarked that the ingenious process of pointing the marble by means of the pointing machine and scale-stones1 which is at present universally in use among sculptors1 had not been invented in the sixteenth century4 ,,iv ,i cannot omit a rather childish story which ,vasari tells about the ,david4 ,after it had been placed upon its pedestal before the palace1 and while the scaffolding was still there1 ,piero ,soderini1 who loved and admired ,michelangelo1 told him that he thought the nose too large4 ,the sculptor immediately ran up the ladder till he reached a point upon the level of the giant's shoulder4 ,he then took his hammer and chisel1 and1 having concealed some dust of marble in the hollow of his hand1 pretended to work off a portion from the surface of the nose4 ,in reality he left it as he found it2 but ,soderini1 seeing the marble dust fall scattering through the air1 thought that his hint had been taken4 ,when1 therefore1 ,michelangelo called down to him1 ,look at it now6 ,soderini shouted up in reply1 ,i am far more pleased with it2 you have given life to the statue4 ,at this time ,piero ,soderini1 a man of excellent parts and sterling character1 though not gifted with that mixture of audacity and cunning which impressed the ,renaissance imagination1 was ,gonfalonier of the ,republic4 ,he had been elected to the supreme magistracy for life1 and was practically ,doge of ,florence4 ,his friendship proved on more than one occasion of some service to ,michelangelo2 and while the gigantic ,david was in progress he gave the sculptor a new commission1 the history of which must now engage us4 ,the ,florentine envoys to ,france had already written in ,june #aeja from ,lyons1 saying that ,pierre de ,rohan1 ,marchal de ,gi1 who stood high in favour at the court of ,louis ,,xii41 greatly desired a copy of the bronze ,david by ,donatello in the courtyard of the ,palazzo ,vecchio4 ,he appeared willing to pay for it1 but the envoys thought that he expected to have it as a present4 ,the ,french alliance was a matter of the highest importance to ,florence1 and at this time the ,republic was heavily indebted to the ,french crown4 ,soderini1 therefore1 decided to comply with the ,marshal's request1 and on the #abth of ,august #aejb ,michelangelo undertook to model a ,david of two cubits and a quarter within six months4 ,in the bronze-casting he was assisted by a special master1 ,benedetto da ,rovezzano4 ,during the next two years a brisk correspondence was kept up between the envoys and the ,signory about the statue1 showing the ,marshal's impatience4 ,meanwhile ,de ,rohan became ,duke of ,nemours in #aejc by his marriage with a sister of ,louis d',armagnac1 and shortly afterwards he fell into disgrace4 ,nothing more was to be expected from him at the court of ,blois4 ,but the statue was in progress1 and the question arose to whom it should be given4 ,the choice of the ,signory fell on ,florimond ,robertet1 secretary of finance1 whose favour would be useful to the ,florentines in their pecuniary transactions with the ,king4 ,a long letter from the envoy1 ,francesco ,pandolfini1 in ,september #aeje1 shows that ,robertet's mind had been sounded on the subject2 and we gather from a minute of the ,signory1 dated ,november #f1 #aejh1 that at last the bronze ,david1 weighing about #hjj pounds1 had been packed in the name of ,god and sent to ,signa on its way to ,leghorn4 ,robertet received it in due course1 and placed it in the courtyard of his chteau of ,bury1 near ,blois4 ,here it remained for more than a century1 when it was removed to the chteau of ,villeroy4 ,there it disappeared4 ,we possess1 however1 a fine pen-and-ink drawing by the hand of ,michelangelo1 which may well have been a design for this second ,david4 ,the muscular and naked youth1 not a mere lad like the colossal statue1 stands firmly posed upon his left leg with the trunk thrown boldly back4 ,his right foot rests on the gigantic head of ,goliath1 and his left hand1 twisted back upon the buttock1 holds what seems meant for the sling4 ,we see here what ,michelangelo's conception of an ideal ,david would have been when working under conditions more favourable than the damaged block afforded4 ,on the margin of the page the following words may be clearly traced3 ,davicte cholla fromba e io chollarcho ,michelagniolo1--,david with the sling1 and ,i with the bow4 ,meanwhile ,michelangelo received a still more important commission on the #bdth of ,april #aejc4 ,the ,consuls of the ,arte della ,lana and the ,operai of the ,duomo ordered twelve ,apostles1 each #d-a_/d cubits high1 to be carved out of ,carrara marble and placed inside the church4 ,the sculptor undertook to furnish one each year1 the ,board of ,works defraying all expenses1 supplying the costs of ,michelangelo's living and his assistants1 and paying him two golden florins a month4 ,besides this1 they had a house built for him in the ,borgo ,pinti after ,il ,cronaca's design4 ,he occupied this house free of charges while he was in ,florence1 until it became manifest that the contract of #aejc would never be carried out4 ,later on1 in ,march #aejh1 the tenement was let on lease to him and his heirs4 ,but he only held it a few months2 for on the #aeth of ,june the lease was cancelled1 and the house transferred to ,sigismondo ,martelli4 ,the only trace surviving of these twelve ,apostles is the huge blocked-out ,s4 ,matteo1 now in the courtyard of the ,accademia4 ,vasari writes of it as follows3 ,he also began a statue in marble of ,s4 ,matteo1 which1 though it is but roughly hewn1 shows perfection of design1 and teaches sculptors how to extract figures from the stone without exposing them to injury1 always gaining ground by removing the superfluous material1 and being able to withdraw or change in case of need4 ,this stupendous sketch or shadow of a mighty form is indeed instructive for those who would understand ,michelangelo's method4 ,it fully illustrates the passages quoted above from ,cellini and ,vasari1 showing how a design of the chief view of the statue must have been chalked upon the marble1 and how the unfinished figure gradually emerged into relief4 ,were we to place it in a horizontal position on the ground1 that portion of a rounded form which has been disengaged from the block would emerge just in the same way as a model from a bath of water not quite deep enough to cover it4 ,at the same time we learn to appreciate the observations of ,vigenere while we study the titanic chisel-marks1 grooved deeply in the body of the stone1 and carried to the length of three or four inches4 ,the direction of these strokes proves that ,michelangelo worked equally with both hands1 and the way in which they are hatched and crossed upon the marble reminds one of the pen-drawing of a bold draughtsman4 ,the mere surface-handling of the stone has remarkable affinity in linear effect to a pair of the master's pen-designs for a naked man1 now in the ,louvre4 ,on paper he seems to hew with the pen1 on marble to sketch with the chisel4 ,the saint appears literally to be growing out of his stone prison1 as though he were alive and enclosed there waiting to be liberated4 ,this recalls ,michelangelo's fixed opinion regarding sculpture1 which he defined as the art that works by force of taking away4 ,in his writings we often find the idea expressed that a statue1 instead of being a human thought invested with external reality by stone1 is more truly to be regarded as something which the sculptor seeks and finds inside his marble--a kind of marvellous discovery4 ,thus he says in one of his poems3 ,lady1 in hard and craggy stone the mere removal of the surface gives being to a figure1 which ever grows the more the stone is hewn away4 ,and again-- ,the best of artists hath no thought to show ,which the rough stone in its superfluous shell ,doth not include3 to break the marble spell ,is all the hand that serves the brain can do4 ,s4 ,matthew seems to palpitate with life while we scrutinise the amorphous block2 and yet there is little there more tangible than some such form as fancy loves to image in the clouds4 ,to conclude what ,i have said in this section about ,michelangelo's method of working on the marble1 ,i must confirm what ,i have stated about his using both left and right hand while chiselling4 ,raffaello da ,montelupo1 who was well acquainted with him personally1 informs us of the fact3 ,here ,i may mention that ,i am in the habit of drawing with my left hand1 and that once1 at ,rome1 while ,i was sketching the ,arch of ,trajan from the ,colosseum1 ,michelangelo and ,sebastiano del ,piombo1 both of whom were naturally left-handed 7although they did not work with the left hand excepting when they wished to use great strength71 stopped to see me1 and expressed great wonder1 no sculptor or painter ever having done so before me1 as far as ,i know4 ,v ,if ,vasari can be trusted1 it was during this residence at ,florence1 when his hands were so fully occupied1 that ,michelangelo found time to carve the two tondi1 ,madonnas in relief enclosed in circular spaces1 which we still possess4 ,one of them1 made for ,taddeo ,taddei1 is now at ,burlington ,house1 having been acquired by the ,royal ,academy through the medium of ,sir ,george ,beaumont4 ,this ranks among the best things belonging to that ,corporation4 ,the other1 made for ,bartolommeo ,pitti1 will be found in the ,palazzo del ,bargello at ,florence4 ,of the two1 that of our ,royal ,academy is the more ambitious in design1 combining singular grace and dignity in the ,madonna with action playfully suggested in the infant ,christ and little ,s4 ,john4 ,that of the ,bargello is simpler1 more tranquil1 and more stately4 ,the one recalls the motive of the ,bruges ,madonna1 the other almost anticipates the ,delphic ,sibyl4 ,we might fancifully call them a pair of native pearls or uncut gems1 lovely by reason even of their sketchiness4 ,whether by intention1 as some critics have supposed1 or for want of time to finish1 as ,i am inclined to believe1 these two reliefs are left in a state of incompleteness which is highly suggestive4 ,taking the ,royal ,academy group first1 the absolute roughness of the groundwork supplies an admirable background to the figures1 which seem to emerge from it as though the whole of them were there1 ready to be disentangled4 ,the most important portions of the composition--,madonna's head and throat1 the drapery of her powerful breast1 on which the child ,christ reclines1 and the naked body of the boy--are wrought to a point which only demands finish4 ,yet parts of these two figures remain undetermined4 ,christ's feet are still imprisoned in the clinging marble2 ,his left arm and hand are only indicated1 and ,his right hand is resting on a mass of broken stone1 which hides a portion of ,his mother's drapery1 but leaves the position of her hand uncertain4 ,the infant ,s4 ,john1 upright upon his feet1 balancing the chief group1 is hazily subordinate4 ,the whole of his form looms blurred through the veil of stone1 and what his two hands and arms are doing with the hidden right arm and hand of the ,virgin may hardly be conjectured4 ,it is clear that on this side of the composition the marble was to have been more deeply cut1 and that we have the highest surfaces of the relief brought into prominence at those points where1 as ,i have said1 little is wanting but the finish of the graver and the file4 ,the ,bargello group is simpler and more intelligible4 ,its composition by masses being quite apparent1 we can easily construct the incomplete figure of ,s4 ,john in the background4 ,what results from the study of these two circular sketches in marble is that1 although ,michelangelo believed all sculpture to be imperfect in so far as it approached the style of painting1 yet he did not disdain to labour in stone with various planes of relief which should produce the effect of chiaroscuro4 ,furthermore1 they illustrate what ,cellini and ,vasari have already taught us about his method4 ,he refused to work by piecemeal1 but began by disengaging the first1 the second1 then the third surfaces1 following a model and a drawing which controlled the cutting4 ,whether he preferred to leave off when his idea was sufficiently indicated1 or whether his numerous engagements prevented him from excavating the lowest surfaces1 and lastly polishing the whole1 is a question which must for ever remain undecided4 ,considering the exquisite elaboration given to the ,piet of the ,vatican1 the ,madonna at ,bruges1 the ,bacchus and the ,david1 the ,moses and parts of the ,medicean monuments1 ,i incline to think that1 with time enough at his disposal1 he would have carried out these rounds in all their details4 ,a criticism he made on ,donatello1 recorded for us by ,condivi1 to the effect that this great master's works lost their proper effect on close inspection through a want of finish1 confirms my opinion4 ,still there is no doubt that he must have been pleased1 as all true lovers of art are with the picturesque effect--an effect as of things half seen in dreams or emergent from primeval substances--which the imperfection of the craftsman's labour leaves upon the memory4 ,at this time ,michelangelo's mind seems to have been much occupied with circular compositions4 ,he painted a large ,holy ,family of this shape for his friend ,angelo ,doni1 which may1 ,i think1 be reckoned the only easel-picture attributable with absolute certainty to his hand4 ,condivi simply says that he received seventy ducats for this fine work4 ,vasari adds one of his prattling stories to the effect that ,doni thought forty sufficient2 whereupon ,michelangelo took the picture back1 and said he would not let it go for less than a hundred3 ,doni then offered the original sum of seventy1 but ,michelangelo replied that if he was bent on bargaining he should not pay less than #adj4 ,be this as it may1 one of the most characteristic products of the master's genius came now into existence4 ,the ,madonna is seated in a kneeling position on the ground2 she throws herself vigorously backward1 lifting the little ,christ upon her right arm1 and presenting him to a bald-headed old man1 ,s4 ,joseph1 who seems about to take him in his arms4 ,this group1 which forms a tall pyramid1 is balanced on both sides by naked figures of young men reclining against a wall at some distance1 while a remarkably ugly little ,s4 ,john can be discerned in one corner4 ,there is something very powerful and original in the composition of this sacred picture1 which1 as in the case of all ,michelangelo's early work1 develops the previous traditions of ,tuscan art on lines which no one but himself could have discovered4 ,the central figure of the ,madonna1 too1 has always seemed to me a thing of marvellous beauty1 and of stupendous power in the strained attitude and nobly modelled arms4 ,it has often been asked what the male nudes have got to do with the subject4 ,probably ,michelangelo intended in this episode to surpass a ,madonna by ,luca ,signorelli1 with whose genius he obviously was in sympathy1 and who felt1 like him1 the supreme beauty of the naked adolescent form4 ,signorelli had painted a circular ,madonna with two nudes in the landscape distance for ,lorenzo de' ,medici4 ,the picture is hung now in the gallery of the ,uffizi4 ,it is enough perhaps to remark that ,michelangelo needed these figures for his scheme1 and for filling the space at his disposal4 ,he was either unable or unwilling to compose a background of trees1 meadows1 and pastoral folk in the manner of his predecessors4 ,nothing but the infinite variety of human forms upon a barren stage of stone or arid earth would suit his haughty sense of beauty4 ,the nine persons who make up the picture are all carefully studied from the life1 and bear a strong ,tuscan stamp4 ,s4 ,john is literally ignoble1 and ,christ is a commonplace child4 ,the ,virgin ,mother is a magnificent contadina in the plenitude of adult womanhood4 ,those1 however1 who follow ,mr4 ,ruskin in blaming ,michelangelo for carelessness about the human face and head1 should not fail to notice what sublime dignity and grace he has communicated to his model here4 ,in technical execution the ,doni ,madonna is faithful to old ,florentine usage1 but lifeless and unsympathetic4 ,we are disagreeably reminded by every portion of the surface that ,lionardo's subtle play of tones and modulated shades1 those sfumature1 as ,italians call them1 which transfer the mystic charm of nature to the canvas1 were as yet unknown to the great draughtsman4 ,there is more of atmosphere1 of colour suggestion1 and of chiaroscuro in the marble tondi described above4 ,moreover1 in spite of very careful modelling1 ,michelangelo has failed to make us feel the successive planes of his composition4 ,the whole seems flat1 and each distance1 instead of being graduated1 starts forward to the eye4 ,he required1 at this period of his career1 the relief of sculpture in order to express the roundness of the human form and the relative depth of objects placed in a receding order4 ,if anything were needed to make us believe the story of his saying to ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 that sculpture and not painting was his trade1 this superb design1 so deficient in the essential qualities of painting proper1 would suffice4 ,men infinitely inferior to himself in genius and sense of form1 a ,perugino1 a ,francia1 a ,fra ,bartolommeo1 an ,albertinelli1 possessed more of the magic which evokes pictorial beauty4 ,nevertheless1 with all its aridity1 rigidity1 and almost repulsive hardness of colour1 the ,doni ,madonna ranks among the great pictures of the world4 ,once seen it will never be forgotten3 it tyrannises and dominates the imagination by its titanic power of drawing4 ,no one1 except perhaps ,lionardo1 could draw like that1 and ,lionardo would not have allowed his linear scheme to impose itself so remorselessly upon the mind4 ,,vi ,just at this point of his development1 ,michelangelo was brought into competition with ,lionardo da ,vinci1 the only living rival worthy of his genius4 ,during the year #aejc ,piero ,soderini determined to adorn the hall of the ,great ,council in the ,palazzo ,vecchio with huge mural frescoes1 which should represent scenes in ,florentine history4 ,documents regarding the commencement of these works and the contracts made with the respective artists are unfortunately wanting4 ,but it appears that ,da ,vinci received a commission for one of the long walls in the autumn of that year4 ,we have items of expenditure on record which show that the ,municipality of ,florence assigned him the ,sala del ,papa at ,s4 ,maria ,novella before ,february #aejd1 and were preparing the necessary furniture for the construction of his ,cartoon4 ,it seems that he was hard at work upon the #ast of ,april1 receiving fifteen golden florins a month for his labour4 ,the subject which he chose to treat was the battle of ,anghiari in #addj1 when the ,florentine mercenaries entirely routed the troops of ,filippo ,maria ,visconti1 led by ,niccol ,piccinino1 one of the greatest generals of his age4 ,in ,august #aejd ,soderini commissioned ,michelangelo to prepare ,cartoons for the opposite wall of the great ,sala1 and assigned to him a workshop in the ,hospital of the ,dyers at ,s4 ,onofrio4 ,a minute of expenditure1 under date ,october #ca1 #aejd1 shows that the paper for the ,cartoon had been already provided2 and ,michelangelo continued to work upon it until his call to ,rome at the beginning of #aeje4 ,lionardo's battle-piece consisted of two groups on horseback engaged in a fierce struggle for a standard4 ,michelangelo determined to select a subject which should enable him to display all his power as the supreme draughtsman of the nude4 ,he chose an episode from the war with ,pisa1 when1 on the #bhth of ,july #acfd1 a band of #djj ,florentine soldiers were surprised bathing by ,sir ,john ,hawkwood and his ,english riders4 ,it goes by the name of the ,battle of ,pisa1 though the event really took place at ,cascina on the ,arno1 some six miles above that city4 ,we have every reason to regard the composition of this ,cartoon as the central point in ,michelangelo's life as an artist4 ,it was the watershed1 so to speak1 which divided his earlier from his later manner2 and if we attach any value to the critical judgment of his enthusiastic admirer1 ,cellini1 even the roof of the ,sistine fell short of its perfection4 ,important1 however1 as it certainly is in the history of his development1 ,i must defer speaking of it in detail until the end of the next chapter4 ,for some reason or other1 unknown to us1 he left his work unfinished early in #aeje1 and went1 at the ,pope's invitation1 to ,rome4 ,when he returned1 in the ensuing year1 to ,florence1 he resumed and completed the design4 ,some notion of its size may be derived from what we know about the material supplied for ,lionardo's ,cartoon4 ,this1 say ,crowe and ,cavalcaselle1 was made up of one ream and twenty-nine quires1 or about #bhh square feet of royal folio paper1 the mere pasting of which necessitated a consumption of eighty-eight pounds of flour1 the mere lining of which required three pieces of ,florentine linen4 ,condivi1 summing up his notes of this period spent by ,michelangelo at ,florence1 says3 ,he stayed there some time without working to much purpose in his craft1 having taken to the study of poets and rhetoricians in the vulgar tongue1 and to the composition of sonnets for his pleasure4 ,it is difficult to imagine how ,michelangelo1 with all his engagements1 found the leisure to pursue these literary amusements4 ,but ,condivi's biography is the sole authentic source which we possess for the great master's own recollections of his past life4 ,it is1 therefore1 not improbable that in the sentence ,i have quoted we may find some explanation of the want of finish observable in his productions at this point4 ,michelangelo was1 to a large extent1 a dreamer2 and this single phrase throws light upon the expanse of time1 the barren spaces1 in his long laborious life4 ,the poems we now possess by his pen are clearly the wreck of a vast multitude2 and most of those accessible in manuscript and print belong to a later stage of his development4 ,still the fact remains that in early manhood he formed the habit of conversing with writers of ,italian and of fashioning his own thoughts into rhyme4 ,his was a nature capable indeed of vehement and fiery activity1 but by constitution somewhat saturnine and sluggish1 only energetic when powerfully stimulated2 a meditative man1 glad enough to be inert when not spurred forward on the path of strenuous achievement4 ,and so1 it seems1 the literary bent took hold upon him as a relief from labour1 as an excuse for temporary inaction4 ,in his own art1 the art of design1 whether this assumed the form of sculpture or of painting or of architecture1 he did nothing except at the highest pressure4 ,all his accomplished work shows signs of the intensest cerebration4 ,but he tried at times to slumber1 sunk in a wise passiveness4 ,then he communed with the poets1 the prophets1 and the prose-writers of his country4 ,we can well imagine1 therefore1 that1 tired with the labours of the chisel or the brush1 he gladly gave himself to composition1 leaving half finished on his easel things which had for him their adequate accomplishment4 ,i think it necessary to make these suggestions1 because1 in my opinion1 ,michelangelo's inner life and his literary proclivities have been hitherto too much neglected in the scheme of his psychology4 ,dazzled by the splendour of his work1 critics are content to skip spaces of months and years1 during which the creative genius of the man smouldered4 ,it is1 as ,i shall try to show1 in those intervals1 dimly revealed to us by what remains of his poems and his correspondence1 that the secret of this man1 at once so tardy and so energetic2 has to be discovered4 ,a great master of a different temperament1 less solitary1 less saturnine1 less sluggish1 would have formed a school1 as ,raffaello did4 ,michelangelo formed no school1 and was incapable of confiding the execution of his designs to any subordinates4 ,this is also a point of the highest importance to insist upon4 ,had he been other than he was--a gregarious man1 contented with the peu prs in art--he might have sent out all those twelve ,apostles for the ,duomo from his workshop4 ,raffaello would have done so2 indeed1 the work which bears his name in ,rome could not have existed except under these conditions4 ,now nothing is left to us of the twelve ,apostles except a rough-hewn sketch of ,s4 ,matthew4 ,michelangelo was unwilling or unable to organise a band of craftsmen fairly interpretative of his manner4 ,when his own hand failed1 or when he lost the passion for his labour1 he left the thing unfinished4 ,and much of this incompleteness in his life-work seems to me due to his being what ,i called a dreamer4 ,he lacked the merely business faculty1 the power of utilising hands and brains4 ,he could not bring his genius into open market1 and stamp inferior productions with his countersign4 ,willingly he retired into the solitude of his own self1 to commune with great poets and to meditate upon high thoughts1 while he indulged the emotions arising from forms of strength and beauty presented to his gaze upon the pathway of experience4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,i ,among the many nephews whom ,sixtus ,,iv4 had raised to eminence1 the most distinguished was ,giuliano della ,rovere1 ,cardinal of ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli1 and ,bishop of ,ostia4 ,this man possessed a fiery temper1 indomitable energy1 and the combative instinct which takes delight in fighting for its own sake4 ,nature intended him for a warrior2 and1 though circumstances made him chief of the ,church1 he discharged his duties as a ,pontiff in the spirit of a general and a conqueror4 ,when ,julius ,,ii4 was elected in ,november #aejc1 it became at once apparent that he intended to complete what his hated predecessors1 the ,borgias1 had begun1 by reducing to his sway all the provinces over which the ,see of ,rome had any claims1 and creating a central power in ,italy4 ,unlike the ,borgias1 however1 he entertained no plan of raising his own family to sovereignty at the expense of the ,papal power4 ,the ,della ,roveres were to be contented with their ,duchy of ,urbino1 which came to them by inheritance from the ,montefeltri4 ,julius dreamed of ,italy for the ,italians1 united under the hegemony of the ,supreme ,pontiff1 who from ,rome extended his spiritual authority and political influence over the whole of ,western ,europe4 ,it does not enter into the scheme of this book to relate the series of wars and alliances in which this belligerent ,pope involved his country1 and the final failure of his policy1 so far as the liberation of ,italy from the barbarians was concerned4 ,suffice it to say1 that at the close of his stormy reign he had reduced the ,states of the ,church to more or less complete obedience1 bequeathing to his successors an ecclesiastical kingdom which the enfeebled condition of the peninsula at large enabled them to keep intact4 ,there was nothing petty or mean in ,julius ,,ii42 his very faults bore a grandiose and heroic aspect4 ,turbulent1 impatient1 inordinate in his ambition1 reckless in his choice of means1 prolific of immense projects1 for which a lifetime would have been too short1 he filled the ten years of his pontificate with a din of incoherent deeds and vast schemes half accomplished4 ,such was the man who called ,michelangelo to ,rome at the commencement of #aeje4 ,why the sculptor was willing to leave his ,cartoon unfinished1 and to break his engagement with the ,operai del ,duomo1 remains a mystery4 ,it is said that the illustrious architect1 ,giuliano da ,san ,gallo1 who had worked for ,julius while he was cardinal1 and was now his principal adviser upon matters of art1 suggested to the ,pope that ,buonarroti could serve him admirably in his ambitious enterprises for the embellishment of the ,eternal ,city4 ,we do not know for certain whether ,julius1 when he summoned ,michelangelo from ,florence1 had formed the design of engaging him upon a definite piece of work4 ,the first weeks of his residence in ,rome are said to have been spent in inactivity1 until at last ,julius proposed to erect a huge monument of marble for his own tomb4 ,thus began the second and longest period of ,michelangelo's art-industry4 ,henceforth he was destined to labour for a series of ,popes1 following their whims with distracted energies and a lamentable waste of time4 ,the incompleteness which marks so much of his performance was due to the rapid succession of these imperious masters1 each in turn careless about the schemes of his predecessor1 and bent on using the artist's genius for his own profit4 ,it is true that nowhere but in ,rome could ,michelangelo have received commissions on so vast a scale4 ,nevertheless we cannot but regret the fate which drove him to consume years of hampered industry upon what ,condivi calls the tragedy of ,julius's tomb1 upon quarrying and road-making for ,leo ,x41 upon the abortive plans at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 and upon architectural and engineering works1 which were not strictly within his province4 ,at first it seemed as though fortune was about to smile on him4 ,in ,julius he found a patron who could understand and appreciate his powers4 ,between the two men there existed a strong bond of sympathy due to community of temperament4 ,both aimed at colossal achievements in their respective fields of action4 ,the imagination of both was fired by large and simple rather than luxurious and subtle thoughts4 ,both were uomini terribili1 to use a phrase denoting vigour of character and energy of genius1 made formidable by an abrupt1 uncompromising spirit4 ,both worked with what the ,italians call fury1 with the impetuosity of daemonic natures2 and both left the impress of their individuality stamped indelibly upon their age4 ,julius1 in all things grandiose1 resolved to signalise his reign by great buildings1 great sculpture1 great pictorial schemes4 ,there was nothing of the dilettante and collector about him4 ,he wanted creation at a rapid rate and in enormous quantities4 ,to indulge this craving1 he gathered round him a band of demigods and ,titans1 led by ,bramante1 ,raffaello1 ,michelangelo1 and enjoyed the spectacle of a new world of art arising at his bidding through their industry of brain and hand4 ,,ii ,what followed upon ,michelangelo's arrival in ,rome may be told in ,condivi's words3 ,having reached ,rome1 many months elapsed before ,julius decided on what great work he would employ him4 ,at last it occurred to him to use his genius in the construction of his own tomb4 ,the design furnished by ,michelangelo pleased the ,pope so much that he sent him off immediately to ,carrara1 with commission to quarry as much marble as was needful for that undertaking4 ,two thousand ducats were put to his credit with ,alamanni ,salviati at ,florence for expenses4 ,he remained more than eight months among those mountains1 with two servants and a horse1 but without any salary except his keep4 ,one day1 while inspecting the locality1 the fancy took him to convert a hill which commands the sea-shore into a ,colossus1 visible by mariners afar4 ,the shape of the huge rock1 which lent itself admirably to such a purpose1 attracted him2 and he was further moved to emulate the ancients1 who1 sojourning in the place peradventure with the same object as himself1 in order to while away the time1 or for some other motive1 have left certain unfinished and rough-hewn monuments1 which give a good specimen of their craft4 ,and assuredly he would have carried out this scheme1 if time enough had been at his disposal1 or if the special purpose of his visit to ,carrara had permitted4 ,i one day heard him lament bitterly that he had not done so4 ,well1 then1 after quarrying and selecting the blocks which he deemed sufficient1 he had them brought to the sea1 and left a man of his to ship them off4 ,he returned to ,rome1 and having stopped some days in ,florence on the way1 when he arrived there1 he found that part of the marble had already reached the ,ripa4 ,there he had them disembarked1 and carried to the ,piazza of ,s4 ,peter's behind ,s4 ,caterina1 where he kept his lodging1 close to the corridor connecting the ,palace with the ,castle of ,s4 ,angelo4 ,the quantity of stone was enormous1 so that1 when it was all spread out upon the square1 it stirred amazement in the minds of most folk1 but joy in the ,pope's4 ,julius indeed began to heap favours upon ,michelangelo2 for when he had begun to work1 the ,pope used frequently to betake himself to his house1 conversing there with him about the tomb1 and about other works which he proposed to carry out in concert with one of his brothers4 ,in order to arrive more conveniently at ,michelangelo's lodgings1 he had a drawbridge thrown across from the corridor1 by which he might gain privy access4 ,the date of ,michelangelo's return to ,rome is fixed approximately by a contract signed at ,carrara between him and two shipowners of ,lavagna4 ,this deed is dated ,november #ab1 #aeje4 ,it shows that thirty-four cartloads of marble were then ready for shipment1 together with two figures weighing fifteen cartloads more4 ,we have a right to assume that ,michelangelo left ,carrara soon after completing this transaction4 ,allowing1 then1 for the journey and the halt at ,florence1 he probably reached ,rome in the last week of that month4 ,,iii ,the first act in the tragedy of the sepulchre had now begun1 and ,michelangelo was embarked upon one of the mightiest undertakings which a sovereign of the stamp of ,julius ever intrusted to a sculptor of his titanic energy4 ,in order to form a conception of the magnitude of the enterprise1 ,i am forced to enter into a discussion regarding the real nature of the monument4 ,this offers innumerable difficulties1 for we only possess imperfect notices regarding the original design1 and two doubtful drawings belonging to an uncertain period4 ,still it is impossible to understand those changes in the ,basilica of ,s4 ,peter's which were occasioned by the project of ,julius1 or to comprehend the immense annoyances to which the tomb exposed ,michelangelo1 without grappling with its details4 ,condivi's text must serve for guide4 ,this1 in fact1 is the sole source of any positive value4 ,he describes the tomb1 as he believed it to have been first planned1 in the following paragraph3-- ,to give some notion of the monument1 ,i will say that it was intended to have four faces3 two of eighteen cubits1 serving for the sides1 and two of twelve for the ends1 so that the whole formed one great square and a half4 ,surrounding it externally were niches to be filled with statues1 and between each pair of niches stood terminal figures1 to the front of which were attached on certain consoles projecting from the wall another set of statues bound like prisoners4 ,these represented the ,liberal ,arts1 and likewise ,painting1 ,sculpture1 ,architecture1 each with characteristic emblems1 rendering their identification easy4 ,the intention was to show that all the talents had been taken captive by death1 together with ,pope ,julius1 since never would they find another patron to cherish and encourage them as he had done4 ,above these figures ran a cornice1 giving unity to the whole work4 ,upon the flat surface formed by this cornice were to be four large statues1 one of which1 that is1 the ,moses1 now exists at ,s4 ,pietro ad ,vincula4 ,and so1 arriving at the summit1 the tomb ended in a level space1 whereon were two angels who supported a sarcophagus4 ,one of them appeared to smile1 rejoicing that the soul of the ,pope had been received among the blessed spirits2 the other seemed to weep1 as sorrowing that the world had been robbed of such a man4 ,from one of the ends1 that is1 by the one which was at the head of the monument1 access was given to a little chamber like a chapel1 enclosed within the monument1 in the midst of which was a marble chest1 wherein the corpse of the ,pope was meant to be deposited4 ,the whole would have been executed with stupendous finish4 ,in short1 the sepulchre included more than forty statues1 not counting the histories in half-reliefs1 made of bronze1 all of them pertinent to the general scheme and representative of the mighty ,pontiff's actions4 ,vasari's account differs in some minor details from ,condivi's1 but it is of no authoritative value4 ,not having appeared in the edition of #aeej1 we may regard it as a rchauffe of ,condivi1 with the usual sauce provided by the ,aretine's imagination4 ,the only addition ,i can discover which throws light upon ,condivi's narrative is that the statues in the niches were meant to represent provinces conquered by ,julius4 ,this is important1 because it leads us to conjecture that ,vasari knew a drawing now preserved in the ,uffizi1 and sought1 by its means1 to add something to his predecessor's description4 ,the drawing will occupy our attention shortly2 but it may here be remarked that in #aeje1 the date of the first project1 ,julius was only entering upon his conquests4 ,it would have been a gross act of flattery on the part of the sculptor1 a flying in the face of ,nemesis on the part of his patron1 to design a sepulchre anticipating length of life and luck sufficient for these triumphs4 ,what then ,condivi tells us about the first scheme is1 that it was intended to stand isolated in the tribune of ,s4 ,peter's2 that it formed a rectangle of a square and half a square2 that the podium was adorned with statues in niches flanked by projecting dadoes supporting captive arts1 ten in number2 that at each corner of the platform above the podium a seated statue was placed1 one of which we may safely identify with the ,moses2 and that above this1 surmounting the whole monument by tiers1 arose a second mass1 culminating in a sarcophagus supported by two angels4 ,he further adds that the tomb was entered at its extreme end by a door1 which led to a little chamber where lay the body of the ,pope1 and that bronze bas-reliefs formed a prominent feature of the total scheme4 ,he reckons that more than forty statues would have been required to complete the whole design1 although he has only mentioned twenty-two of the most prominent4 ,more than this we do not know about the first project4 ,we have no contracts and no sketches that can be referred to the date #aeje4 ,much confusion has been introduced into the matter under consideration by the attempt to reconcile ,condivi's description with the drawing ,i have just alluded to4 ,heath ,wilson even used that drawing to impugn ,condivi's accuracy with regard to the number of the captives1 and the seated figures on the platform4 ,the drawing in question1 as we shall presently see1 is of great importance for the subsequent history of the monument2 and ,i believe that it to some extent preserves the general aspect which the tomb1 as first designed1 was intended to present4 ,two points about it1 however1 prevent our taking it as a true guide to ,michelangelo's original conception4 ,one is that it is clearly only part of a larger scheme of composition4 ,the other is that it shows a sarcophagus1 not supported by angels1 but posed upon the platform4 ,moreover1 it corresponds to the declaration appended in #aeac by ,michelangelo to the first extant document we possess about the tomb4 ,julius died in ,february #aeac1 leaving1 it is said1 to his executors directions that his sepulchre should not be carried out upon the first colossal plan4 ,if he did so1 they seem at the beginning of their trust to have disregarded his intentions4 ,michelangelo expressly states in one of his letters that the ,cardinal of ,agen wished to proceed with the tomb1 but on a larger scale4 ,a deed dated ,may #f1 #aeac1 was signed1 at the end of which ,michelangelo specified the details of the new design4 ,it differed from the former in many important respects1 but most of all in the fact that now the structure was to be attached to the wall of the church4 ,i cannot do better than translate ,michelangelo's specifications4 ,they run as follows3 ,let it be known to all men that ,i1 ,michelangelo1 sculptor of ,florence1 undertake to execute the sepulchre of ,pope ,julius in marble1 on the commission of the ,cardinal of ,agens and the ,datary 7,pucci71 who1 after his death1 have been appointed to complete this work1 for the sum of #af1ejj golden ducats of the ,camera2 and the composition of the said sepulchre is to be in the form ensuing3 ,a rectangle visible from three of its sides1 the fourth of which is attached to the wall and cannot be seen4 ,the front face1 that is1 the head of this rectangle1 shall be twenty palms in breadth and fourteen in height1 the other two1 running up against the wall1 shall be thirty-five palms long and likewise fourteen palms in height4 ,each of these three sides shall contain two tabernacles1 resting on a basement which shall run round the said space1 and shall be adorned with pilasters1 architrave1 frieze1 and cornice1 as appears in the little wooden model4 ,in each of the said six tabernacles will be placed two figures about one palm taller than life 7i4e41 #f-c_/d feet71 twelve in all2 and in front of each pilaster which flanks a tabernacle shall stand a figure of similar size1 twelve in all4 ,on the platform above the said rectangular structure stands a sarcophagus with four feet1 as may be seen in the model1 upon which will be ,pope ,julius sustained by two angels at his head1 with two at his feet2 making five figures on the sarcophagus1 all larger than life1 that is1 about twice the size4 ,round about the said sarcophagus will be placed six dadoes or pedestals1 on which six figures of the same dimensions will sit4 ,furthermore1 from the platform1 where it joins the wall1 springs a little chapel about thirty-five palms high 7#bf feet #c inches71 which shall contain five figures larger than all the rest1 as being farther from the eye4 ,moreover1 there shall be three histories1 either of bronze or of marble1 as may please the said executors1 introduced on each face of the tomb between one tabernacle and another4 ,all this ,michelangelo undertook to execute in seven years for the stipulated sum4 ,the new project involved thirty-eight colossal statues2 and1 fortunately for our understanding of it1 we may be said with almost absolute certainty to possess a drawing intended to represent it4 ,part of this is a pen-and-ink sketch at the ,uffizi1 which has frequently been published1 and part is a sketch in the ,berlin ,collection4 ,these have been put together by ,professor ,middleton of ,cambridge1 who has also made out a key-plan of the tomb4 ,with regard to its proportions and dimensions as compared with ,michelangelo's specification1 there remain some difficulties1 with which ,i cannot see that ,professor ,middleton has grappled4 ,it is perhaps not improbable1 as ,heath ,wilson suggested1 that the drawing had been thrown off as a picturesque forecast of the monument without attention to scale4 ,anyhow1 there is no doubt that in this sketch1 so happily restored by ,professor ,middleton's sagacity and tact1 we are brought close to ,michelangelo's conception of the colossal work he never was allowed to execute4 ,it not only answers to the description translated above from the sculptor's own appendix to the contract1 but it also throws light upon the original plan of the tomb designed for the tribune of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,the basement of the podium has been preserved1 we may assume1 in its more salient features4 ,there are the niches spoken of by ,condivi1 with ,vasari's conquered provinces prostrate at the feet of winged ,victories4 ,these are flanked by the terminal figures1 against which1 upon projecting consoles1 stand the bound captives4 ,at the right hand facing us1 upon the upper platform1 is seated ,moses1 with a different action of the hands1 it is true1 from that which ,michelangelo finally adopted4 ,near him is a female figure1 and the two figures grouped upon the left angle seem to be both female4 ,to some extent these statues bear out ,vasari's tradition that the platform in the first design was meant to sustain figures of the contemplative and active life of the soul--,dante's ,leah and ,rachel4 ,this great scheme was never carried out4 ,the fragments which may be safely assigned to it are the ,moses at ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli and the two bound captives of the ,louvre2 the ,madonna and ,child1 ,leah and ,rachel1 and two seated statues also at ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli1 belong to the plan1 though these have undergone considerable alterations4 ,some other scattered fragments of the sculptor's work may possibly be connected with its execution4 ,four male figures roughly hewn1 which are now wrought into the rock-work of a grotto in the ,boboli ,gardens1 together with the young athlete trampling on a prostrate old man 7called the ,victory7 and the ,adonis of the ,museo ,nazionale at ,florence1 have all been ascribed to the sepulchre of ,julius in one or other of its stages4 ,but these attributes are doubtful1 and will be criticised in their proper place and time4 ,suffice it now to say that ,vasari reports1 beside the ,moses1 ,victory1 and two ,captives at the ,louvre1 eight figures for the tomb blocked out by ,michelangelo at ,rome1 and five blocked out at ,florence4 ,continuing the history of this tragic undertaking1 we come to the year #aeaf4 ,on the #hth of ,july in that year1 ,michelangelo signed a new contract1 whereby the previous deed of #aeac was annulled4 ,both of the executors were alive and parties to this second agreement4 ,a model was made1 the width of which is stated at twenty-one feet1 after the monument had been already sculptured of a width of almost twenty-three feet4 ,the architectural design was adhered to with the same pedestals and niches and the same crowning cornice of the first story4 ,there were to be six statues in front1 but the conquered provinces were now dispensed with4 ,there was also to be one niche only on each flank1 so that the projection of the monument from the wall was reduced more than half1 and there were to be only twelve statues beneath the cornice and one relief1 instead of twenty-four statues and three reliefs4 ,on the summit of this basement a shrine was to be erected1 within which was placed the effigy of the ,pontiff on his sarcophagus1 with two heavenly guardians4 ,the whole of the statues described in this third contract amount to nineteen4 ,heath ,wilson observes1 with much propriety1 that the most singular fact about these successive contracts is the departure from certain fixed proportions both of the architectural parts and the statues1 involving a serious loss of outlay and of work4 ,thus the two ,captives of the ,louvre became useless1 and1 as we know1 they were given away to ,ruberto ,strozzi in a moment of generosity by the sculptor4 ,the sitting figures detailed in the deed of #aeaf are shorter than the ,moses by one foot4 ,the standing figures1 now at ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli1 correspond to the specifications4 ,what makes the matter still more singular is1 that after signing the contract under date ,july #h1 #aeaf1 ,michelangelo in ,november of the same year ordered blocks of marble from ,carrara1 with measurements corresponding to the specifications of the deed of #aeac4 ,the miserable tragedy of the sepulchre dragged on for another sixteen years4 ,during this period the executors of ,julius passed away1 and the ,duke ,francesco ,maria della ,rovere replaced them4 ,he complained that ,michelangelo neglected the tomb1 which was true1 although the fault lay not with the sculptor1 but with the ,popes1 his taskmasters4 ,legal proceedings were instituted to recover a large sum of money1 which1 it was alleged1 had been disbursed without due work delivered by the master4 ,michelangelo had recourse to ,clement ,,vii41 who1 being anxious to monopolise his labour1 undertook to arrange matters with the ,duke4 ,on the #bith of ,april #aecb a third and solemn contract was signed at ,rome in presence of the ,pope1 witnessed by a number of illustrious personages4 ,this third contract involved a fourth design for the tomb1 which ,michelangelo undertook to furnish1 and at the same time to execute six statues with his own hand4 ,on this occasion the notion of erecting it in ,s4 ,peter's was finally abandoned4 ,the choice lay between two other ,roman churches1 that of ,s4 ,maria del ,popolo1 where monuments to several members of the ,della ,rovere family existed1 and that of ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli1 from which ,julius ,,ii4 had taken his cardinal's title4 ,michelangelo decided for the latter1 on account of its better lighting4 ,the six statues promised by ,michelangelo are stated in the contract to be begun and not completed1 extant at the present date in ,rome or in ,florence4 ,which of the several statues blocked out for the monument were to be chosen is not stated2 and as there are no specifications in the document1 we cannot identify them with exactness4 ,at any rate1 the ,moses must have been one2 and it is possible that the ,leah and ,rachel1 ,madonna1 and two seated statues1 now at ,s4 ,pietro1 were the other five4 ,it might have been thought that at last the tragedy had dragged on to its conclusion4 ,but no2 there was a fifth act1 a fourth contract1 a fifth design4 ,paul ,,iii4 succeeded to ,clement ,,vii41 and1 having seen the ,moses in ,michelangelo's workshop1 declared that this one statue was enough for the deceased ,pope's tomb4 ,the ,duke ,francesco ,maria della ,rovere died in #aech1 and was succeeded by his son1 ,guidobaldo ,,ii4 ,the new ,duke's wife was a granddaughter of ,paul ,,iii41 and this may have made him amenable to the ,pope's influence4 ,at all events1 upon the #bjth of ,august #aedb a final contract was signed1 stating that ,michelangelo had been prevented by just and legitimate impediments from carrying out his engagement under date ,april #bi1 #aecb1 releasing him from the terms of the third deed1 and establishing new conditions4 ,the ,moses1 finished by the hand of ,michelangelo1 takes the central place in this new monument4 ,five other statues are specified3 to wit1 a ,madonna with the child in her arms1 which is already finished2 a ,sibyl1 a ,prophet1 an ,active ,life and a ,contemplative ,life1 blocked out and nearly completed by the said ,michelangelo4 ,these four were given to ,raffaello da ,montelupo to finish4 ,the reclining portrait-statue of ,julius1 which was carved by ,maso del ,bosco1 is not even mentioned in this contract4 ,but a deed between the ,duke's representative and the craftsmen ,montelupo and ,urbino exists1 in which the latter undertakes to see that ,michelangelo shall retouch the ,pope's face4 ,thus ended the tragedy of the tomb of ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 ,it is supposed to have been finally completed in #aede1 and was set up where it still remains uninjured at ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli4 ,,iv ,i judged it needful to anticipate the course of events by giving this brief history of a work begun in #aeje1 and carried on with so many hindrances and alterations through forty years of ,michelangelo's life4 ,we shall often have to return to it1 since the matter cannot be lightly dismissed4 ,the tomb of ,julius empoisoned ,michelangelo's manhood1 hampered his energy1 and brought but small if any profit to his purse4 ,in one way or another it is always cropping up1 and may be said to vex his biographers and the students of his life as much as it annoyed himself4 ,we may now return to those early days in ,rome1 when the project had still a fascination both for the sculptor and his patron4 ,the old ,basilica of ,s4 ,peter on the ,vatican is said to have been built during the reign of ,constantine1 and to have been consecrated in #cbd ,a4,d4 ,it was one of the largest of those ,roman buildings1 measuring #dce feet in length from the great door to the end of the tribune4 ,a spacious open square or atrium1 surrounded by a cloister-portico1 gave access to the church4 ,this1 in the ,middle ,ages1 gained the name of the ,paradiso4 ,a kind of tabernacle1 in the centre of the square1 protected the great bronze fir-cone1 which was formerly supposed to have crowned the summit of ,hadrian's ,mausoleum1 the ,castle of ,s4 ,angelo4 ,dante1 who saw it in the courtyard of ,s4 ,peter's1 used it as a standard for his giant ,nimrod4 ,he says-- ,la faccia sua ml parea lunga e grossa1 ,come la pina di ,san ,pietro a ,roma4 --7,inf4 xxxi4 #eh47 ,this mother-church of ,western ,christendom was adorned inside and out with mosaics in the style of those which may still be seen at ,ravenna4 ,above the lofty row of columns which flanked the central aisle ran processions of saints and sacred histories4 ,they led the eye onward to what was called the ,arch of ,triumph1 separating this portion of the building from the transept and the tribune4 ,the concave roof of the tribune itself was decorated with a colossal ,christ1 enthroned between ,s4 ,peter and ,s4 ,paul1 surveying the vast spaces of his house3 the lord and master1 before whom pilgrims from all parts of ,europe came to pay tribute and to perform acts of homage4 ,the columns were of precious marbles1 stripped from ,pagan palaces and temples2 and the roof was tiled with plates of gilded bronze1 torn in the age of ,heraclius from the shrine of ,venus and of ,roma on the ,sacred ,way4 ,during the eleven centuries which elapsed between its consecration and the decree for its destruction1 ,s4 ,peter's had been gradually enriched with a series of monuments1 inscriptions1 statues1 frescoes1 upon which were written the annals of successive ages of the ,church4 ,giotto worked there under ,benedict ,,ii4 in #acdj4 ,pope after ,pope was buried there4 ,in the early period of ,renaissance sculpture1 ,mino da ,fiesole1 ,pollaiuolo1 and ,filarete added works in bronze and marble1 which blent the grace of ,florentine religious tradition with quaint neo-pagan mythologies4 ,these treasures1 priceless for the historian1 the antiquary1 and the artist1 were now going to be ruthlessly swept away at a pontiff's bidding1 in order to make room for his haughty and self-laudatory monument4 ,whatever may have been the artistic merits of ,michelangelo's original conception for the tomb1 the spirit was in no sense ,christian4 ,those rows of captive ,arts and ,sciences1 those ,victories exulting over prostrate cities1 those allegorical colossi symbolising the mundane virtues of a mighty ruler's character1 crowned by the portrait of the ,pope1 over whom ,heaven rejoiced while ,cybele deplored his loss--all this pomp of power and parade of ingenuity harmonised but little with the humility of a contrite soul returning to its ,maker and its ,judge4 ,the new temple1 destined to supersede the old basilica1 embodied an aspect of ,latin ,christianity which had very little indeed in common with the piety of the primitive ,church4 ,s4 ,peter's1 as we see it now1 represents the majesty of ,papal ,rome1 the spirit of a secular monarchy in the hands of priests2 it is the visible symbol of that schism between the ,teutonic and the ,latin portions of the ,western ,church which broke out soon after its foundation1 and became irreconcilable before the cross was placed upon its cupola4 ,it seemed as though in sweeping away the venerable traditions of eleven hundred years1 and replacing ,rome's time-honoured ,mother-,church with an edifice bearing the brand-new stamp of hybrid neo-pagan architecture1 the ,popes had wished to signalise that rupture with the past and that atrophy of real religious life which marked the counter-reformation4 ,julius ,,ii4 has been severely blamed for planning the entire reconstruction of his cathedral4 ,it must1 however1 be urged in his defence that the structure had already1 in #addg1 been pronounced insecure4 ,nicholas ,v4 ordered his architects1 ,bernardo ,rossellini and ,leo ,battista ,alberti1 to prepare plans for its restoration4 ,it is1 of course1 impossible for us to say for certain whether the ancient fabric could have been preserved1 or whether its dilapidation had gone so far as to involve destruction4 ,bearing in mind the recklessness of the ,renaissance and the passion which the ,popes had for engaging in colossal undertakings1 one is inclined to suspect that the unsound state of the building was made a pretext for beginning a work which flattered the architectural tastes of ,nicholas1 but was not absolutely necessary4 ,however this may have been1 foundations for a new tribune were laid outside the old apse1 and the wall rose some feet above the ground before the ,pope's death4 ,paul ,,ii4 carried on the building2 but during the pontificates of ,sixtus1 ,innocent1 and ,alexander it seems to have been neglected4 ,meanwhile nothing had been done to injure the original basilica2 and when ,julius announced his intention of levelling it to the ground1 his cardinals and bishops entreated him to refrain from an act so sacrilegious4 ,the ,pope was not a man to take advice or make concessions4 ,accordingly1 turning a deaf ear to these entreaties1 he had plans prepared by ,giuliano da ,san ,gallo and ,bramante4 ,those eventually chosen were furnished by ,bramante2 and ,san ,gallo1 who had hitherto enjoyed the fullest confidence of ,julius1 is said to have left ,rome in disgust4 ,for reasons which will afterwards appear1 he could not have done so before the summer months of #aejf4 ,it is not yet the proper time to discuss the building of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,still1 with regard to ,bramante's plan1 this much may here be said4 ,it was designed in the form of a ,greek cross1 surmounted with a huge circular dome and flanked by two towers4 ,bramante used to boast that he meant to raise the ,pantheon in the air2 and the plan1 as preserved for us by ,serlio1 shows that the cupola would have been constructed after that type4 ,competent judges1 however1 declare that insuperable difficulties must have arisen in carrying out this design1 while the piers constructed by ,bramante were found in effect to be wholly insufficient for their purpose4 ,for the aesthetic beauty and the commodiousness of his building we have the strongest evidence in a letter written by ,michelangelo1 who was by no means a partial witness4 ,it cannot be denied1 he says1 that ,bramante's talent as an architect was equal to that of any one from the times of the ancients until now4 ,he laid the first plan of ,s4 ,peter's1 not confused1 but clear and simple1 full of light and detached from surrounding buildings1 so that it interfered with no part of the palace4 ,it was considered a very fine design1 and indeed any one can see with his own eyes now that it is so4 ,all the architects who departed from ,bramante's scheme1 as did ,antonio da ,san ,gallo1 have departed from the truth4 ,though ,michelangelo gave this unstinted praise to ,bramante's genius as a builder1 he blamed him severely both for his want of honesty as a man1 and also for his vandalism in dealing with the venerable church he had to replace4 ,bramante1 says ,condivi1 was addicted1 as everybody knows1 to every kind of pleasure4 ,he spent enormously1 and1 though the pension granted him by the ,pope was large1 he found it insufficient for his needs4 ,accordingly he made profit out of the works committed to his charge1 erecting the walls of poor material1 and without regard for the substantial and enduring qualities which fabrics on so huge a scale demanded4 ,this is apparent in the buildings at ,s4 ,peter's1 the ,corridore of the ,belvedere1 the ,convent of ,san ,pietro ad ,vincula1 and other of his edifices1 which have had to be strengthened and propped up with buttresses and similar supports in order to prevent them tumbling down4 ,bramante1 during his residence in ,lombardy1 developed a method of erecting piers with rubble enclosed by hewn stone or plaster-covered brickwork4 ,this enabled an unconscientious builder to furnish bulky architectural masses1 which presented a specious aspect of solidity and looked more costly than they really were4 ,it had the additional merit of being easy and rapid in execution4 ,bramante was thus able to gratify the whims and caprices of his impatient patron1 who desired to see the works of art he ordered rise like the fabric of ,aladdin's lamp before his very eyes4 ,michelangelo is said to have exposed the architect's trickeries to the ,pope2 what is more1 he complained with just and bitter indignation of the wanton ruthlessness with which ,bramante set about his work of destruction4 ,i will again quote ,condivi here1 for the passage seems to have been inspired by the great sculptor's verbal reminiscences3 ,the worst was1 that while he was pulling down the old ,s4 ,peter's1 he dashed those marvellous antique columns to the ground1 without paying the least attention1 or caring at all when they were broken into fragments1 although he might have lowered them gently and preserved their shafts intact4 ,michelangelo pointed out that it was an easy thing enough to erect piers by placing brick on brick1 but that to fashion a column like one of these taxed all the resources of art4 ,on the #ahth of ,april #aejf1 ,julius performed the ceremony of laying the foundation-stone of the new ,s4 ,peter's4 ,the place chosen was the great sustaining pier of the dome1 near which the altar of ,s4 ,veronica now stands4 ,a deep pit had been excavated1 into which the aged ,pope descended fearlessly1 only shouting to the crowd above that they should stand back and not endanger the falling in of the earth above him4 ,coins and medals were duly deposited in a vase1 over which a ponderous block of marble was lowered1 while ,julius1 bareheaded1 sprinkled the stone with holy water and gave the pontifical benediction4 ,on the same day he wrote a letter to ,henry ,,vii4 of ,england1 informing the ,king that by the guidance of our ,lord and ,saviour ,jesus ,christ he had undertaken to restore the old basilica which was perishing through age4 ,v ,the terms of cordial intimacy which subsisted between ,julius and ,michelangelo at the close of #aeje were destined to be disturbed4 ,the ,pope intermitted his visits to the sculptor's workshop1 and began to take but little interest in the monument4 ,condivi directly ascribes this coldness to the intrigues of ,bramante1 who whispered into the ,pontiff's ear that it was ill-omened for a man to construct his own tomb in his lifetime4 ,it is not at all improbable that he said something of the sort1 and ,bramante was certainly no good friend to ,michelangelo4 ,a manoeuvring and managing individual1 entirely unscrupulous in his choice of means1 condescending to flattery and lies1 he strove to stand as patron between the ,pope and subordinate craftsmen4 ,michelangelo had come to ,rome under ,san ,gallo's influence1 and ,bramante had just succeeded in winning the commission to rebuild ,s4 ,peter's over his rival's head4 ,it was important for him to break up ,san ,gallo's party1 among whom the sincere and uncompromising ,michelangelo threatened to be very formidable4 ,the jealousy which he felt for the man was envenomed by a fear lest he should speak the truth about his own dishonesty4 ,to discredit ,michelangelo with the ,pope1 and1 if possible1 to drive him out of ,rome1 was therefore ,bramante's interest3 more particularly as his own nephew1 ,raffaello da ,urbino1 had now made up his mind to join him there4 ,we shall see that he succeeded in expelling both ,san ,gallo and ,buonarroti during the course of #aejf1 and that in their absence he reigned1 together with ,raffaello1 almost alone in the art-circles of the ,eternal ,city4 ,i see no reason1 therefore1 to discredit the story told by ,condivi and ,vasari regarding the ,pope's growing want of interest in his tomb4 ,michelangelo himself1 writing from ,rome in #aedb1 thirty-six years after these events1 says that all the dissensions between ,pope ,julius and me arose from the envy of ,bramante and ,raffaello da ,urbino1 and this was the cause of my not finishing the tomb in his lifetime4 ,they wanted to ruin me4 ,raffaello indeed had good reason2 for all he had of art he owed to me4 ,but1 while we are justified in attributing much to ,bramante's intrigues1 it must be remembered that the ,pope at this time was absorbed in his plans for conquering ,bologna4 ,overwhelmed with business and anxious about money1 he could not have had much leisure to converse with sculptors4 ,michelangelo was still in ,rome at the end of ,january4 ,on the #cast of that month he wrote to his father1 complaining that the marbles did not arrive quickly enough1 and that he had to keep ,julius in good humour with promises4 ,at the same time he begged ,lodovico to pack up all his drawings1 and to send them1 well secured against bad weather1 by the hand of a carrier4 ,it is obvious that he had no thoughts of leaving ,rome1 and that the ,pope was still eager about the monument4 ,early in the spring he assisted at the discovery of the ,laocoon4 ,francesco1 the son of ,giuliano da ,san ,gallo1 describes how ,michelangelo was almost always at his father's house2 and coming there one day1 he went1 at the architect's invitation1 down to the ruins of the ,palace of ,titus4 ,we set off1 all three together2 ,i on my father's shoulders4 ,when we descended into the place where the statue lay1 my father exclaimed at once1 ',that is the ,laocoon1 of which ,pliny speaks4' ,the opening was enlarged1 so that it could be taken out2 and after we had sufficiently admired it1 we went home to breakfast4 ,julius bought the marble for #ejj crowns1 and had it placed in the ,belvedere of the ,vatican4 ,scholars praised it in ,latin lines of greater or lesser merit1 ,sadoleto writing even a fine poem2 and ,michelangelo is said1 but without trustworthy authority1 to have assisted in its restoration4 ,this is the last glimpse we have of ,michelangelo before his flight from ,rome4 ,under what circumstances he suddenly departed may be related in the words of a letter addressed by him to ,giuliano da ,san ,gallo in ,rome upon the #bnd of ,may #aejf1 after his return to ,florence4 ,giuliano1--,your letter informs me that the ,pope was angry at my departure1 as also that his ,holiness is inclined to proceed with the works agreed upon between us1 and that ,i may return and not be anxious about anything4 ,about my leaving ,rome1 it is a fact that on ,holy ,saturday ,i heard the ,pope1 in conversation with a jeweller at table and with the ,master of ,ceremonies1 say that he did not mean to spend a farthing more on stones1 small or great4 ,this caused me no little astonishment4 ,however1 before ,i left his presence1 ,i asked for part of the money needed to carry on the work4 ,his ,holiness told me to return on ,monday4 ,i did so1 and on ,tuesday1 and on ,wednesday1 and on ,thursday1 as the ,pope saw4 ,at last1 on ,friday morning1 ,i was sent away1 or plainly turned out of doors4 ,the man who did this said he knew me1 but that such were his orders4 ,i1 who had heard the ,pope's words on ,saturday1 and now perceived their result in deeds1 was utterly cast down4 ,this was not1 however1 quite the only reason of my departure2 there was something else1 which ,i do not wish to communicate2 enough that it made me think that1 if ,i stayed in ,rome1 that city would be my tomb before it was the ,pope's4 ,and this was the cause of my sudden departure4 ,now you write to me at the ,pope's instance4 ,so ,i beg you to read him this letter1 and inform his ,holiness that ,i am even more than ever disposed to carry out the work4 ,further details may be added from subsequent letters of ,michelangelo4 ,writing in ,january #aebd to his friend ,giovanni ,francesco ,fattucci1 he says3 ,when ,i had finished paying for the transport of these marbles1 and all the money was spent1 ,i furnished the house ,i had upon the ,piazza di ,s4 ,pietro with beds and utensils at my own expense1 trusting to the commission of the tomb1 and sent for workmen from ,florence1 who are still alive1 and paid them in advance out of my own purse4 ,meanwhile ,pope ,julius changed his mind about the tomb1 and would not have it made4 ,not knowing this1 ,i applied to him for money1 and was expelled from the chamber4 ,enraged at such an insult1 ,i left ,rome on the moment4 ,the things with which my house was stocked went to the dogs4 ,the marbles ,i had brought to ,rome lay till the date of ,leo's creation on the ,piazza1 and both lots were injured and pillaged4 ,again1 a letter of ,october #aedb1 addressed to some prelate1 contains further particulars4 ,we learn he was so short of money that he had to borrow about #bjj ducats from his friend ,baldassare ,balducci at the bank of ,jacopo ,gallo4 ,the episode at the ,vatican and the flight to ,poggibonsi are related thus3-- ,to continue my history of the tomb of ,julius3 ,i say that when he changed his mind about building it in his lifetime1 some ship-loads of marble came to the ,ripa1 which ,i had ordered a short while before from ,carrara2 and as ,i could not get money from the ,pope to pay the freightage1 ,i had to borrow #aej or #bjj ducats from ,baldassare ,balducci1 that is1 from the bank of ,jacopo ,gallo4 ,at the same time workmen came from ,florence1 some of whom are still alive2 and ,i furnished the house which ,julius gave me behind ,s4 ,caterina with beds and other furniture for the men1 and what was wanted for the work of the tomb4 ,all this being done without money1 ,i was greatly embarrassed4 ,accordingly1 ,i urged the ,pope with all my power to go forward with the business1 and he had me turned away by a groom one morning when ,i came to speak upon the matter4 ,a ,lucchese bishop1 seeing this1 said to the groom3 ',do you not know who that man is8' ,the groom replied to me3 ',excuse me1 gentleman2 ,i have orders to do this4' ,i went home1 and wrote as follows to the ,pope3 ',most blessed ,father1 ,i have been turned out of the palace to-day by your orders2 wherefore ,i give you notice that from this time forward1 if you want me1 you must look for me elsewhere than at ,rome4' ,i sent this letter to ,messer ,agostino1 the steward1 to give it to the ,pope4 ,then ,i sent for ,cosimo1 a carpenter1 who lived with me and looked after household matters1 and a stone-heaver1 who is still alive1 and said to them3 ',go for a ,jew1 and sell everything in the house1 and come to ,florence4' ,i went1 took the post1 and travelled towards ,florence4 ,the ,pope1 when he had read my letter1 sent five horsemen after me1 who reached me at ,poggibonsi about three hours after nightfall1 and gave me a letter from the ,pope to this effect3 ',when you have seen these present1 come back at once to ,rome1 under penalty of our displeasure4' ,the horsemen were anxious ,i should answer1 in order to prove that they had overtaken me4 ,i replied then to the ,pope1 that if he would perform the conditions he was under with regard to me1 ,i would return2 but otherwise he must not expect to have me again4 ,later on1 while ,i was at ,florence1 ,julius sent three briefs to the ,signory4 ,at last the latter sent for me and said3 ',we do not want to go to war with ,pope ,julius because of you4 ,you must return2 and if you do so1 we will write you letters of such authority that1 should he do you harm1 he will be doing it to this ,signory4' ,accordingly ,i took the letters1 and went back to the ,pope1 and what followed would be long to tell4 ,these passages from ,michelangelo's correspondence confirm ,condivi's narrative of the flight from ,rome1 showing that he had gathered his information from the sculptor's lips4 ,condivi differs only in making ,michelangelo send a verbal message1 and not a written letter1 to the ,pope4 ,enraged by this repulse1 he exclaimed to the groom3 ',tell the ,pope that if henceforth he wants me1 he must look for me elsewhere4' ,it is worth observing that only the first of these letters1 written shortly after the event1 and intended for the ,pope's ear1 contains a hint of ,michelangelo's dread of personal violence if he remained in ,rome4 ,his words seem to point at poison or the dagger4 ,cellini's autobiography yields sufficient proof that such fears were not unjustified by practical experience2 and ,bramante1 though he preferred to work by treachery of tongue1 may have commanded the services of assassins1 uomini arditi e facinorosi1 as they were somewhat euphemistically called4 ,at any rate1 it is clear that ,michelangelo's precipitate departure and vehement refusal to return were occasioned by more pungent motives than the ,pope's frigidity4 ,this has to be noticed1 because we learn from several incidents of the same kind in the master's life that he was constitutionally subject to sudden fancies and fears of imminent danger to his person from an enemy4 ,he had already quitted ,bologna in haste from dread of assassination or maltreatment at the hands of native sculptors4 ,,vi ,the negotiations which passed between the ,pope and the ,signory of ,florence about what may be called the extradition of ,michelangelo form a curious episode in his biography1 throwing into powerful relief the importance he had already acquired among the princes of ,italy4 ,i propose to leave these for the commencement of my next chapter1 and to conclude the present with an account of his occupations during the summer months at ,florence4 ,signor ,gotti says that he passed three months away from ,julius in his native city4 ,considering that he arrived before the end of ,april1 and reached ,bologna at the end of ,november #aejf1 we have the right to estimate this residence at about seven months4 ,a letter written to him from ,rome on the #dth of ,august shows that he had not then left ,florence upon any intermediate journey of importance4 ,therefore there is every reason to suppose that he enjoyed a period of half a year of leisure1 which he devoted to finishing his ,cartoon for the ,battle of ,pisa4 ,it had been commenced1 as we have seen1 in a workshop at the ,spedale dei ,tintori4 ,when he went to ,bologna in the autumn1 it was left1 exposed presumably to public view1 in the ,sala del ,papa at ,s4 ,maria ,novella4 ,it had therefore been completed2 but it does not appear that ,michelangelo had commenced his fresco in the ,sala del ,gran ,consiglio4 ,lionardo began to paint his ,battle of the ,standard in ,march #aeje4 ,the work advanced rapidly2 but the method he adopted1 which consisted in applying oil colours to a fat composition laid thickly on the wall1 caused the ruin of his picture4 ,he is said to have wished to reproduce the encaustic process of the ancients1 and lighted fires to harden the surface of the fresco4 ,this melted the wax in the lower portions of the paste1 and made the colours run4 ,at any rate1 no traces of the painting now remain in the ,sala del ,gran ,consiglio1 the walls of which are covered by the mechanical and frigid brush-work of ,vasari4 ,it has even been suggested that ,vasari knew more about the disappearance of his predecessor's masterpiece than he has chosen to relate4 ,lionardo's ,cartoon has also disappeared1 and we know the ,battle of ,anghiari only by ,edelinck's engraving from a drawing of ,rubens1 and by some doubtful sketches4 ,the same fate was in store for ,michelangelo's ,cartoon4 ,all that remains to us of that great work is the chiaroscuro transcript at ,holkham1 a sketch for the whole composition in the ,albertina ,gallery at ,vienna1 which differs in some important details from the ,holkham group1 several interesting pen-and-chalk drawings by ,michelangelo's own hand1 also in the ,albertina ,collection1 and a line-engraving by ,marcantonio ,raimondi1 commonly known as ,les ,grimpeurs4 ,we do not know at what exact time ,michelangelo finished his ,cartoon in #aejf4 ,he left it1 says ,condivi1 in the ,sala del ,papa4 ,afterwards it must have been transferred to the ,sala del ,gran ,consiglio2 for ,albertini1 in his ,memoriale1 or ,guide-,book to ,florence1 printed in #aeaj1 speaks of both the works of ,lionardo da ,vinci and the designs of ,michelangelo as then existing in that hall4 ,vasari asserts that it was taken to the house of the ,medici1 and placed in the great upper hall1 but gives no date4 ,this may have taken place on the return of the princely family in #aeab4 ,cellini confirms this view1 since he declares that when he was copying the ,cartoon1 which could hardly have happened before #aeac1 the ,battle of ,pisa was at the ,palace of the ,medici1 and the ,battle of ,anghiari at the ,sala del ,papa4 ,the way in which it finally disappeared is involved in some obscurity1 owing to ,vasari's spite and mendacity4 ,in the first1 or #aeej1 edition of the ,lives of the ,painters1 he wrote as follows3 ,having become a regular object of study to artists1 the ,cartoon was carried to the house of the ,medici1 into the great upper hall2 and this was the reason that it came with too little safeguard into the hands of those said artists3 inasmuch as1 during the illness of the ,duke ,giuliano1 when no one attended to such matters1 it was torn in pieces by them and scattered abroad1 so that fragments may be found in many places1 as is proved by those existing now in the house of ,uberto ,strozzi1 a gentleman of ,mantua1 who holds them in great respect4 ,when ,vasari published his second edition1 in #aefh1 he repeated this story of the destruction of the ,cartoon1 but with a very significant alteration4 ,instead of saying it was torn in pieces by them he now printed it was torn in pieces1 as hath been told elsewhere4 ,now ,bandinelli1 ,vasari's mortal enemy1 and the scapegoat for all the sins of his generation among artists1 died in #aeei1 and ,vasari felt that he might safely defame his memory4 ,accordingly he introduced a ,life of ,bandinelli into the second edition of his work1 containing the following passage3 ,baccio was in the habit of frequenting the place where the ,cartoon stood more than any other artists1 and had in his possession a false key2 what follows happened at the time when ,piero ,soderini was deposed in #aeab1 and the ,medici returned4 ,well1 then1 while the palace was in tumult and confusion through this revolution1 ,baccio went alone1 and tore the ,cartoon into a thousand fragments4 ,why he did so was not known2 but some surmised that he wanted to keep certain pieces of it by him for his own use2 some1 that he wished to deprive young men of its advantages in study2 some1 that he was moved by affection for ,lionardo da ,vinci1 who suffered much in reputation by this design2 some1 perhaps with sharper intuition1 believed that the hatred he bore to ,michelangelo inspired him to commit the act4 ,the loss of the ,cartoon to the city was no slight one1 and ,baccio deserved the blame he got1 for everybody called him envious and spiteful4 ,this second version stands in glaring contradiction to the first1 both as regards the date and the place where the ,cartoon was destroyed4 ,it does not1 ,i think1 deserve credence1 for ,cellini1 who was a boy of twelve in #aeab1 could hardly have drawn from it before that date2 and if ,bandinelli was so notorious for his malignant vandalism as ,vasari asserts1 it is most improbable that ,cellini1 while speaking of the ,cartoon in connection with ,torrigiano1 should not have taken the opportunity to cast a stone at the man whom he detested more than any one in ,florence4 ,moreover1 if ,bandinelli had wanted to destroy the ,cartoon for any of the reasons above assigned to him1 he would not have dispersed fragments to be treasured up with reverence4 ,at the close of this tedious summary ,i ought to add that ,condivi expressly states3 ,i do not know by what ill-fortune it subsequently came to ruin4 ,he adds1 however1 that many of the pieces were found about in various places1 and that all of them were preserved like sacred objects4 ,we have1 then1 every reason to believe that the story told in ,vasari's first edition is the literal truth4 ,copyists and engravers used their opportunity1 when the palace of the ,medici was thrown into disorder by the severe illness of the ,duke of ,nemours1 to take away portions of ,michelangelo's ,cartoon for their own use in #aeaf4 ,of the ,cartoon and its great reputation1 ,cellini gives us this account3 ,michelangelo portrayed a number of foot-soldiers1 who1 the season being summer1 had gone to bathe in the ,arno4 ,he drew them at the very moment the alarm is sounded1 and the men all naked run to arms2 so splendid is their action1 that nothing survives of ancient or of modern art1 which touches the same lofty point of excellence2 and1 as ,i have already said1 the design of the great ,lionardo was itself most admirably beautiful4 ,these two ,cartoons stood1 one in the palace of the ,medici1 the other in the hall of the ,pope4 ,so long as they remained intact1 they were the school of the world4 ,though the divine ,michelangelo in later life finished that great chapel of ,pope ,julius 7the ,sistine71 he never rose halfway to the same pitch of power2 his genius never afterwards attained to the force of those first studies4 ,allowing for some exaggeration due to enthusiasm for things enjoyed in early youth1 this is a very remarkable statement4 ,cellini knew the frescoes of the ,sistine well1 yet he maintains that they were inferior in power and beauty to the ,battle of ,pisa4 ,it seems hardly credible2 but1 if we believe it1 the legend of ,michelangelo's being unable to execute his own designs for the vault of that chapel falls to the ground4 ,,vii ,the great ,cartoon has become less even than a memory1 and so1 perhaps1 we ought to leave it in the limbo of things inchoate and unaccomplished4 ,but this it was not1 most emphatically4 ,decidedly it had its day1 lived and sowed seeds for good or evil through its period of brief existence3 so many painters of the grand style took their note from it2 it did so much to introduce the last phase of ,italian art1 the phase of efflorescence1 the phase deplored by critics steeped in mediaeval feeling4 ,to recapture something of its potency from the description of contemporaries is therefore our plain duty1 and for this we must have recourse to ,vasari's text4 ,he says3 ,michelangelo filled his canvas with nude men1 who1 bathing at the time of summer heat in ,arno1 were suddenly called to arms1 the enemy assailing them4 ,the soldiers swarmed up from the river to resume their clothes2 and here you could behold depicted by the master's godlike hands one hurrying to clasp his limbs in steel and give assistance to his comrades1 another buckling on the cuirass1 and many seizing this or that weapon1 with cavalry in squadrons giving the attack4 ,among the multitude of figures1 there was an old man1 who wore upon his head an ivy wreath for shade4 ,seated on the ground1 in act to draw his hose up1 he was hampered by the wetness of his legs2 and while he heard the clamour of the soldiers1 the cries1 the rumbling of the drums1 he pulled with all his might2 all the muscles and sinews of his body were seen in strain2 and what was more1 the contortion of his mouth showed what agony of haste he suffered1 and how his whole frame laboured to the toe-tips4 ,then there were drummers and men with flying garments1 who ran stark naked toward the fray4 ,strange postures too3 this fellow upright1 that man kneeling1 or bent down1 or on the point of rising2 all in the air foreshortened with full conquest over every difficulty4 ,in addition1 you discovered groups of figures sketched in various methods1 some outlined with charcoal1 some etched with strokes1 some shadowed with the stump1 some relieved in white-lead2 the master having sought to prove his empire over all materials of draughtsmanship4 ,the craftsmen of design remained therewith astonished and dumbfounded1 recognising the furthest reaches of their art revealed to them by this unrivalled masterpiece4 ,those who examined the forms ,i have described1 painters who inspected and compared them with works hardly less divine1 affirm that never in the history of human achievement was any product of a man's brain seen like to them in mere supremacy4 ,and certainly we have the right to believe this2 for when the ,cartoon was finished1 and carried to the ,hall of the ,pope1 amid the acclamation of all artists1 and to the exceeding fame of ,michelangelo1 the students who made drawings from it1 as happened with foreigners and natives through many years in ,florence1 became men of mark in several branches4 ,this is obvious1 for ,aristotele da ,san ,gallo worked there1 as did ,ridolfo ,ghirlandajo1 ,raffaello ,sanzio da ,urbino1 ,francesco ,granaccio1 ,baccio ,bandinelli1 and ,alonso ,berughetta1 the ,spaniard2 they were followed by ,andrea del ,sarto1 ,franciabigio1 ,jacopo ,sansovino1 ,rosso1 ,maturino1 ,lorenzetto1 ,tribolo1 then a boy1 ,jacopo da ,pontormo1 and ,pierin del ,vaga3 all of them first-rate masters of the ,florentine school4 ,it does not appear from this that ,vasari pretended to have seen the great ,cartoon4 ,born in #aeab1 he could not indeed have done so2 but there breathes through his description a gust of enthusiasm1 an afflatus of concurrent witnesses to its surpassing grandeur4 ,some of the details raise a suspicion that ,vasari had before his eyes the transcript en grisaille which he says was made by ,aristotele da ,san ,gallo1 and also the engraving by ,marcantonio ,raimondi4 ,the prominence given to the ivy-crowned old soldier troubled by his hose confirms the accuracy of the ,holkham picture and the ,albertina drawing4 ,but none of these partial transcripts left to us convey that sense of multitude1 space1 and varied action which ,vasari's words impress on the imagination4 ,the fullest1 that at ,holkham1 contains nineteen figures1 and these are schematically arranged in three planes1 with outlying subjects in foreground and background4 ,reduced in scale1 and treated with the arid touch of a feeble craftsman1 the linear composition suggests no large aesthetic charm4 ,it is simply a bas-relief of carefully selected attitudes and vigorously studied movements --nineteen men1 more or less unclothed1 put together with the scientific view of illustrating possibilities and conquering difficulties in postures of the adult male body4 ,the extraordinary effect1 as of something superhuman1 produced by the ,cartoon upon contemporaries1 and preserved for us in ,cellini's and ,vasari's narratives1 must then have been due to unexampled qualities of strength in conception1 draughtsmanship1 and execution4 ,it stung to the quick an age of artists who had abandoned the representation of religious sentiment and poetical feeling for technical triumphs and masterly solutions of mechanical problems in the treatment of the nude figure4 ,we all know how much more than this ,michelangelo had in him to give1 and how unjust it would be to judge a masterpiece from his hand by the miserable relics now at our disposal4 ,still ,i cannot refrain from thinking that the ,cartoon for the ,battle of ,pisa1 taken up by him as a field for the display of his ability1 must1 by its very brilliancy1 have accelerated the ruin of ,italian art4 ,cellini1 we saw1 placed it above the frescoes of the ,sistine4 ,in force1 veracity1 and realism it may possibly have been superior to those sublime productions4 ,everything we know about the growth of ,michelangelo's genius leads us to suppose that he departed gradually but surely from the path of ,nature4 ,he came1 however1 to use what he had learned from ,nature as means for the expression of soul-stimulating thoughts4 ,this1 the finest feature of his genius1 no artist of the age was capable of adequately comprehending4 ,accordingly1 they agreed in extolling a cartoon which displayed his faculty of dealing with un bel corpo ignudo as the climax of his powers4 ,as might be expected1 there was no landscape in the ,cartoon4 ,michelangelo handled his subject wholly from the point of view of sculpture4 ,a broken bank and a retreating platform1 a few rocks in the distance and a few waved lines in the foreground1 showed that the naked men were by a river4 ,michelangelo's unrelenting contempt for the many-formed and many-coloured stage on which we live and move--his steady determination to treat men and women as nudities posed in the void1 with just enough of solid substance beneath their feet to make their attitudes intelligible--is a point which must over and over again be insisted on4 ,in the psychology of the master1 regarded from any side one likes to take1 this constitutes his leading characteristic4 ,it gives the key1 not only to his talent as an artist1 but also to his temperament as a man4 ,marcantonio seems to have felt and resented the aridity of composition1 the isolation of plastic form1 the tyranny of anatomical science1 which even the most sympathetic of us feel in ,michelangelo4 ,this master's engraving of three lovely nudes1 the most charming memento preserved to us from the ,cartoon1 introduces a landscape of grove and farm1 field and distant hill1 lending suavity to the muscular male body and restoring it to its proper place among the sinuous lines and broken curves of ,nature4 ,that the landscape was adapted from a copper-plate of ,lucas van ,leyden signifies nothing4 ,it serves the soothing purpose which sensitive nerves1 irritated by ,michelangelo's aloofness from all else but thought and naked flesh and posture1 gratefully acknowledge4 ,while ,michelangelo was finishing his ,cartoon1 ,lionardo da ,vinci was painting his fresco4 ,circumstances may have brought the two chiefs of ,italian art frequently together in the streets of ,florence4 ,there exists an anecdote of one encounter1 which1 though it rests upon the credit of an anonymous writer1 and does not reflect a pleasing light upon the hero of this biography1 cannot be neglected4 ,lionardo1 writes our authority1 was a man of fair presence1 well-proportioned1 gracefully endowed1 and of fine aspect4 ,he wore a tunic of rose-colour1 falling to his knees2 for at that time it was the fashion to carry garments of some length2 and down to the middle of his breast there flowed a beard beautifully curled and well arranged4 ,walking with a friend near ,s4 ,trinit1 where a company of honest folk were gathered1 and talk was going on about some passage from ,dante1 they called to ,lionardo1 and begged him to explain its meaning4 ,it so happened that just at this moment ,michelangelo went by1 and1 being hailed by one of them1 ,lionardo answered3 ',there goes ,michelangelo2 he will interpret the verses you require4' ,whereupon ,michelangelo1 who thought he spoke in this way to make fun of him1 replied in anger3 ',explain them yourself1 you who made the model of a horse to cast in bronze1 and could not cast it1 and to your shame left it in the lurch4' ,with these words1 he turned his back to the group1 and went his way4 ,lionardo remained standing there1 red in the face for the reproach cast at him2 and ,michelangelo1 not satisfied1 but wanting to sting him to the quick1 added3 ',and those ,milanese capons believed in your ability to do it6' ,we can only take anecdotes for what they are worth1 and that may perhaps be considered slight when they are anonymous4 ,this anecdote1 however1 in the original ,florentine diction1 although it betrays a partiality for ,lionardo1 bears the aspect of truth to fact4 ,moreover1 even ,michelangelo's admirers are bound to acknowledge that he had a rasping tongue1 and was not incapable of showing his bad temper by rudeness4 ,from the period of his boyhood1 when ,torrigiano smashed his nose1 down to the last years of his life in ,rome1 when he abused his nephew ,lionardo and hurt the feelings of his best and oldest friends1 he discovered signs of a highly nervous and fretful temperament4 ,it must be admitted that the dominant qualities of nobility and generosity in his nature were alloyed by suspicion bordering on littleness1 and by petulant yieldings to the irritation of the moment which are incompatible with the calm of an ,olympian genius4 ,,chapter ,v ,i ,while ,michelangelo was living and working at ,florence1 ,bramante had full opportunity to poison the ,pope's mind in ,rome4 ,it is commonly believed1 on the faith of a sentence in ,condivi1 that ,bramante1 when he dissuaded ,julius from building the tomb in his own lifetime1 suggested the painting of the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,we are told that he proposed ,michelangelo for this work1 hoping his genius would be hampered by a task for which he was not fitted4 ,there are many improbabilities in this story2 not the least being our certainty that the fame of the ,cartoon must have reached ,bramante before ,michelangelo's arrival in the first months of #aeje4 ,but the ,cartoon did not prove that ,buonarroti was a practical wall-painter or colourist2 and we have reason to believe that ,julius had himself conceived the notion of intrusting the ,sistine to his sculptor4 ,a good friend of ,michelangelo1 ,pietro ,rosselli1 wrote this letter on the subject1 ,may #f1 #aejf3 ,last ,saturday evening1 when the ,pope was at supper1 ,i showed him some designs which ,bramante and ,i had to test2 so1 after supper1 when ,i had displayed them1 he called for ,bramante1 and said3 ',san ,gallo is going to ,florence to-morrow1 and will bring ,michelangelo back with him4' ,bramante answered3 ',holy ,father1 he will not be able to do anything of the kind4 ,i have conversed much with ,michelangelo1 and he has often told me that he would not undertake the chapel1 which you wanted to put upon him2 and that1 you notwithstanding1 he meant only to apply himself to sculpture1 and would have nothing to do with painting4' ,to this he added3 ',holy ,father1 ,i do not think he has the courage to attempt the work1 because he has small experience in painting figures1 and these will be raised high above the line of vision1 and in foreshortening 7i4e41 because of the vault74 ,that is something different from painting on the ground4' ,the ,pope replied3 ',if he does not come1 he will do me wrong2 and so ,i think that he is sure to return4' ,upon this ,i up and gave the man a sound rating in the ,pope's presence1 and spoke as ,i believe you would have spoken for me2 and for the time he was struck dumb1 as though he felt that he had made a mistake in talking as he did4 ,i proceeded as follows3 ',holy ,father1 that man never exchanged a word with ,michelangelo1 and if what he has just said is the truth1 ,i beg you to cut my head off1 for he never spoke to ,michelangelo2 also ,i feel sure that he is certain to return1 if your ,holiness requires it4' ,this altercation throws doubt on the statement that ,bramante originally suggested ,michelangelo as painter of the ,sistine4 ,he could hardly have turned round against his own recommendation2 and1 moreover1 it is likely that he would have wished to keep so great a work in the hands of his own set1 ,raffaello1 ,peruzzi1 ,sodoma1 and others4 ,meanwhile1 ,michelangelo's friends in ,rome wrote1 encouraging him to come back4 ,they clearly thought that he was hazarding both profit and honour if he stayed away4 ,but ,michelangelo1 whether the constitutional timidity of which ,i have spoken1 or other reasons damped his courage1 felt that he could not trust to the ,pope's mercies4 ,what effect ,san ,gallo may have had upon him1 supposing this architect arrived in ,florence at the middle of ,may1 can only be conjectured4 ,the fact remains that he continued stubborn for a time4 ,in the lengthy autobiographical letter written to some prelate in #aedb1 ,michelangelo relates what followed3 ,later on1 while ,i was at ,florence1 ,julius sent three briefs to the ,signory4 ,at last the latter sent for me and said3 ',we do not want to go to war with ,pope ,julius because of you4 ,you must return2 and if you do so1 we will write you letters of such authority that1 should he do you harm1 he will be doing it to this ,signory4' ,accordingly ,i took the letters1 and went back to the ,pope4 ,condivi gives a graphic account of the transaction which ensued4 ,during the months he stayed in ,florence three papal briefs were sent to the ,signory1 full of threats1 commanding that he should be sent back by fair means or by force4 ,piero ,soderini1 who was ,gonfalonier for life at that time1 had sent him against his own inclination to ,rome when ,julius first asked for him4 ,accordingly1 when the first of these briefs arrived1 he did not compel ,michelangelo to go1 trusting that the ,pope's anger would calm down4 ,but when the second and the third were sent1 he called ,michelangelo and said3 ',you have tried a bout with the ,pope on which the ,king of ,france would not have ventured2 therefore you must not go on letting yourself be prayed for4 ,we do not wish to go to war on your account with him1 and put our state in peril4 ,make your mind up to return4' ,michelangelo1 seeing himself brought to this pass1 and still fearing the anger of the ,pope1 bethought him of taking refuge in the ,east4 ,the ,sultan indeed besought him with most liberal promises1 through the means of certain ,franciscan friars1 to come and construct a bridge from ,constantinople to ,pera1 and to execute other great works4 ,when the ,gonfalonier got wind of this intention he sent for ,michelangelo and used these arguments to dissuade him3 ',it were better to choose death with the ,pope than to keep in life by going to the ,turk4 ,nevertheless1 there is no fear of such an ending2 for the ,pope is well disposed1 and sends for you because he loves you1 not to do you harm4 ,if you are afraid1 the ,signory will send you with the title of ambassador2 forasmuch as public personages are never treated with violence1 since this would be done to those who send them4' ,we only possess one brief from ,julius to the ,signory of ,florence4 ,it is dated ,rome1 ,july #h1 #aejf1 and contains this passage3 ,michelangelo the sculptor1 who left us without reason1 and in mere caprice1 is afraid1 as we are informed1 of returning1 though we for our part are not angry with him1 knowing the humours of such men of genius4 ,in order1 then1 that he may lay aside all anxiety1 we rely on your loyalty to convince him in our name1 that if he returns to us1 he shall be uninjured and unhurt1 retaining our apostolic favour in the same measure as he formerly enjoyed it4 ,the date1 ,july #h1 is important in this episode of ,michelangelo's life4 ,soderini sent back an answer to the ,pope's brief within a few days1 affirming that ,michelangelo the sculptor is so terrified that1 notwithstanding the promise of his ,holiness1 it will be necessary for the ,cardinal of ,pavia to write a letter signed by his own hand to us1 guaranteeing his safety and immunity4 ,we have done1 and are doing1 all we can to make him go back2 assuring your ,lordship that1 unless he is gently handled1 he will quit ,florence1 as he has already twice wanted to do4 ,this letter is followed by another addressed to the ,cardinal of ,volterra under date ,july #bh4 ,soderini repeats that ,michelangelo will not budge1 because he has as yet received no definite safe-conduct4 ,it appears that in the course of ,august the negotiations had advanced to a point at which ,michelangelo was willing to return4 ,on the last day of the month the ,signory drafted a letter to the ,cardinal of ,pavia in which they say that ,michelangelo ,buonarroti1 sculptor1 citizen of ,florence1 and greatly loved by us1 will exhibit these letters present1 having at last been persuaded to repose confidence in his ,holiness4 ,they add that he is coming in good spirits and with good-will4 ,something may have happened to renew his terror1 for this despatch was not delivered1 and nothing more is heard of the transaction till toward the close of ,november4 ,it is probable1 however1 that ,soderini suddenly discovered how little ,michelangelo was likely to be wanted2 ,julius1 on the #bgth of ,august1 having started on what appeared to be his mad campaign against ,perugia and ,bologna4 ,on the #bast of ,november following the ,cardinal of ,pavia sent an autograph letter from ,bologna to the ,signory1 urgently requesting that they would despatch ,michelangelo immediately to that town1 inasmuch as the ,pope was impatient for his arrival1 and wanted to employ him on important works4 ,six days later1 ,november #bg1 ,soderini writes two letters1 one to the ,cardinal of ,pavia and one to the ,cardinal of ,volterra1 which finally conclude the whole business4 ,the epistle to ,volterra begins thus3 ,the bearer of these present will be ,michelangelo1 the sculptor1 whom we send to please and satisfy his ,holiness4 ,we certify that he is an excellent young man1 and in his own art without peer in ,italy1 perhaps also in the universe4 ,we cannot recommend him more emphatically4 ,his nature is such1 that with good words and kindness1 if these are given him1 he will do everything2 one has to show him love and treat him kindly1 and he will perform things which will make the whole world wonder4 ,the letter to ,pavia is written more familiarly1 reading like a private introduction4 ,in both of them ,soderini enhances the service he is rendering the ,pope by alluding to the magnificent design for the ,battle of ,pisa which ,michelangelo must leave unfinished4 ,before describing his reception at ,bologna1 it may be well to quote two sonnets here which throw an interesting light upon ,michelangelo's personal feeling for ,julius and his sense of the corruption of the ,roman ,curia4 ,the first may well have been written during this residence at ,florence2 and the autograph of the second has these curious words added at the foot of the page3 ,vostro ,michelagniolo1 in ,turchia4 ,rome itself1 the ,sacred ,city1 has become a land of infidels1 and ,michelangelo1 whose thoughts are turned to the ,levant1 implies that he would find himself no worse off with the ,sultan than the ,pope4 ,my ,lord6 ,if ever ancient saw spake sooth1 ,hear this which saith3 ,who can doth never will4 ,lo1 thou hast lent thine ear to fables still4 ,rewarding those who hate the name of truth4 ,i am thy drudge1 and have been from my youth-- ,thine1 like the rays which the sun's circle fill2 ,yet of my dear time's waste thou think'st no ill3 ,the more ,i toil1 the less ,i move thy ruth4 ,once 'twas my hope to raise me by thy height2 ,but 'tis the balance and the powerful sword ,of ,justice1 not false ,echo1 that we need4 ,heaven1 as it seems1 plants virtue in despite ,here on the earth1 if this be our reward-- ,to seek for fruit on trees too dry to breed4 ,here helms and swords are made of chalices3 ,the blood of ,christ is sold so much the quart3 ,his cross and thorns are spears and shields2 and short ,must be the time ere even ,his patience cease4 ,nay1 let ,him come no more to raise the fees4 ,of this foul sacrilege beyond1 report3 ,for ,rome still flays and sells ,him at the court1 ,where paths are closed1 to virtue's fair increase1 ,now were fit time for me to scrape a treasure1 ,seeing that work and gain are gone2 while he ,who wears the robe1 is my ,medusa still4 ,god welcomes poverty perchance with pleasure3 ,but of that better life what hope have we1 ,when the blessed banner leads to nought but ill8 ,while ,michelangelo was planning frescoes and venting his bile in sonnets1 the fiery ,pope had started on his perilous career of conquest4 ,he called the ,cardinals together1 and informed them that he meant to free the cities of ,perugia and ,bologna from their tyrants4 ,god1 he said1 would protect ,his ,church2 he could rely on the support of ,france and ,florence4 ,other ,popes had stirred up wars and used the services of generals2 he meant to take the field in person4 ,louis ,,xii4 is reported to have jeered among his courtiers at the notion of a high-priest riding to the wars4 ,a few days afterwards1 on the #bgth of ,august1 the ,pope left ,rome attended by twenty-four cardinals and #ejj men-at-arms4 ,he had previously secured the neutrality of ,venice and a promise of troops from the ,french court4 ,when ,julius reached ,orvieto1 he was met by ,gianpaolo ,baglioni1 the bloody and licentious despot of ,perugia4 ,notwithstanding ,baglioni knew that ,julius was coming to assert his supremacy1 and notwithstanding the ,pope knew that this might drive to desperation a man so violent and stained with crime as ,baglioni1 they rode together to ,perugia1 where ,gianpaolo paid homage and supplied his haughty guest with soldiers4 ,the rashness of this act of ,julius sent a thrill of admiration throughout ,italy1 stirring that sense of terribilit which fascinated the imagination of the ,renaissance4 ,machiavelli1 commenting upon the action of the ,baglioni1 remarks that the event proved how difficult it is for a man to be perfectly and scientifically wicked4 ,gianpaolo1 he says1 murdered his relations1 oppressed his subjects1 and boasted of being a father by his sister2 yet1 when he got his worst enemy into his clutches1 he had not the spirit to be magnificently criminal1 and murder or imprison ,julius4 ,from ,perugia the ,pope crossed the ,apennines1 and found himself at ,imola upon the #bjth of ,october4 ,there he received news that the ,french governor of ,milan1 at the order of his king1 was about to send him a reinforcement of #fjj lances and #cjjj foot-soldiers4 ,this announcement1 while it cheered the heart of ,julius1 struck terror into the ,bentivogli1 masters of ,bologna4 ,they left their city and took refuge in ,milan1 while the people of ,bologna sent envoys to the ,pope's camp1 surrendering their town and themselves to his apostolic clemency4 ,on the #aath of ,november1 ,s4 ,martin's day1 ,giuliano della ,rovere made his triumphal entry into ,bologna1 having restored two wealthy provinces to the states of the ,church by a stroke of sheer audacity1 unparalleled in the history of any previous pontiff4 ,ten days afterwards we find him again renewing negotiations with the ,signory for the extradition of ,michelangelo4 ,,ii ,arriving then one morning at ,bologna1 and going to hear ,mass at ,s4 ,petronio1 there met him the ,pope's grooms of the stable1 who immediately recognised him1 and brought him into the presence of his ,holiness1 then at table in the ,palace of the ,sixteen4 ,when the ,pope beheld him1 his face clouded with anger1 and he cried3 ',it was your duty to come to seek us1 and you have waited till we came to seek you2 meaning thereby that his ,holiness having travelled to ,bologna1 which is much nearer to ,florence than ,rome1 he had come to find him out4 ,michelangelo knelt1 and prayed for pardon in a loud voice1 pleading in his excuse that he had not erred through forwardness1 but through great distress of mind1 having been unable to endure the expulsion he received4 ,the ,pope remained holding his head low and answering nothing1 evidently much agitated2 when a certain prelate1 sent by ,cardinal ,soderini to put in a good word for ,michelangelo1 came forward and said3 ',your ,holiness might overlook his fault2 he did wrong through ignorance3 these painters1 outside their art1 are all like this4' ,thereupon the ,pope answered in a fury3 ',it is you1 not ,i1 who are insulting him4 ,it is you1 not he1 who are the ignoramus and the rascal4 ,get hence out of my sight1 and bad luck to you6' ,when the fellow did not move1 he was cast forth by the servants1 as ,michelangelo used to relate1 with good round kicks and thumpings4 ,so the ,pope1 having spent the surplus of his bile upon the bishop1 took ,michelangelo apart and pardoned him4 ,not long afterwards he sent for him and said3 ',i wish you to make my statue on a large scale in bronze4 ,i mean to place it on the faade of ,san ,petronio4' ,when he went to ,rome in course of time1 he left #ajjj ducats at the bank of ,messer ,antonmaria da ,lignano for this purpose4 ,but before he did so ,michelangelo had made the clay model4 ,being in some doubt how to manage the left hand1 after making the ,pope give the benediction with the right1 he asked ,julius1 who had come to see the statue1 if he would like it to hold a book4 ',what book8' replied he3 'a sword6 ,i know nothing about letters1 not ,i4' ,jesting then about the right hand1 which was vehement in action1 he said with a smile to ,michelangelo3 ',that statue of yours1 is it blessing or cursing8' ,to which the sculptor replied3 ',holy ,father1 it is threatening this people of ,bologna if they are not prudent4' ,michelangelo's letter to ,fattucci confirms ,condivi's narrative4 ,when ,pope ,julius went to ,bologna the first time1 ,i was forced to go there with a rope round my neck to beg his pardon4 ,he ordered me to make his portrait in bronze1 sitting1 about seven cubits 7#ad feet7 in height4 ,when he asked what it would cost1 ,i answered that ,i thought ,i could cast it for #ajjj ducats2 but that this was not my trade1 and that ,i did not wish to undertake it4 ,he answered3 ',go to work2 you shall cast it over and over again till it succeeds2 and ,i will give you enough to satisfy your wishes4' ,to put it briefly1 ,i cast the statue twice2 and at the end of two years1 at ,bologna1 ,i found that ,i had four and a half ducats left4 ,i never received anything more for this job2 and all the moneys ,i paid out during the said two years were the #ajjj ducats with which ,i promised to cast it4 ,these were disbursed to me in instalments by ,messer ,antonio ,maria da ,legnano1 a ,bolognese4 ,the statue must have been more than thrice life-size1 if it rose fourteen feet in a sitting posture4 ,michelangelo worked at the model in a hall called the ,stanza del ,pavaglione behind the ,cathedral4 ,three experienced workmen were sent1 at his request1 from ,florence1 and he began at once upon the arduous labour4 ,his domestic correspondence1 which at this period becomes more copious and interesting1 contains a good deal of information concerning his residence at ,bologna4 ,his mode of life1 as usual1 was miserable and penurious in the extreme4 ,this man1 about whom popes and cardinals and gonfaloniers had been corresponding1 now hired a single room with one bed in it1 where1 as we have seen1 he slept together with his three assistants4 ,there can be no doubt that such eccentric habits prevented ,michelangelo from inspiring his subordinates with due respect4 ,the want of control over servants and workmen1 which is a noticeable feature of his private life1 may in part be attributed to this cause4 ,and now1 at ,bologna1 he soon got into trouble with the three craftsmen he had engaged to help him4 ,they were ,lapo d',antonio di ,lapo1 a sculptor at the ,opera del ,duomo2 ,lodovico del ,buono1 surnamed ,lotti1 a metal-caster and founder of cannon2 and ,pietro ,urbano1 a craftsman who continued long in his service4 ,lapo boasted that he was executing the statue in partnership with ,michelangelo and upon equal terms1 which did not seem incredible considering their association in a single bedroom4 ,beside this1 he intrigued and cheated in money matters4 ,the master felt that he must get rid of him1 and send the fellow back to ,florence4 ,lapo1 not choosing to go alone1 lest the truth of the affair should be apparent1 persuaded ,lodovico to join him2 and when they reached home1 both began to calumniate their master4 ,michelangelo1 knowing that they were likely to do so1 wrote to his brother ,buonarroto on the #ast of ,february #aejg3 ,i inform you further how on ,friday morning ,i sent away ,lapo and ,lodovico1 who were in my service4 ,lapo1 because he is good for nothing and a rogue1 and could not serve me4 ,lodovico is better1 and ,i should have been willing to keep him another two months1 but ,lapo1 in order to prevent blame falling on himself alone1 worked upon the other so that both went away together4 ,i write you this1 not that ,i regard them1 for they are not worth three farthings1 the pair of them1 but because if they come to talk to ,lodovico 7,buonarroti7 he must not be surprised at what they say4 ,tell him by no means to lend them his ears2 and if you want to be informed about them1 go to ,messer ,angelo1 the herald of the ,signory2 for ,i have written the whole story to him1 and he will1 out of his kindly feeling1 tell you just what happened4 ,in spite of these precautions1 ,lapo seems to have gained the ear of ,michelangelo's father1 who wrote a scolding letter in his usual puzzle-headed way4 ,michelangelo replied in a tone of real and ironical humility1 which is exceedingly characteristic3 ,most revered father1 ,i have received a letter from you to-day1 from which ,i learn that you have been informed by ,lapo and ,lodovico4 ,i am glad that you should rebuke me1 because ,i deserve to be rebuked as a ne'er-do-well and sinner as much as any one1 or perhaps more4 ,but you must know that ,i have not been guilty in the affair for which you take me to task now1 neither as regards them nor any one else1 except it be in doing more than was my duty4 ,after this exordium he proceeds to give an elaborate explanation of his dealings with ,lapo1 and the man's roguery4 ,the correspondence with ,buonarroto turns to a considerable extent upon a sword-hilt which ,michelangelo designed for the ,florentine1 ,pietro ,aldobrandini4 ,it was the custom then for gentlemen to carry swords and daggers with hilt and scabbard wonderfully wrought by first-rate artists4 ,some of these1 still extant1 are among the most exquisite specimens of sixteenth-century craft4 ,this little affair gave ,michelangelo considerable trouble4 ,first of all1 the man who had to make the blade was long about it4 ,from the day when the ,pope came to ,bologna1 he had more custom than all the smiths in the city were used in ordinary times to deal with4 ,then1 when the weapon reached ,florence1 it turned out to be too short4 ,michelangelo affirmed that he had ordered it exactly to the measure sent1 adding that ,aldobrandini was probably not born to wear a dagger at his belt4 ,he bade his brother present it to ,filippo ,strozzi1 as a compliment from the ,buonarroti family2 but the matter was bungled4 ,probably ,buonarroto tried to get some valuable equivalent2 for ,michelangelo writes to say that he is sorry he behaved so scurvily toward ,filippo in so trifling an affair4 ,nothing at all transpires in these letters regarding the company kept by ,michelangelo at ,bologna4 ,the few stories related by tradition which refer to this period are not much to the sculptor's credit for courtesy4 ,the painter ,francia1 for instance1 came to see the statue1 and made the commonplace remark that he thought it very well cast and of excellent bronze4 ,michelangelo took this as an insult to his design1 and replied3 ,i owe the same thanks to ,pope ,julius who supplied the metal1 as you do to the colourmen who sell you paints4 ,then1 turning to some gentlemen present there1 he added that ,francia was a blockhead4 ,francia had a son remarkable for youthful beauty4 ,when ,michelangelo first saw him he asked whose son he was1 and1 on being informed1 uttered this caustic compliment3 ,your father makes handsomer living figures than he paints them4 ,on some other occasion1 a stupid ,bolognese gentleman asked whether he thought his statue or a pair of oxen were the bigger4 ,michelangelo replied3 ,that is according to the oxen4 ,if ,bolognese1 oh6 then with a doubt ours of ,florence are smaller4 ,possibly ,albrecht ,drer may have met him in the artistic circles of ,bologna1 since he came from ,venice on a visit during these years2 but nothing is known about their intercourse4 ,,iii ,julius left ,bologna on the #bbnd of ,february #aejg4 ,michelangelo remained working diligently at his model4 ,in less than three months it was nearly ready to be cast4 ,accordingly1 the sculptor1 who had no practical knowledge of bronze-founding1 sent to ,florence for a man distinguished in that craft1 ,maestro dal ,ponte of ,milan4 ,during the last three years he had been engaged as ,master of the ,ordnance under the ,republic4 ,his leave of absence was signed upon the #aeth of ,may #aejg4 ,meanwhile the people of ,bologna were already planning revolution4 ,the ,bentivogli retained a firm hereditary hold on their affections1 and the government of priests is never popular1 especially among the nobles of a state4 ,michelangelo writes to his brother ,giovan ,simone 7,may #b7 describing the bands of exiles who hovered round the city and kept its burghers in alarm3 ,the folk are stifling in their coats of mail2 for during four days past the whole county is under arms1 in great confusion and peril1 especially the party of the ,church4 ,the ,papal ,legate1 ,francesco ,alidosi1 ,cardinal of ,pavia1 took such prompt measures that the attacking troops were driven back4 ,he also executed some of the citizens who had intrigued with the exiled family4 ,the summer was exceptionally hot1 and plague hung about2 all articles of food were dear and bad4 ,michelangelo felt miserable1 and fretted to be free2 but the statue kept him hard at work4 ,when the time drew nigh for the great operation1 he wrote in touching terms to ,buonarroto3 ,tell ,lodovico 7their father7 that in the middle of next month ,i hope to cast my figure without fail4 ,therefore1 if he wishes to offer prayers or aught else for its good success1 let him do so betimes1 and say that ,i beg this of him4 ,nearly the whole of ,june elapsed1 and the business still dragged on4 ,at last1 upon the #ast of ,july1 he advised his brother thus3 ,we have cast my figure1 and it has come out so badly that ,i verily believe ,i shall have to do it all over again4 ,i reserve details1 for ,i have other things to think of4 ,enough that it has gone wrong4 ,still ,i thank ,god1 because ,i take everything for the best4 ,from the next letter we learn that only the lower half of the statue1 up to the girdle1 was properly cast4 ,the metal for the rest remained in the furnace1 probably in the state of what ,cellini called a cake4 ,the furnace had to be pulled down and rebuilt1 so as to cast the upper half4 ,michelangelo adds that he does not know whether ,master ,bernardino mismanaged the matter from ignorance or bad luck4 ,i had such faith in him that ,i thought he could have cast the statue without fire4 ,nevertheless1 there is no denying that he is an able craftsman1 and that he worked with good-will4 ,well1 he has failed1 to my loss and also to his own1 seeing he gets so much blame that he dares not lift his head up in ,bologna4 ,the second casting must have taken place about the #hth of ,july2 for on the #ajth ,michelangelo writes that it is done1 but the clay is too hot for the result to be reported1 and ,bernardino left yesterday4 ,when the statue was uncovered1 he was able to reassure his brother3 ,my affair might have turned out much better1 and also much worse4 ,at all events1 the whole is there1 so far as ,i can see2 for it is not yet quite disengaged4 ,i shall want1 ,i think1 some months to work it up with file and hammer1 because it has come out rough4 ,well1 well1 there is much to thank ,god for2 as ,i said1 it might have been worse4 ,on making further discoveries1 he finds that the cast is far less bad than he expected2 but the labour of cleaning it with polishing tools proved longer and more irksome than he expected3 ,i am exceedingly anxious to get away home1 for here ,i pass my life in huge discomfort and with extreme fatigue4 ,i work night and day1 do nothing else2 and the labour ,i am forced to undergo is such1 that if ,i had to begin the whole thing over again1 ,i do not think ,i could survive it4 ,indeed1 the undertaking has been one of enormous difficulty2 and if it had been in the hand of another man1 we should have fared but ill with it4 ,however1 ,i believe that the prayers of some one have sustained and kept me in health1 because all ,bologna thought ,i should never bring it to a proper end4 ,we can see that ,michelangelo was not unpleased with the result2 and the statue must have been finished soon after the ,new ,year4 ,however1 he could not leave ,bologna4 ,on the #ahth of ,february #aejh he writes to ,buonarroto that he is kicking his heels1 having received orders from the ,pope to stay until the bronze was placed4 ,three days later--that is1 upon the #bast of ,february--the ,pope's portrait was hoisted to its pedestal above the great central door of ,s4 ,petronio4 ,it remained there rather less than three years4 ,when the ,papal ,legate fled from ,bologna in #aeaa1 and the party of the ,bentivogli gained the upper hand1 they threw the mighty mass of sculptured bronze1 which had cost its maker so much trouble1 to the ground4 ,that happened on the #cjth of ,december4 ,the ,bentivogli sent it to the ,duke ,alfonso d',este of ,ferrara1 who was a famous engineer and gunsmith4 ,he kept the head intact1 but cast a huge cannon out of part of the material1 which took the name of ,la ,giulia4 ,what became of the head is unknown4 ,it is said to have weighed #fjj pounds4 ,so perished another of ,michelangelo's masterpieces2 and all we know for certain about the statue is that ,julius was seated1 in full pontificals1 with the triple tiara on his head1 raising the right hand to bless1 and holding the keys of ,s4 ,peter in the left4 ,michelangelo reached ,florence early in ,march4 ,on the #ahth of that month he began again to occupy his house at ,borgo ,pinti1 taking it this time on hire from the ,operai del ,duomo4 ,we may suppose1 therefore1 that he intended to recommence work on the ,twelve ,apostles4 ,a new project seems also to have been started by his friend ,soderini--that of making him erect a colossal statue of ,hercules subduing ,cacus opposite the ,david4 ,the ,gonfalonier was in correspondence with the ,marquis of ,carrara on the #ajth of ,may about a block of marble for this giant2 but ,michelangelo at that time had returned to ,rome1 and of the ,cacus we shall hear more hereafter4 ,,iv ,when ,julius received news that his statue had been duly cast and set up in its place above the great door of ,s4 ,petronio1 he began to be anxious to have ,michelangelo once more near his person4 ,the date at which the sculptor left ,florence again for ,rome is fixed approximately by the fact that ,lodovico ,buonarroti emancipated his son from parental control upon the #acth of ,march #aejh4 ,according to ,florentine law1 ,michelangelo was not of age1 nor master over his property and person1 until this deed had been executed4 ,in the often-quoted letter to ,fattucci he says3 ,the ,pope was still unwilling that ,i should complete the tomb1 and ordered me to paint the vault of the ,sistine4 ,we agreed for #cjjj ducats4 ,the first design ,i made for this work had twelve apostles in the lunettes1 the remainder being a certain space filled in with ornamental details1 according to the usual manner4 ,after ,i had begun1 it seemed to me that this would turn out rather meanly2 and ,i told the ,pope that the ,apostles alone would yield a poor effect1 in my opinion4 ,he asked me why4 ,i answered1 ',because they too were poor4' ,then he gave me commission to do what ,i liked best1 and promised to satisfy my claims for the work1 and told me to paint down the pictured histories upon the lower row4 ,there is little doubt that ,michelangelo disliked beginning this new work1 and that he would have greatly preferred to continue the sepulchral monument1 for which he had made such vast and costly preparations4 ,he did not feel certain how he should succeed in fresco on a large scale1 not having had any practice in that style of painting since he was a prentice under ,ghirlandajo4 ,it is true that the ,cartoon for the ,battle of ,pisa had been a splendid success2 still this1 as we have seen1 was not coloured1 but executed in various methods of outline and chiaroscuro4 ,later on1 while seriously engaged upon the ,sistine1 he complains to his father3 ,i am still in great distress of mind1 because it is now a year since ,i had a farthing from the ,pope2 and ,i do not ask1 because my work is not going forward in a way that seems to me to deserve it4 ,that comes from its difficulty1 and also from this not being my trade4 ,and so ,i waste my time without results4 ,god help me4 ,we may therefore believe ,condivi when he asserts that ,michelangelo1 who had not yet practised colouring1 and knew that the painting of a vault is very difficult1 endeavoured by all means to get himself excused1 putting ,raffaello forward as the proper man1 and pleading that this was not his trade1 and that he should not succeed4 ,condivi states in the same chapter that ,julius had been prompted to intrust him with the ,sistine by ,bramante1 who was jealous of his great abilities1 and hoped he might fail conspicuously when he left the field of sculpture4 ,i have given my reasons above for doubting the accuracy of this tradition2 and what we have just read of ,michelangelo's own hesitation confirms the statement made by ,bramante in the ,pope's presence1 as recorded by ,rosselli4 ,in fact1 although we may assume the truth of ,bramante's hostility1 it is difficult to form an exact conception of the intrigues he carried on against ,buonarroti4 ,julius would not listen to any arguments4 ,accordingly1 ,michelangelo made up his mind to obey the patron whom he nicknamed his ,medusa4 ,bramante was commissioned to erect the scaffolding1 which he did so clumsily1 with beams suspended from the vault by huge cables1 that ,michelangelo asked how the holes in the roof would be stopped up when his painting was finished4 ,the ,pope allowed him to take down ,bramante's machinery1 and to raise a scaffold after his own design4 ,the rope alone which had been used1 and now was wasted1 enabled a poor carpenter to dower his daughter4 ,michelangelo built his own scaffold free from the walls1 inventing a method which was afterwards adopted by all architects for vault-building4 ,perhaps he remembered the elaborate drawing he once made of ,ghirlandajo's assistants at work upon the ladders and wooden platforms at ,s4 ,maria ,novella4 ,knowing that he should need helpers in so great an undertaking1 and also mistrusting his own ability to work in fresco1 he now engaged several excellent ,florentine painters4 ,among these1 says ,vasari1 were his friends ,francesco ,granacci and ,giuliano ,bugiardini1 ,bastiano da ,san ,gallo surnamed ,aristotele1 ,angelo di ,donnino1 ,jacopo di ,sandro1 and ,jacopo surnamed l',indaco4 ,vasari is probably accurate in his statement here2 for we shall see that ,michelangelo1 in his ,ricordi1 makes mention of five assistants1 two of whom are proved by other documents to have been ,granacci and ,indaco4 ,we also possess two letters from ,granacci which show that ,bugiardini1 ,san ,gallo1 ,angelo di ,donnino1 and ,jacopo l',indaco were engaged in ,july4 ,the second of ,granacci's letters refers to certain disputes and hagglings with the artists4 ,this may have brought ,michelangelo to ,florence1 for he was there upon the #aath of ,august #aejh1 as appears from the following deed of renunciation3 ,in the year of our ,lord #aejh1 on the #aath day of ,august1 ,michelangelo1 son of ,lodovico di ,lionardo di ,buonarrota1 repudiated the inheritance of his uncle ,francesco by an instrument drawn up by the hand of ,ser ,giovanni di ,guasparre da ,montevarchi1 notary of ,florence1 on the #bgth of ,july #aejh4 ,when the assistants arrived at ,rome is not certain4 ,it must1 however1 have been after the end of ,july4 ,the extracts from ,michelangelo's notebooks show that he had already sketched an agreement as to wages several weeks before4 ,i record how on this day1 the #ajth of ,may #aejh1 ,i1 ,michelangelo1 sculptor1 have received from the ,holiness of our ,lord ,pope ,julius ,,ii4 #ejj ducats of the ,camera1 the which were paid me by ,messer ,carlino1 chamberlain1 and ,messer ,carlo degli ,albizzi1 on account of the painting of the vault of the ,sistine ,chapel1 on which ,i begin to work to-day1 under the conditions and contracts set forth in a document written by his ,most ,reverend ,lordship of ,pavia1 and signed by my hand4 ,for the painter-assistants who are to come from ,florence1 who will be five in number1 twenty gold ducats of the ,camera apiece1 on this condition2 that is to say1 that when they are here and are working in harmony with me1 the twenty ducats shall be reckoned to each man's salary2 the said salary to begin upon the day they leave ,florence4 ,and if they do not agree with me1 half of the said money shall be paid them for their travelling expenses1 and for their time4 ,on the strength of this ,ricordo1 it has been assumed that ,michelangelo actually began to paint the ,sistine on the #ajth of ,may #aejh4 ,that would have been physically and literally impossible4 ,he was still at ,florence1 agreeing to rent his house in ,borgo ,pinti1 upon the #ahth of ,march4 ,therefore he had no idea of going to ,rome at that time4 ,when he arrived there1 negotiations went on1 as we have seen1 between him and ,pope ,julius4 ,one plan for the decoration of the roof was abandoned1 and another on a grander scale had to be designed4 ,to produce working ,cartoons for that immense scheme in less than two months would have been beyond the capacities of any human brain and hands4 ,but there are many indications that the vault was not prepared for painting1 and the materials for fresco not accumulated1 till a much later date4 ,for instance1 we possess a series of receipts by ,piero ,rosselli1 acknowledging several disbursements for the plastering of the roof between ,may #aa and ,july #bg4 ,we learn from one of these that ,granacci was in ,rome before ,june #c2 and ,michelangelo writes for fine blue colours to a certain ,fra ,jacopo ,gesuato at ,florence upon the #acth of ,may4 ,all is clearly in the air as yet1 and on the point of preparation4 ,michelangelo's phrase1 on which ,i begin work to-day1 will have to be interpreted1 therefore1 in the widest sense1 as implying that he was engaging assistants1 getting the architectural foundation ready1 and procuring a stock of necessary articles4 ,the whole summer and autumn must have been spent in taking measurements and expanding the elaborate design to the proper scale of working drawings2 and if ,michelangelo had toiled alone without his ,florentine helpers1 it would have been impossible for him to have got through with these preliminary labours in so short a space of time4 ,michelangelo's method in preparing his ,cartoons seems to have been the following4 ,he first made a small-scale sketch of the composition1 sometimes including a large variety of figures4 ,then he went to the living models1 and studied portions of the whole design in careful transcripts from ,nature1 using black and red chalk1 pen1 and sometimes bistre4 ,among the most admirable of his drawings left to us are several which were clearly executed with a view to one or other of these great ,cartoons4 ,finally1 returning to the first composition1 he repeated that1 or so much of it as could be transferred to a single sheet1 on the exact scale of the intended fresco4 ,these enlarged drawings were applied to the wet surface of the plaster1 and their outlines pricked in with dots to guide the painter in his brush-work4 ,when we reflect upon the extent of the ,sistine vault 7it is estimated at more than #aj1jjj square feet of surface71 and the difficulties presented by its curves1 lunettes1 spandrels1 and pendentives2 when we remember that this enormous space is alive with #cdc figures in every conceivable attitude1 some of them twelve feet in height1 those seated as prophets and sibyls measuring nearly eighteen feet when upright1 all animated with extraordinary vigour1 presenting types of the utmost variety and vivid beauty1 imagination quails before the intellectual energy which could first conceive a scheme so complex1 and then carry it out with mathematical precision in its minutest details4 ,the date on which ,michelangelo actually began to paint the fresco is not certain4 ,supposing he worked hard all the summer1 he might have done so when his ,florentine assistants arrived in ,august2 and1 assuming that the letter to his father above quoted 7,lettere1 x47 bears a right date1 he must have been in full swing before the end of ,january #aeji4 ,in that letter he mentions that ,jacopo1 probably l',indaco1 the painter whom ,i brought from ,florence1 returned a few days ago2 and as he complained about me here in ,rome1 it is likely that he will do so there4 ,turn a deaf ear to him2 he is a thousandfold in the wrong1 and ,i could say much about his bad behaviour toward me4 ,vasari informs us that these assistants proved of no use2 whereupon1 he destroyed all they had begun to do1 refused to see them1 locked himself up in the chapel1 and determined to complete the work in solitude4 ,it seems certain that the painters were sent back to ,florence4 ,michelangelo had already provided for the possibility of their not being able to co-operate with him2 but what the cause of their failure was we can only conjecture4 ,trained in the methods of the old ,florentine school of fresco-painting1 incapable of entering into the spirit of a style so supereminently noble and so astoundingly original as ,michelangelo's1 it is probable that they spoiled his designs in their attempts to colour them4 ,harford pithily remarks3 ,as none of the suitors of ,penelope could bend the bow of ,ulysses1 so one hand alone was capable of wielding the pencil of ,buonarroti4 ,still it must not be imagined that ,michelangelo ground his own colours1 prepared his daily measure of wet plaster1 and executed the whole series of frescoes with his own hand4 ,condivi and ,vasari imply1 indeed1 that this was the case2 but1 beside the physical impossibility1 the fact remains that certain portions are obviously executed by inferior masters4 ,vasari's anecdotes1 moreover1 contradict his own assertion regarding ,michelangelo's singlehanded labour4 ,he speaks about the caution which the master exercised to guard himself against any treason of his workmen in the chapel4 ,nevertheless1 far the larger part1 including all the most important figures1 and especially the nudes1 belongs to ,michelangelo4 ,these troubles with his assistants illustrate a point upon which ,i shall have to offer some considerations at a future time4 ,i allude to ,michelangelo's inaptitude for forming a school of intelligent fellow-workers1 for fashioning inferior natures into at least a sympathy with his aims and methods1 and finally for living long on good terms with hired subordinates4 ,all those qualities which the facile and genial ,raffaello possessed in such abundance1 and which made it possible for that young favourite of heaven and fortune to fill ,rome with so much work of mixed merit1 were wanting to the stern1 exacting1 and sensitive ,buonarroti4 ,but the assistants were not the only hindrance to ,michelangelo at the outset4 ,condivi says that he had hardly begun painting1 and had finished the picture of the ,deluge1 when the work began to throw out mould to such an extent that the figures could hardly be seen through it4 ,michelangelo thought that this excuse might be sufficient to get him relieved of the whole job4 ,so he went to the ,pope and said3 ',i already told your ,holiness that painting is not my trade2 what ,i have done is spoiled2 if you do not believe it1 send to see4' ,the ,pope sent ,san ,gallo1 who1 after inspecting the fresco1 pronounced that the lime-basis had been put on too wet1 and that water oozing out produced this mouldy surface4 ,he told ,michelangelo what the cause was1 and bade him proceed with the work4 ,so the excuse helped him nothing4 ,about the fresco of the ,deluge ,vasari relates that1 having begun to paint this compartment first1 he noticed that the figures were too crowded1 and consequently changed his scale in all the other portions of the ceiling4 ,this is a plausible explanation of what is striking--namely1 that the story of the ,deluge is quite differently planned from the other episodes upon the vaulting4 ,yet ,i think it must be rejected1 because it implies a total change in all the working ,cartoons1 as well as a remarkable want of foresight4 ,condivi continues3 ,while he was painting1 ,pope ,julius used oftentimes to go and see the work1 climbing by a ladder1 while ,michelangelo gave him a hand to help him on to the platform4 ,his nature being eager and impatient of delay1 he decided to have the roof uncovered1 although ,michelangelo had not given the last touches1 and had only completed the first half--that is1 from the door to the middle of the vault4 ,michelangelo's letters show that the first part of his work was executed in ,october4 ,he writes thus to his brother ,buonarroto3 ,i am remaining here as usual1 and shall have finished my painting by the end of the week after next--that is1 the portion of it which ,i began2 and when it is uncovered1 ,i expect to be paid1 and shall also try to get a month's leave to visit ,florence4 ,v ,the uncovering took place upon ,november #a1 #aeji4 ,all ,rome flocked to the chapel1 feeling that something stupendous was to be expected after the long months of solitude and seclusion during which the silent master had been working4 ,nor were they disappointed4 ,the effect produced by only half of the enormous scheme was overwhelming4 ,as ,vasari says1 ,this chapel lighted up a lamp for our art which casts abroad lustre enough to illuminate the ,world1 drowned1 for so many centuries in darkness4 ,painters saw at a glance that the genius which had revolutionised sculpture was now destined to introduce a new style and spirit into their art4 ,this was the case even with ,raffaello1 who1 in the frescoes he executed at ,s4 ,maria della ,pace1 showed his immediate willingness to learn from ,michelangelo1 and his determination to compete with him4 ,condivi and ,vasari are agreed upon this point1 and ,michelangelo himself1 in a moment of hasty indignation1 asserted many years afterwards that what ,raffaello knew of art was derived from him4 ,that is1 of course1 an over-statement2 for1 beside his own exquisite originality1 ,raffaello formed a composite style successively upon ,perugino1 ,fra ,bartolommeo1 and ,lionardo4 ,he was capable not merely of imitating1 but of absorbing and assimilating to his lucid genius the excellent qualities of all in whom he recognised superior talent4 ,at the same time1 ,michelangelo's influence was undeniable1 and we cannot ignore the testimony of those who conversed with both great artists--of ,julius himself1 for instance1 when he said to ,sebastian del ,piombo3 ,look at the work of ,raffaello1 who1 after seeing the masterpieces of ,michelangelo1 immediately abandoned ,perugino's manner1 and did his utmost to approach that of ,buonarroti4 ,condivi's assertion that the part uncovered in ,november #aeji was the first half of the whole vault1 beginning from the door and ending in the middle1 misled ,vasari1 and ,vasari misled subsequent biographers4 ,we now know for certain that what ,michelangelo meant by the portion ,i began was the whole central space of the ceiling--that is to say1 the nine compositions from ,genesis1 with their accompanying genii and architectural surroundings4 ,that is rendered clear by a statement in ,albertini's ,roman ,handbook1 to the effect that the upper portion of the whole vaulted roof had been uncovered when he saw it in #aeji4 ,having established this error in ,condivi's narrative1 what he proceeds to relate may obtain some credence4 ,raffaello1 when he beheld the new and marvellous style of ,michelangelo's work1 being extraordinarily apt at imitation1 sought1 by ,bramante's means1 to obtain a commission for the rest4 ,had ,michelangelo ended at a line drawn halfway across the breadth of the vault1 leaving the ,prophets and ,sibyls1 the lunettes and pendentives1 all finished so far1 it would have been a piece of monstrous impudence even in ,bramante1 and an impossible discourtesy in gentle ,raffaello1 to have begged for leave to carry on a scheme so marvellously planned4 ,but the history of the ,creation1 ,fall1 and ,deluge1 when first exposed1 looked like a work complete in itself4 ,michelangelo1 who was notoriously secretive1 had almost certainly not explained his whole design to painters of ,bramante's following2 and it is also improbable that he had as yet prepared his working ,cartoons for the lower and larger portion of the vault4 ,accordingly1 there remained a large vacant space to cover between the older frescoes by ,signorelli1 ,perugino1 ,botticelli1 and other painters1 round the walls below the windows1 and that new miracle suspended in the air4 ,there was no flagrant impropriety in ,bramante's thinking that his nephew might be allowed to carry the work downward from that altitude4 ,the suggestion may have been that the ,sistine ,chapel should become a ,museum of ,italian art1 where all painters of eminence could deposit proofs of their ability1 until each square foot of wall was covered with competing masterpieces4 ,but when ,michelangelo heard of ,bramante's intrigues1 he was greatly disturbed in spirit4 ,having begun his task unwillingly1 he now felt an equal or greater unwillingness to leave the stupendous conception of his brain unfinished4 ,against all expectation of himself and others1 he had achieved a decisive victory1 and was placed at one stroke1 ,condivi says1 above the reach of envy4 ,his hand had found its cunning for fresco as for marble4 ,why should he be interrupted in the full swing of triumphant energy8 ,accordingly1 he sought an audience with the ,pope1 and openly laid bare all the persecutions he had suffered from ,bramante1 and discovered the numerous misdoings of the man4 ,it was on this occasion1 according to ,condivi1 that ,michelangelo exposed ,bramante's scamped work and vandalism at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,julius1 who was perhaps the only man in ,rome acquainted with his sculptor's scheme for the ,sistine vault1 brushed the cobwebs of these petty intrigues aside1 and left the execution of the whole to ,michelangelo4 ,there is something ignoble in the task of recording rivalries and jealousies between artists and men of letters4 ,genius1 however1 like all things that are merely ours and mortal1 shuffles along the path of life1 half flying on the wings of inspiration1 half hobbling on the feet of interest the crutches of commissions4 ,michelangelo1 although he made the ,david and the ,sistine1 had also to make money4 ,he was entangled with shrewd men of business1 and crafty spendthrifts1 ambitious intriguers1 folk who used undoubted talents1 each in its kind excellent and pure1 for baser purposes of gain or getting on4 ,the art-life of ,rome seethed with such blood-poison2 and it would be sentimental to neglect what entered so deeply and so painfully into the daily experience of our hero4 ,raffaello1 kneaded of softer and more facile clay than ,michelangelo1 throve in this environment1 and was somehow able--so it seems--to turn its venom to sweet uses4 ,i like to think of the two peers1 moving like stars on widely separated orbits1 with radically diverse temperaments1 proclivities1 and habits1 through the turbid atmosphere enveloping but not obscuring their lucidity4 ,each1 in his own way1 as it seems to me1 contrived to keep himself unspotted by the world2 and if they did not understand one another and make friends1 this was due to the different conceptions they were framed to take of life the one being the exact antipodes to the other4 ,,vi ,postponing descriptive or aesthetic criticism of the ,sistine frescoes1 ,i shall proceed with the narration of their gradual completion4 ,we have few documents to guide us through the period of time which elapsed between the first uncovering of ,michelangelo's work on the roof of the ,sistine 7,november #a1 #aeji7 and its ultimate accomplishment 7,october #aeab74 ,his domestic correspondence is abundant1 and will be used in its proper place2 but nothing transpires from those pages of affection1 anger1 and financial negotiation to throw light upon the working of the master's mind while he was busied in creating the sibyls and prophets1 the episodes and idyls1 which carried his great ,bible of the ,fate of ,man downwards through the vaulting to a point at which the ,last ,judgment had to be presented as a crowning climax4 ,for1 the anxious student of his mind and life-work1 nothing is more desolating than the impassive silence he maintains about his doings as an artist4 ,he might have told us all we want to know1 and never shall know here about them4 ,but while he revealed his personal temperament and his passions with singular frankness1 he locked up the secret of his art1 and said nothing4 ,eventually we must endeavour to grasp ,michelangelo's work in the ,sistine as a whole1 although it was carried out at distant epochs of his life4 ,for this reason ,i have thrown these sentences forward1 in order to embrace a wide span of his artistic energy 7from ,may #aj1 #aejh1 to perhaps ,december #aeda74 ,there is1 to my mind1 a unity of conception between the history depicted on the vault1 the prophets and forecomers on the pendentives1 the types selected for the spandrels1 and the final spectacle of the day of doom4 ,living1 as he needs must do1 under the category of time1 ,michelangelo was unable to execute his stupendous picture-book of human destiny in one sustained manner4 ,years passed over him of thwarted endeavour and distracted energies--years of quarrying and sculpturing1 of engineering and obeying the vagaries of successive ,popes4 ,therefore1 when he came at last to paint the ,last ,judgment1 he was a worn man1 exhausted in services of many divers sorts4 ,and1 what is most perplexing to the reconstructive critic1 nothing in his correspondence remains to indicate the stages of his labour4 ,the letters tell plenty about domestic anxieties1 annoyances in his poor craftsman's household1 purchases of farms1 indignant remonstrances with stupid brethren2 but we find in them1 as ,i have said1 no clue to guide us through that mental labyrinth in which the supreme artist was continually walking1 and at the end of which he left to us the ,sistine as it now is4 ,,vii ,the old reckoning of the time consumed by ,michelangelo in painting the roof of the ,sistine1 and the traditions concerning his mode of work there1 are clearly fabulous4 ,condivi says3 ,he finished the whole in twenty months1 without having any assistance whatsoever1 not even of a man to grind his colours4 ,from a letter of ,september #g1 #aeaj1 we learn that the scaffolding was going to be put up again1 and that he was preparing to work upon the lower portion of the vaulting4 ,nearly two years elapse before we hear of it again4 ,he writes to ,buonarroto on the #bdth of ,july #aeab3 ,i am suffering greater hardships than ever man endured1 ill1 and with overwhelming labour2 still ,i put up with all in order to reach the desired end4 ,another letter on the #bast of ,august shows that he expects to complete his work at the end of ,september2 and at last1 in ,october1 he writes to his father3 ,i have finished the chapel ,i was painting4 ,the ,pope is very well satisfied4 ,on the calculation that he began the first part on ,may #aj1 #aejh1 and finished the whole in ,october #aeab1 four years and a half were employed upon the work4 ,a considerable part of this time was of course taken up with the preparation of ,cartoons2 and the nature of fresco-painting rendered the winter months not always fit for active labour4 ,the climate of ,rome is not so mild but that wet plaster might often freeze and crack during ,december1 ,january1 and ,february4 ,besides1 with all his superhuman energy1 ,michelangelo could not have painted straight on daily without rest or stop4 ,it seems1 too1 that the master was often in need of money1 and that he made two journeys to the ,pope to beg for supplies4 ,in the letter to ,fattucci he says3 ,when the vault was nearly finished1 the ,pope was again at ,bologna2 whereupon1 ,i went twice to get the necessary funds1 and obtained nothing1 and lost all that time until ,i came back to ,rome4 ,when ,i reached ,rome1 ,i began to make ,cartoons--that is1 for the ends and sides of the said chapel1 hoping to get money at last and to complete the work4 ,i never could extract a farthing2 and when ,i complained one day to ,messer ,bernardo da ,bibbiena and to ,atalante1 representing that ,i could not stop longer in ,rome1 and that ,i should be forced to go away with ,god's grace1 ,messer ,bernardo told ,atalante he must bear this in mind1 for that he wished me to have money1 whatever happened4 ,when we consider1 then1 the magnitude of the undertaking1 the arduous nature of the preparatory studies1 and the waste of time in journeys and through other hindrances1 four and a half years are not too long a period for a man working so much alone as ,michelangelo was wont to do4 ,we have reason to believe that1 after all1 the frescoes of the ,sistine were not finished in their details4 ,it is true1 continues ,condivi1 that ,i have heard him say he was not suffered to complete the work according to his wish4 ,the ,pope1 in his impatience1 asked him one day when he would be ready with the ,chapel1 and he answered3 ',when ,i shall be able4' ,to which his ,holiness replied in a rage3 ',you want to make me hurl you from that scaffold6' ,michelangelo heard and remembered1 muttering3 ',that you shall not do to me4' ,so he went straightway1 and had the scaffolding taken down4 ,the frescoes were exposed to view on ,all ,saints' day1 to the great satisfaction of the ,pope1 who went that day to service there1 while all ,rome flocked together to admire them4 ,what ,michelangelo felt forced to leave undone was the retouching of certain parts with ultramarine upon dry ground1 and also some gilding1 to give the whole a richer effect4 ,giulio1 when his heat cooled down1 wanted ,michelangelo to make these last additions2 but he1 considering the trouble it would be to build up all that scaffolding afresh1 observed that what was missing mattered little4 ',you ought at least to touch it up with gold1' replied the ,pope2 and ,michelangelo1 with that familiarity he used toward his ,holiness1 said carelessly3 ',i have not observed that men wore gold4' ,the ,pope rejoined3 ',it will look poor4' ,buonarroti added3 ',those who are painted there were poor men4' ,so the matter turned into pleasantry1 and the frescoes have remained in their present state4 ,condivi goes on to state that ,michelangelo received #cjjj ducats for all his expenses1 and that he spent as much as twenty or twenty-five ducats on colours alone4 ,upon the difficult question of the moneys earned by the great artist in his life-work1 ,i shall have to speak hereafter1 though ,i doubt whether any really satisfactory account can now be given of them4 ,,viii ,michelangelo's letters to his family in ,florence throw a light at once vivid and painful over the circumstances of his life during these years of sustained creative energy4 ,he was uncomfortable in his bachelor's home1 and always in difficulties with his servants4 ,i am living here in discontent1 not thoroughly well1 and undergoing great fatigue1 without money1 and with no one to look after me4 ,again1 when one of his brothers proposed to visit him in ,rome1 he writes3 ,i hear that ,gismondo means to come hither on his affairs4 ,tell him not to count on me for anything2 not because ,i do not love him as a brother1 but because ,i am not in the position to assist him4 ,i am bound to care for myself first1 and ,i cannot provide myself with necessaries4 ,i live here in great distress and the utmost bodily fatigue1 have no friends1 and seek none4 ,i have not even time enough to eat what ,i require4 ,therefore let no additional burdens be put upon me1 for ,i could not bear another ounce4 ,in the autumn of #aeji he corresponded with his father about the severe illness of an assistant workman whom he kept1 and also about a boy he wanted sent from ,florence4 ,i should be glad if you could hear of some lad at ,florence1 the son of good parents and poor1 used to hardships1 who would be willing to come and live with me here1 to do the work of the house1 buy what ,i want1 and go around on messages2 in his leisure time he could learn4 ,should such a boy be found1 please let me know2 because there are only rogues here1 and ,i am in great need of some one4 ,all through his life1 ,michelangelo adopted the plan of keeping a young fellow to act as general servant1 and at the same time to help in art-work4 ,three of these servants are interwoven with the chief events of his later years1 ,pietro ,urbano1 ,antonio ,mini1 and ,francesco d',amadore1 called ,urbino1 the last of whom became his faithful and attached friend till death parted them4 ,women about the house he could not bear4 ,of the serving-maids at ,rome he says3 ,they are all strumpets and swine4 ,well1 it seems that ,lodovico found a boy1 and sent him off to ,rome4 ,what followed is related in the next letter4 ,as regards the boy you sent me1 that rascal of a muleteer cheated me out of a ducat for his journey4 ,he swore that the bargain had been made for two broad golden ducats1 whereas all the lads who come here with the muleteers pay only ten carlins4 ,i was more angry at this than if ,i had lost twenty-five ducats1 because ,i saw that his father had resolved to send him on mule-back like a gentleman4 ,oh1 ,i had never such good luck1 not ,i6 ,then both the father and the lad promised that he would do everything1 attend to the mule1 and sleep upon the ground1 if it was wanted4 ,and now ,i am obliged to look after him4 ,as if ,i needed more worries than the one ,i have had ever since ,i arrived here6 ,my apprentice1 whom ,i left in ,rome1 has been ill from the day on which ,i returned until now4 ,it is true that he is getting better2 but he lay for about a month in peril of his life1 despaired of by the doctors1 and ,i never went to bed4 ,there are other annoyances of my own2 and now ,i have the nuisance of this lad1 who says that he does not want to waste time1 that he wants to study1 and so on4 ,at ,florence he said he would be satisfied with two or three hours a day4 ,now the whole day is not enough for him1 but he must needs be drawing all the night4 ,it is all the fault of what his father tells him4 ,if ,i complained1 he would say that ,i did not want him to learn4 ,i really require some one to take care of the house2 and if the boy had no mind for this sort of work1 they ought not to have put me to expense4 ,but they are good-for-nothing1 and are working toward a certain end of their own4 ,enough1 ,i beg you to relieve me of the boy2 he has bored me so that ,i cannot bear it any longer4 ,the muleteer has been so well paid that he can very well take him back to ,florence4 ,besides1 he is a friend of the father4 ,tell the father to send for him home4 ,i shall not pay another farthing4 ,i have no money4 ,i will have patience till he sends2 and if he does not send1 ,i will turn the boy out of doors4 ,i did so already on the second day of his arrival1 and other times also1 and the father does not believe it4 ,p4,s4--,if you talk to the father of the lad1 put the matter to him nicely3 as that he is a good boy1 but too refined1 and not fit for my service1 and say that he had better send for him home4 ,the repentant postscript is eminently characteristic of ,michelangelo4 ,he used to write in haste1 apparently just as the thoughts came4 ,afterwards he read his letter over1 and softened its contents down1 if he did not1 as sometimes happened1 feel that his meaning required enforcement2 in that case he added a stinging tail to the epigram4 ,how little he could manage the people in his employ is clear from the last notice we possess about the unlucky lad from ,florence4 ,i wrote about the boy1 to say that his father ought to send for him1 and that ,i would not disburse more money4 ,this ,i now confirm4 ,the driver is paid to take him back4 ,at ,florence he will do well enough1 learning his trade and dwelling with his parents4 ,here he is not worth a farthing1 and makes me toil like a beast of burden2 and my other apprentice has not left his bed4 ,it is true that ,i have not got him in the house2 for when ,i was so tired out that ,i could not bear it1 ,i sent him to the room of a brother of his4 ,i have no money4 ,these household difficulties were a trifle1 however1 compared with the annoyances caused by the stupidity of his father and the greediness of his brothers4 ,while living like a poor man in ,rome1 he kept continually thinking of their welfare4 ,the letters of this period are full of references to the purchase of land1 the transmission of cash when it was to be had1 and the establishment of ,buonarroto in a draper's business4 ,they1 on their part1 were never satisfied1 and repaid his kindness with ingratitude4 ,the following letter to ,giovan ,simone shows how terrible ,michelangelo could be when he detected baseness in a brother3-- ,giovan ,simone1--,it is said that when one does good to a good man1 he makes him become better1 but that a bad man becomes worse4 ,it is now many years that ,i have been endeavouring with words and deeds of kindness to bring you to live honestly and in peace with your father and the rest of us4 ,you grow continually worse4 ,i do not say that you are a scoundrel2 but you are of such sort that you have ceased to give satisfaction to me or anybody4 ,i could read you a long lesson on your ways of living2 but they would be idle words1 like all the rest that ,i have wasted4 ,to cut the matter short1 ,i will tell you as a fact beyond all question that you have nothing in the world3 what you spend and your house-room1 ,i give you1 and have given you these many years1 for the love of ,god1 believing you to be my brother like the rest4 ,now1 ,i am sure that you are not my brother1 else you would not threaten my father4 ,nay1 you are a beast2 and as a beast ,i mean to treat you4 ,know that he who sees his father threatened or roughly handled is bound to risk his own life in this cause4 ,let that suffice4 ,i repeat that you have nothing in the world2 and if ,i hear the least thing about your ways of going on1 ,i will come to ,florence by the post1 and show you how far wrong you are1 and teach you to waste your substance1 and set fire to houses and farms you have not earned4 ,indeed you are not where you think yourself to be4 ,if ,i come1 ,i will open your eyes to what will make you weep hot tears1 and recognise on what false grounds you base your arrogance4 ,i have something else to say to you1 which ,i have said before4 ,if you will endeavour to live rightly1 and to honour and revere your father1 ,i am willing to help you like the rest1 and will put it shortly within your power to open a good shop4 ,if you act otherwise1 ,i shall come and settle your affairs in such a way that you will recognise what you are better than you ever did1 and will know what you have to call your own1 and will have it shown to you in every place where you may go4 ,no more4 ,what ,i lack in words ,i will supply with deeds4 ,michelangelo in ,rome4 ,i cannot refrain from adding a couple of lines4 ,it is as follows4 ,i have gone these twelve years past drudging about through ,italy1 borne every shame1 suffered every hardship1 worn my body out in every toil1 put my life to a thousand hazards1 and all with the sole purpose of helping the fortunes of my family4 ,now that ,i have begun to raise it up a little1 you only1 you alone1 choose to destroy and bring to ruin in one hour what it has cost me so many years and such labour to build up4 ,by ,christ's body this shall not be2 for ,i am the man to put to the rout ten thousand of your sort1 whenever it be needed4 ,be wise in time1 then1 and do not try the patience of one who has other things to vex him4 ,even ,buonarroto1 who was the best of the brothers and dearest to his heart1 hurt him by his graspingness and want of truth4 ,he had been staying at ,rome on a visit1 and when he returned to ,florence it appears that he bragged about his wealth1 as if the sums expended on the ,buonarroti farms were not part of ,michelangelo's earnings4 ,the consequence was that he received a stinging rebuke from his elder brother4 ,the said ,michele told me you mentioned to him having spent about sixty ducats at ,settignano4 ,i remember your saying here too at table that you had disbursed a large sum out of your own pocket4 ,i pretended not to understand1 and did not feel the least surprise1 because ,i know you4 ,i should like to hear from your ingratitude out of what money you gained them4 ,if you had enough sense to know the truth1 you would not say3 ',i spent so and so much of my own2' also you would not have come here to push your affairs with me1 seeing how ,i have always acted toward you in the past1 but would have rather said3 ',michelangelo remembers what he wrote to us1 and if he does not now do what he promised1 he must be prevented by something of which we are ignorant1' and then have kept your peace2 because it is not well to spur the horse that runs as fast as he is able1 and more than he is able4 ,but you have never known me1 and do not know me4 ,god pardon you2 for it is ,he who granted me the grace to bear what ,i do bear and have borne1 in order that you might be helped4 ,well1 you will know me when you have lost me4 ,michelangelo's angry moods rapidly cooled down4 ,at the bottom of his heart lay a deep and abiding love for his family4 ,there is something caressing in the tone with which he replies to grumbling letters from his father4 ,do not vex yourself4 ,god did not make us to abandon us4 ,if you want me1 ,i will take the post1 and be with you in two days4 ,men are worth more than money4 ,his warm affection transpires even more clearly in the two following documents3 ,i should like you to be thoroughly convinced that all the labours ,i have ever undergone have not been more for myself than for your sake4 ,what ,i have bought1 ,i bought to be yours so long as you live4 ,if you had not been here1 ,i should have bought nothing4 ,therefore1 if you wish to let the house and farm1 do so at your pleasure4 ,this income1 together with what ,i shall give you1 will enable you to live like a lord4 ,at a time when ,lodovico was much exercised in his mind and spirits by a lawsuit1 his son writes to comfort the old man4 ,do not be discomfited1 nor give yourself an ounce of sadness4 ,remember that losing money is not losing one's life4 ,i will more than make up to you what you must lose4 ,yet do not attach too much value to worldly goods1 for they are by nature untrustworthy4 ,thank ,god that this trial1 if it was bound to come1 came at a time when you have more resources than you had in years past4 ,look to preserving your life and health1 but let your fortunes go to ruin rather than suffer hardships2 for ,i would sooner have you alive and poor2 if you were dead1 ,i should not care for all the gold in the world4 ,if those chatterboxes or any one else reprove you1 let them talk1 for they are men without intelligence and without affection4 ,references to public events are singularly scanty in this correspondence4 ,much as ,michelangelo felt the woes of ,italy--and we know he did so by his poems--he talked but little1 doing his work daily like a wise man all through the dust and din stirred up by ,julius and the ,league of ,cambrai4 ,the lights and shadows of ,italian experience at that time are intensely dramatic4 ,we must not altogether forget the vicissitudes of war1 plague1 and foreign invasion1 which exhausted the country1 while its greatest men continued to produce immortal masterpieces4 ,aldo ,manuzio was quietly printing his complete edition of ,plato1 and ,michelangelo was transferring the noble figure of a prophet or a sibyl to the plaster of the ,sistine1 while young ,gaston de ,foix was dying at the point of victory upon the bloody shores of the ,ronco4 ,sometimes1 however1 the disasters of his country touched ,michelangelo so nearly that he had to write or speak about them4 ,after the battle of ,ravenna1 on the #aath of ,april #aeab1 ,raimondo de ,cardona and his ,spanish troops brought back the ,medici to ,florence4 ,on their way1 the little town of ,prato was sacked with a barbarity which sent a shudder through the whole peninsula4 ,the ,cardinal ,giovanni de' ,medici1 who entered ,florence on the #adth of ,september1 established his nephews as despots in the city1 and intimidated the burghers by what looked likely to be a reign of terror4 ,these facts account for the uneasy tone of a letter written by ,michelangelo to ,buonarroto4 ,prato had been taken by assault upon the #cjth of ,august1 and was now prostrate after those hideous days of torment1 massacre1 and outrage indescribable which followed4 ,in these circumstances ,michelangelo advises his family to escape into a place of safety1 abandoning their household gear and property2 for life is far more worth than money4 ,if they are in need of cash1 they may draw upon his credit with the ,spedalingo of ,s4 ,maria ,novella4 ,the constitutional liability to panic which must be recognised in ,michelangelo emerges at the close of the letter4 ,as to public events1 do not meddle with them either by deed or word4 ,act as though the plague were raging4 ,be the first to fly4 ,the ,buonarroti did not take his advice1 but remained at ,florence1 enduring agonies of terror4 ,it was a time when disaffection toward the ,medicean princes exposed men to risking life and limb4 ,rumours reached ,lodovico that his son had talked imprudently at ,rome4 ,he wrote to inquire what truth there was in the report1 and ,michelangelo replied3 ,with regard to the ,medici1 ,i have never spoken a single word against them1 except in the way that everybody talks--as1 for instance1 about the sack of ,prato2 for if the stones could have cried out1 ,i think they would have spoken4 ,there have been many other things said since then1 to which1 when ,i heard them1 ,i have answered3 ',if they are really acting in this way1 they are doing wrong2' not that ,i believed the reports2 and ,god grant they are not true4 ,about a month ago1 some one who makes a show of friendship for me spoke very evilly about their deeds4 ,i rebuked him1 told him that it was not well to talk so1 and begged him not to do so again to me4 ,however1 ,i should like ,buonarroto quietly to find out how the rumour arose of my having calumniated the ,medici2 for if it is some one who pretends to be my friend1 ,i ought to be upon my guard4 ,the ,buonarroti family1 though well affected toward ,savonarola1 were connected by many ties of interest and old association with the ,medici1 and were not powerful enough to be the mark of violent political persecution4 ,nevertheless1 a fine was laid upon them by the newly restored ,government4 ,this drew forth the following epistle from ,michelangelo3-- ,dearest ,father1--,your last informs me how things are going on at ,florence1 though ,i already knew something4 ,we must have patience1 commit ourselves to ,god1 and repent of our sins2 for these trials are solely due to them1 and more particularly to pride and ingratitude4 ,i never conversed with a people more ungrateful and puffed up than the ,florentines4 ,therefore1 if judgment comes1 it is but right and reasonable4 ,as for the sixty ducats you tell me you are fined1 ,i think this a scurvy trick1 and am exceedingly annoyed4 ,however1 we must have patience as long as it pleases ,god4 ,i will write and enclose two lines to ,giuliano de' ,medici4 ,read them1 and if you like to present them to him1 do so2 you will see whether they are likely to be of any use4 ,if not1 consider whether we can sell our property and go to live elsewhere4444 ,look to your life and health2 and if you cannot share the honours of the land like other burghers1 be contented that bread does not fail you1 and live well with ,christ1 and poorly1 as ,i do here2 for ,i live in a sordid way1 regarding neither life nor honours--that is1 the world--and suffer the greatest hardships and innumerable anxieties and dreads4 ,it is now about fifteen years since ,i had a single hour of well-being1 and all that ,i have done has been to help you1 and you have never recognised this nor believed it4 ,god pardon us all6 ,i am ready to go on doing the same so long as ,i live1 if only ,i am able4 ,we have reason to believe that the petition to ,giuliano proved effectual1 for in his next letter he congratulates his father upon their being restored to favour4 ,in the same communication he mentions a young ,spanish painter whom he knew in ,rome1 and whom he believes to be ill at ,florence4 ,this was probably the ,alonso ,berughetta who made a copy of the ,cartoon for the ,battle of ,pisa4 ,in ,july #aejh ,michelangelo wrote twice about a ,spaniard who wanted leave to study the ,cartoon2 first begging ,buonarroto to procure the keys for him1 and afterwards saying that he is glad to hear that the permission was refused4 ,it does not appear certain whether this was the same ,alonso2 but it is interesting to find that ,michelangelo disliked his ,cartoon being copied4 ,we also learn from these letters that the ,battle of ,pisa then remained in the ,sala del ,papa4 ,,ix ,i will conclude this chapter by translating a sonnet addressed to ,giovanni da ,pistoja1 in which ,michelangelo humorously describes the discomforts he endured while engaged upon the ,sistine4 ,condivi tells us that from painting so long in a strained attitude1 gazing up at the vault1 he lost for some time the power of reading except when he lifted the paper above his head and raised his eyes4 ,vasari corroborates the narrative from his own experience in the vast halls of the ,medicean palace4 ,i've grown a goitre by dwelling in this den-- ,as cats from stagnant streams in ,lombardy1 ,or in what other land they hap to be-- ,which drives the belly close beneath the chin3 ,my beard turns up to heaven2 my nape falls in1 ,fixed on my spine3 my breast-bone visibly ,grows like a harp3 a rich embroidery ,bedews my face from brush-drops thick and thin4 ,my loins into my paunch like levers grind3 ,my buttock like a crupper bears my weight2 ,my feet unguided wander to and fro2 ,in front my skin grows loose and long2 behind1 ,by bending it becomes more taut and strait2 ,crosswise ,i strain me like a ,syrian bow3 ,whence false and quaint1 ,i know1 ,must be the fruit of squinting brain and eye2 ,for ill can aim the gun that bends awry4 ,come then1 ,giovanni1 try ,to succour my dead pictures and my fame1 ,since foul ,i fare and painting is my shame4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,i ,the ,sistine ,chapel was built in #adgc by ,baccio ,pontelli1 a ,florentine architect1 for ,pope ,sixtus ,,iv4 ,it is a simple barn-like chamber1 #acb feet in length1 #dd in breadth1 and #fh in height from the pavement4 ,the ceiling consists of one expansive flattened vault1 the central portion of which offers a large plane surface1 well adapted to fresco decoration4 ,the building is lighted by twelve windows1 six upon each side of its length4 ,these are placed high up1 their rounded arches running parallel with the first spring of the vaulting4 ,the ends of the chapel are closed by flat walls1 against the western of which is raised the altar4 ,when ,michelangelo was called to paint here1 he found both sides of the building1 just below the windows1 decorated in fresco by ,perugino1 ,cosimo ,rosselli1 ,sandro ,botticelli1 ,luca ,signorelli1 and ,domenico ,ghirlandajo4 ,these masters had depicted1 in a series of twelve subjects1 the history of ,moses and the life of ,jesus4 ,above the lines of fresco1 in the spaces between the windows and along the eastern end at the same height1 ,botticelli painted a row of twenty-eight ,popes4 ,the spaces below the frescoed histories1 down to the seats which ran along the pavement1 were blank1 waiting for the tapestries which ,raffaello afterwards supplied from cartoons now in possession of the ,english ,crown4 ,at the west end1 above the altar1 shone three decorative frescoes by ,perugino1 representing the ,assumption of the ,virgin1 between the finding of ,moses and the ,nativity4 ,the two last of these pictures opened respectively the history of ,moses and the life of ,christ1 so that the ,old and ,new ,testaments were equally illustrated upon the ,chapel walls4 ,at the opposite1 or eastern end1 ,ghirlandajo painted the ,resurrection1 and there was a corresponding picture of ,michael contending with ,satan for the body of ,moses4 ,such was the aspect of the ,sistine ,chapel when ,michelangelo began his great work4 ,perugino's three frescoes on the west wall were afterwards demolished to make room for his ,last ,judgment4 ,the two frescoes on the east wall are now poor pictures by very inferior masters2 but the twelve ,scripture histories and ,botticelli's twenty-eight ,popes remain from the last years of the fifteenth century4 ,taken in their aggregate1 the wall-paintings ,i have described afforded a fair sample of ,umbrian and ,tuscan art in its middle or quattrocento age of evolution4 ,it remained for ,buonarroti to cover the vault and the whole western end with masterpieces displaying what ,vasari called the modern style in its most sublime and imposing manifestation4 ,at the same time he closed the cycle of the figurative arts1 and rendered any further progress on the same lines impossible4 ,the growth which began with ,niccol of ,pisa and with ,cimabue1 which advanced through ,giotto and his school1 ,perugino and ,pinturicchio1 ,piero della ,francesca and ,signorelli1 ,fra ,angelico and ,benozzo ,gozzoli1 the ,ghirlandajo brothers1 the ,lippi and ,botticelli1 effloresced in ,michelangelo1 leaving nothing for aftercomers but manneristic imitation4 ,,ii ,michelangelo1 instinctively and on principle1 reacted against the decorative methods of the fifteenth century4 ,if he had to paint a biblical or mythological subject1 he avoided landscapes1 trees1 flowers1 birds1 beasts1 and subordinate groups of figures4 ,he eschewed the arabesques1 the labyrinths of foliage and fruit enclosing pictured panels1 the candelabra and gay bands of variegated patterns1 which enabled a quattrocento painter1 like ,gozzoli or ,pinturicchio1 to produce brilliant and harmonious general effects at a small expenditure of intellectual energy4 ,where the human body struck the keynote of the music in a work of art1 he judged that such simple adjuncts and nave concessions to the pleasure of the eye should be avoided4 ,an architectural foundation for the plastic forms to rest on1 as plain in structure and as grandiose in line as could be fashioned1 must suffice4 ,these principles he put immediately to the test in his first decorative undertaking4 ,for the vault of the ,sistine he designed a mighty architectural framework in the form of a hypaethral temple1 suspended in the air on jutting pilasters1 with bold cornices1 projecting brackets1 and ribbed arches flung across the void of heaven4 ,since the whole of this ideal building was painted upon plaster1 its inconsequence1 want of support1 and disconnection from the ground-plan of the chapel do not strike the mind4 ,it is felt to be a mere basis for the display of pictorial art1 the theatre for a thousand shapes of dignity and beauty4 ,i have called this imaginary temple hypaethral1 because the master left nine openings in the flattened surface of the central vault4 ,they are unequal in size1 five being short parallelograms1 and four being spaces of the same shape but twice their length4 ,through these the eye is supposed to pierce the roof and discover the unfettered region of the heavens4 ,but here again ,michelangelo betrayed the inconsequence of his invention4 ,he filled the spaces in question with nine dominant paintings1 representing the history of the ,creation1 the ,fall1 and the ,deluge4 ,taking our position at the west end of the chapel and looking upwards1 we see in the first compartment ,god dividing light from darkness2 in the second1 creating the sun and the moon and the solid earth2 in the third1 animating the ocean with ,his brooding influence2 in the fourth1 creating ,adam2 in the fifth1 creating ,eve4 ,the sixth represents the temptation of our first parents and their expulsion from ,paradise4 ,the seventh shows ,noah's sacrifice before entering the ark2 the eighth depicts the ,deluge1 and the ninth the drunkenness of ,noah4 ,it is clear that1 between the architectural conception of a roof opening on the skies and these pictures of events which happened upon earth1 there is no logical connection4 ,indeed1 ,michelangelo's new system of decoration bordered dangerously upon the barocco style1 and contained within itself the germs of a vicious mannerism4 ,it would be captious and unjust to push this criticism home4 ,the architectural setting provided for the figures and the pictures of the ,sistine vault is so obviously conventional1 every point of vantage has been so skilfully appropriated to plastic uses1 every square inch of the ideal building becomes so naturally1 and without confusion1 a pedestal for the human form1 that we are lost in wonder at the synthetic imagination which here for the first time combined the arts of architecture1 sculpture1 and painting in a single organism4 ,each part of the immense composition1 down to the smallest detail1 is necessary to the total effect4 ,we are in the presence of a most complicated yet mathematically ordered scheme1 which owes life and animation to one master-thought4 ,in spite of its complexity and scientific precision1 the vault of the ,sistine does not strike the mind as being artificial or worked out by calculation1 but as being predestined to existence1 inevitable1 a cosmos instinct with vitality4 ,on the pendentives between the spaces of the windows1 running up to the ends of each of the five lesser pictures1 ,michelangelo placed alternate prophets and sibyls upon firm projecting consoles4 ,five sibyls and five prophets run along the side-walls of the chapel4 ,the end-walls sustain each of them a prophet4 ,these twelve figures are introduced as heralds and pioneers of ,christ the ,saviour1 whose presence on the earth is demanded by the fall of man and the renewal of sin after the ,deluge4 ,in the lunettes above the windows and the arched recesses or spandrels over them are depicted scenes setting forth the genealogy of ,christ and of ,his ,mother4 ,at each of the four corner-spandrels of the ceiling1 ,michelangelo painted1 in spaces of a very peculiar shape and on a surface of embarrassing inequality1 one magnificent subject symbolical of man's redemption4 ,the first is the raising of the ,brazen ,serpent in the wilderness2 the second1 the punishment of ,haman2 the third1 the victory of ,david over ,goliath2 the fourth1 ,judith with the head of ,holofernes4 ,thus1 with a profound knowledge of the ,bible1 and with an intense feeling for religious symbolism1 ,michelangelo unrolled the history of the creation of the world and man1 the entrance of sin into the human heart1 the punishment of sin by water1 and the reappearance of sin in ,noah's family4 ,having done this1 he intimated1 by means of four special mercies granted to the ,jewish people--types and symbols of ,god's indulgence--that a ,saviour would arise to redeem the erring human race4 ,in confirmation of this promise1 he called twelve potent witnesses1 seven of the ,hebrew prophets and five of the ,pagan sibyls4 ,he made appeal to history1 and set around the thrones on which these witnesses are seated scenes detached from the actual lives of our ,lord's human ancestors4 ,the intellectual power of this conception is at least equal to the majesty and sublime strength of its artistic presentation4 ,an awful sense of coming doom and merited damnation hangs in the thunderous canopy of the ,sistine vault1 tempered by a solemn and sober expectation of the ,saviour4 ,it is much to be regretted that ,christ1 the ,desired of all ,nations1 the ,redeemer and ,atoner1 appears nowhere adequately represented in the ,chapel4 ,when ,michelangelo resumed his work there1 it was to portray him as an angered ,hercules1 hurling curses upon helpless victims4 ,the ,august rhetoric of the ceiling loses its effective value when we can nowhere point to ,christ's life and work on earth2 when there is no picture of the ,nativity1 none of the ,crucifixion1 none of the ,resurrection2 and when the feeble panels of a ,perugino and a ,cosimo ,rosselli are crushed into insignificance by the terrible ,last ,judgment4 ,in spite of ,buonarroti's great creative strength1 and injuriously to his real feeling as a ,christian1 the piecemeal production which governs all large art undertakings results here in a maimed and one-sided rendering of what theologians call the ,scheme of ,salvation4 ,,iii ,so much has been written about the pictorial beauty1 the sublime imagination1 the dramatic energy1 the profound significance1 the exact science1 the shy graces1 the terrible force1 and finally the vivid powers of characterisation displayed in these frescoes1 that ,i feel it would be impertinent to attempt a new discourse upon a theme so time-worn4 ,i must content myself with referring to what ,i have already published1 which will1 ,i hope1 be sufficient to demonstrate that ,i do not avoid the task for want of enthusiasm4 ,the study of much rhetorical criticism makes me feel strongly that1 in front of certain masterpieces1 silence is best1 or1 in lieu of silence1 some simple pregnant sayings1 capable of rousing folk to independent observation4 ,these convictions need not prevent me1 however1 from fixing attention upon a subordinate matter1 but one which has the most important bearing upon ,michelangelo's genius4 ,after designing the architectural theatre which ,i have attempted to describe1 and filling its main spaces with the vast religious drama he unrolled symbolically in a series of primeval scenes1 statuesque figures1 and countless minor groups contributing to one intellectual conception1 he proceeded to charge the interspaces--all that is usually left for facile decorative details--with an army of passionately felt and wonderfully executed nudes1 forms of youths and children1 naked or half draped1 in every conceivable posture and with every possible variety of facial type and expression4 ,on pedestals1 cornices1 medallions1 tympanums1 in the angles made by arches1 wherever a vacant plane or unused curve was found1 he set these vivid transcripts from humanity in action4 ,we need not stop to inquire what he intended by that host of plastic shapes evoked from his imagination4 ,the triumphant leaders of the crew1 the twenty lads who sit upon their consoles1 sustaining medallions by ribands which they lift1 have been variously and inconclusively interpreted4 ,in the long row of ,michelangelo's creations1 those young men are perhaps the most significant--athletic adolescents1 with faces of feminine delicacy and poignant fascination4 ,but it serves no purpose to inquire what they symbolise4 ,if we did so1 we should have to go further1 and ask1 ,what do the bronze figures below them1 twisted into the boldest attitudes the human frame can take1 or the twinned children on the pedestals1 signify8 ,in this region1 the region of pure plastic play1 when art drops the wand of the interpreter and allows physical beauty to be a law unto itself1 ,michelangelo demonstrated that no decorative element in the hand of a really supreme master is equal to the nude4 ,previous artists1 with a strong instinct for plastic as opposed to merely picturesque effect1 had worked upon the same line4 ,donatello revelled in the rhythmic dance and stationary grace of children4 ,luca ,signorelli initiated the plan of treating complex ornament by means of the mere human body2 and for this reason1 in order to define the position of ,michelangelo in ,italian art-history1 ,i shall devote the next section of this chapter to ,luca's work at ,orvieto4 ,but ,buonarroti in the ,sistine carried their suggestions to completion4 ,the result is a mapped-out chart of living figures--a vast pattern1 each detail of which is a masterpiece of modelling4 ,after we have grasped the intellectual content of the whole1 the message it was meant to inculcate1 the spiritual meaning present to the maker's mind1 we discover that1 in the sphere of artistic accomplishment1 as distinct from intellectual suggestion1 one rhythm of purely figurative beauty has been carried throughout--from ,god creating ,adam to the boy who waves his torch above the censer of the ,erythrean sibyl4 ,,iv ,of all previous painters1 only ,luca ,signorelli deserves to be called the forerunner of ,michelangelo1 and his ,chapel of ,s4 ,brizio in the ,cathedral at ,orvieto in some remarkable respects anticipates the ,sistine4 ,this eminent master was commissioned in #adii to finish its decoration1 a small portion of which had been begun by ,fra ,angelico4 ,he completed the whole ,chapel within the space of two years2 so that the young ,michelangelo1 upon one of his journeys to or from ,rome1 may probably have seen the frescoes in their glory4 ,although no visit to ,orvieto is recorded by his biographers1 the fame of these masterpieces by a man whose work at ,florence had already influenced his youthful genius must certainly have attracted him to a city which lay on the direct route from ,tuscany to the ,campagna4 ,the four walls of the ,chapel of ,s4 ,brizio are covered with paintings setting forth events immediately preceding and following the day of judgment4 ,a succession of panels1 differing in size and shape1 represent the preaching of ,antichrist1 the destruction of the world by fire1 the resurrection of the body1 the condemnation of the lost1 the reception of saved souls into bliss1 and the final states of heaven and hell4 ,these main subjects occupy the upper spaces of each wall1 while below them are placed portraits of poets1 surrounded by rich and fanciful arabesques1 including various episodes from ,dante and antique mythology4 ,obeying the spirit of the fifteenth century1 ,signorelli did not aim at what may be termed an architectural effect in his decoration of this building4 ,each panel of the whole is treated separately1 and with very unequal energy1 the artist seeming to exert his strength chiefly in those details which made demands on his profound knowledge of the human form and his enthusiasm for the nude4 ,the men and women of the ,resurrection1 the sublime angels of ,heaven and of the ,judgment1 the discoloured and degraded fiends of ,hell1 the magnificently foreshortened clothed figures of the ,fulminati1 the portraits in the preaching of ,antichrist1 reveal ,luca's specific quality as a painter1 at once impressively imaginative and crudely realistic4 ,there is something in his way of regarding the world and of reproducing its aspects which dominates our fancy1 does violence to our sense of harmony and beauty1 leaves us broken and bewildered1 resentful and at the same moment enthralled4 ,he is a power which has to be reckoned with2 and the reason for speaking about him at length here is that1 in this characteristic blending of intense vision with impassioned realistic effort after truth to fact1 this fascination mingled with repulsion1 he anticipated ,michelangelo4 ,deep at the root of all ,buonarroti's artistic qualities lie these contradictions4 ,studying ,signorelli1 we study a parallel psychological problem4 ,the chief difference between the two masters lies in the command of aesthetic synthesis1 the constructive sense of harmony1 which belonged to the younger1 but which might1 we feel1 have been granted in like measure to the elder1 had ,luca been born1 as ,michelangelo was1 to complete the evolution of ,italian figurative art1 instead of marking one of its most important intermediate moments4 ,the decorative methods and instincts of the two men were closely similar4 ,both scorned any element of interest or beauty which was not strictly plastic--the human body supported by architecture or by rough indications of the world we live in4 ,signorelli invented an intricate design for arabesque pilasters1 one on each side of the door leading from his chapel into the ,cathedral4 ,they are painted en grisaille1 and are composed exclusively of nudes1 mostly male1 perched or grouped in a marvellous variety of attitudes upon an ascending series of slender-stemmed vases1 which build up gigantic candelabra by their aggregation4 ,the naked form is treated with audacious freedom4 ,it appears to be elastic in the hands of the modeller4 ,some dead bodies carried on the backs of brawny porters are even awful by the contrast of their wet-clay limpness with the muscular energy of brutal life beneath them4 ,satyrs giving drink to one another1 fauns whispering in the ears of stalwart women1 centaurs trotting with corpses flung across their cruppers1 combatants trampling in frenzy upon prostrate enemies1 men sunk in self-abandonment to sloth or sorrow--such are the details of these incomparable columns1 where our sense of the grotesque and vehement is immediately corrected by a perception of rare energy in the artist who could play thus with his plastic puppets4 ,we have here certainly the preludings to ,michelangelo's serener1 more monumental work in the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,the leading motive is the same in both great masterpieces4 ,it consists in the use of the simple body1 if possible the nude body1 for the expression of thought and emotion1 the telling of a tale1 the delectation of the eye by ornamental details4 ,it consists also in the subordination of the female to the male nude as the symbolic unit of artistic utterance4 ,buonarroti is greater than ,signorelli chiefly through that larger and truer perception of aesthetic unity which seems to be the final outcome of a long series of artistic effort4 ,the arabesques1 for instance1 with which ,luca wreathed his portraits of the poets1 are monstrous1 bizarre1 in doubtful taste4 ,michelangelo1 with a finer instinct for harmony1 a deeper grasp on his own dominant ideal1 excluded this element of quattrocento decoration from his scheme4 ,raffaello1 with the graceful tact essential to the style1 developed its crude rudiments into the choice forms of fanciful delightfulness which charm us in the ,loggie4 ,signorelli loved violence4 ,a large proportion of the circular pictures painted en grisaille on these walls represent scenes of massacre1 assassination1 torture1 ruthless outrage4 ,one of them1 extremely spirited in design1 shows a group of three executioners hurling men with millstones round their necks into a raging river from the bridge which spans it4 ,the first victim flounders half merged in the flood2 a second plunges head foremost through the air2 the third stands bent upon the parapet1 his shoulders pressed down by the varlets on each side1 at the very point of being flung to death by drowning4 ,in another of these pictures a man seated upon the ground is being tortured by the breaking of his teeth1 while a furious fellow holds a club suspended over him1 in act to shatter his thigh-bones4 ,naked soldiers wrestle in mad conflict1 whirl staves above their heads1 fling stones1 displaying their coarse muscles with a kind of frenzy4 ,even the classical subjects suffer from extreme dramatic energy of treatment4 ,ceres1 seeking her daughter through the plains of ,sicily1 dashes frantically on a car of dragons1 her hair dishevelled to the winds1 her cheeks gashed by her own crooked fingers4 ,eurydice struggles in the clutch of bestial devils2 ,pluto1 like a mediaeval ,satan1 frowns above the scene of fiendish riot2 the violin of ,orpheus thrills faintly through the infernal tumult4 ,gazing on the spasms and convulsions of these grim subjects1 we are inclined to credit a legend preserved at ,orvieto to the effect that the painter depicted his own unfaithful mistress in the naked woman who is being borne on a demon's back through the air to hell4 ,no one who has studied ,michelangelo impartially will deny that in this preference for the violent he came near to ,signorelli4 ,we feel it in his choice of attitude1 the strain he puts upon the lines of plastic composition1 the stormy energy of his conception and expression4 ,it is what we call his terribilit4 ,but here again that dominating sense of harmony1 that instinct for the necessity of subordinating each artistic element to one strain of architectonic music1 which ,i have already indicated as the leading note of difference between him and the painter of ,cortona1 intervened to elevate his terribleness into the region of sublimity4 ,the violence of ,michelangelo1 unlike that of ,luca1 lay not so much in the choice of savage subjects 7cruelty1 ferocity1 extreme physical and mental torment7 as in a forceful1 passionate1 tempestuous way of handling all the themes he treated4 ,the angels of the ,judgment1 sustaining the symbols of ,christ's ,passion1 wrestle and bend their agitated limbs like athletes4 ,christ emerges from the sepulchre1 not in victorious tranquillity1 but with the clash and clangour of an irresistible energy set free4 ,even in the ,crucifixion1 one leg has been wrenched away from the nail which pierced its foot1 and writhes round the knee of the other still left riven to the cross4 ,the loves of ,leda and the ,swan1 of ,ixion and ,juno1 are spasms of voluptuous pain2 the sleep of the ,night is troubled with fantastic dreams1 and the ,dawn starts into consciousness with a shudder of prophetic anguish4 ,there is not a hand1 a torso1 a simple nude1 sketched by this extraordinary master1 which does not vibrate with nervous tension1 as though the fingers that grasped the pen were clenched and the eyes that viewed the model glowed beneath knit brows4 ,michelangelo1 in fact1 saw nothing1 felt nothing1 interpreted nothing1 on exactly the same lines as any one who had preceded or who followed him4 ,his imperious personality he stamped upon the smallest trifle of his work4 ,luca's frescoes at ,orvieto1 when compared with ,michelangelo's in the ,sistine1 mark the transition from the art of the fourteenth1 through the art of the fifteenth1 to that of the sixteenth century1 with broad and trenchant force4 ,they are what ,marlowe's dramas were to ,shakespeare's4 ,they retain much of the mediaeval tradition both as regards form and sentiment4 ,we feel this distinctly in the treatment of ,dante1 whose genius seems to have exerted at least as strong an influence over ,signorelli's imagination as over that of ,michelangelo4 ,the episodes from the ,divine ,comedy are painted in a rude ,gothic spirit4 ,the spirits of ,hell seem borrowed from grotesque bas-reliefs of the ,pisan school4 ,the draped1 winged1 and armed angels of ,heaven are posed with a ceremonious research of suavity or grandeur4 ,these and other features of his work carry us back to the period of ,giotto and ,niccol ,pisano4 ,but the true force of the man1 what made him a commanding master of the middle period1 what distinguished him from all his fellows of the quattrocento1 is the passionate delight he took in pure humanity--the nude1 the body studied under all its aspects and with no repugnance for its coarseness--man in his crudity made the sole sufficient object for figurative art1 anatomy regarded as the crowning and supreme end of scientific exploration4 ,it is this in his work which carries us on toward the next age1 and justifies our calling ,luca the morning-star of ,michelangelo4 ,it would be wrong to ascribe too much to the immediate influence of the elder over the younger artist--at any rate in so far as the frescoes of the ,chapel of ,s4 ,brizio may have determined the creation of the ,sistine4 ,yet ,vasari left on record that even ,michelangelo followed the manner of ,signorelli1 as any one may see4 ,undoubtedly1 ,buonarroti1 while an inmate of ,lorenzo de' ,medici's palace at ,florence1 felt the power of ,luca's ,madonna with the naked figures in the background2 the leading motive of which he transcended in his ,doni ,holy ,family4 ,probably at an early period he had before his eyes the bold nudities1 uncompromising designs1 and awkward composition of ,luca's so-called ,school of ,pan4 ,in like manner1 we may be sure that during his first visit to ,rome he was attracted by ,signorelli's solemn fresco of ,moses in the ,sistine4 ,these things were sufficient to establish a link of connection between the painter of ,cortona and the ,florentine sculptor4 ,and when ,michelangelo visited the ,chapel of ,s4 ,brizio1 after he had fixed and formed his style 7exhibiting his innate force of genius in the ,piet1 the ,bacchus1 the ,cupid1 the ,david1 the statue of ,julius1 the ,cartoon for the ,battle of ,pisa71 that early bond of sympathy must have been renewed and enforced4 ,they were men of a like temperament1 and governed by kindred aesthetic instincts4 ,michelangelo brought to its perfection that system of working wholly through the human form which ,signorelli initiated4 ,he shared his violence1 his terribilit1 his almost brutal candour4 ,in the fated evolution of ,italian art1 describing its parabola of vital energy1 ,michelangelo softened1 sublimed1 and harmonised his predecessor's qualities4 ,he did this by abandoning ,luca's navets and crudities2 exchanging his savage transcripts from coarse life for profoundly studied idealisations of form2 subordinating his rough and casual design to schemes of balanced composition1 based on architectural relations2 penetrating the whole accomplished work1 as he intended it should be1 with a solemn and severe strain of unifying intellectual melody4 ,viewed in this light1 the vault of the ,sistine and the later fresco of the ,last ,judgment may be taken as the final outcome of all previous ,italian art upon a single line of creative energy1 and that line the one anticipated by ,luca ,signorelli4 ,in like manner1 the ,stanze and ,loggie of the ,vatican were the final outcome of the same process upon another line1 suggested by ,perugino and ,fra ,bartolommeo4 ,michelangelo adapted to his own uses and bent to his own genius motives originated by the ,pisani1 ,giotto1 ,giacopo della ,quercia1 ,donatello1 ,masaccio1 while working in the spirit of ,signorelli4 ,he fused and recast the antecedent materials of design in sculpture and painting1 producing a quintessence of art beyond which it was impossible to advance without breaking the rhythm1 so intensely strung1 and without contradicting too violently the parent inspiration4 ,he strained the chord of rhythm to its very utmost1 and made incalculable demands upon the religious inspiration of its predecessors4 ,his mighty talent was equal to the task of transfusion and remodelling which the exhibition of the supreme style demanded4 ,but after him there remained nothing for successors except mechanical imitation1 soulless rehandling of themes he had exhausted by reducing them to his imperious imagination in a crucible of fiery intensity4 ,v ,no critic with a just sense of phraseology would call ,michelangelo a colourist in the same way as ,titian and ,rubens were colourists4 ,still it cannot be denied with justice that the painter of the ,sistine had a keen perception of what his art required in this region1 and of how to attain it4 ,he planned a comprehensive architectural scheme1 which served as setting and support for multitudes of draped and undraped human figures4 ,the colouring is kept deliberately low and subordinate to the two main features of the design--architecture1 and the plastic forms of men and women4 ,flesh-tints1 varying from the strong red tone of ,jonah's athletic manhood1 through the glowing browns of the seated ,genii1 to the delicate carnations of ,adam and the paler hues of ,eve2 orange and bronze in draperies1 medallions1 decorative nudes1 russets like the tints of dead leaves2 lilacs1 cold greens1 blue used sparingly2 all these colours are dominated and brought into harmony by the greys of the architectural setting4 ,it may indeed be said that the different qualities of flesh-tints1 the architectural greys1 and a dull bronzed yellow strike the chord of the composition4 ,reds are conspicuous by their absence in any positive hue4 ,there is no vermilion1 no pure scarlet or crimson1 but a mixed tint verging upon lake4 ,the yellows are brought near to orange1 tawny1 bronze1 except in the hair of youthful personages1 a large majority of whom are blonde4 ,the only colour which starts out staringly is ultramarine1 owing of course to this mineral material resisting time and change more perfectly than the pigments with which it is associated4 ,the whole scheme leaves a grave harmonious impression on the mind1 thoroughly in keeping with the sublimity of the thoughts expressed4 ,no words can describe the beauty of the flesh-painting1 especially in the figures of the ,genii1 or the technical delicacy with which the modelling of limbs1 the modulation from one tone to another1 have been carried from silvery transparent shades up to the strongest accents4 ,,vi ,mr4 ,ruskin has said1 and very justly said1 that the highest art can do no more than rightly represent the human form4 ,this is what the ,italians of the ,renaissance meant when1 through the mouths of ,ghiberti1 ,buonarroti1 and ,cellini1 they proclaimed that the perfect drawing of a fine nude1 un bel corpo ignudo1 was the final test of mastery in plastic art4 ,mr4 ,ruskin develops his text in sentences which have peculiar value from his lips4 ,this is the simple test1 then1 of a perfect school--that it has represented the human form so that it is impossible to conceive of its being better done4 ,and that1 ,i repeat1 has been accomplished twice only3 once in ,athens1 once in ,florence4 ,and so narrow is the excellence even of these two exclusive schools1 that it cannot be said of either of them that they represented the entire human form4 ,the ,greeks perfectly drew and perfectly moulded the body and limbs1 but there is1 so far as ,i am aware1 no instance of their representing the face as well as any great ,italian4 ,on the other hand1 the ,italian painted and carved the face insuperably2 but ,i believe there is no instance of his having perfectly represented the body1 which1 by command of his religion1 it became his pride to despise and his safety to mortify4 ,we need not pause to consider whether the ,italian's inferiority to the ,greek's in the plastic modelling of human bodies was due to the artist's own religious sentiment4 ,that seems a far-fetched explanation for the shortcomings of men so frankly realistic and so scientifically earnest as the masters of the ,cinque ,cento were4 ,michelangelo's magnificent cartoon of ,leda and the ,swan1 if it falls short of some similar subject in some gabinetto segreto of antique fresco1 does assuredly not do so because the draughtsman's hand faltered in pious dread or pious aspiration4 ,nevertheless1 ,ruskin is right in telling us that no ,italian modelled a female nude equal to the ,aphrodite of ,melos1 or a male nude equal to the ,apoxyomenos of the ,braccio ,nuovo4 ,he is also right in pointing out that no ,greek sculptor approached the beauty of facial form and expression which we recognise in ,raffaello's ,madonna di ,san ,sisto1 in ,sodoma's ,s4 ,sebastian1 in ,guercino's ,christ at the ,corsini ,palace1 in scores of early ,florentine sepulchral monuments and pictures1 in ,umbrian saints and sweet strange portrait-fancies by ,da ,vinci4 ,the fact seems to be that ,greek and ,italian plastic art followed different lines of development1 owing to the difference of dominant ideas in the races1 and to the difference of social custom4 ,religion naturally played a foremost part in the art-evolution of both epochs4 ,the anthropomorphic ,greek mythology encouraged sculptors to concentrate their attention upon what ,hegel called the sensuous manifestation of the idea1 while ,greek habits rendered them familiar with the body frankly exhibited4 ,mediaeval religion withdrew ,italian sculptors and painters from the problems of purely physical form1 and obliged them to study the expression of sentiments and aspirations which could only be rendered by emphasising psychical qualities revealed through physiognomy4 ,at the same time1 modern habits of life removed the naked body from their ken4 ,we may go further1 and observe that the conditions under which ,greek art flourished developed what the ,germans call ,allgemeinheit1 a tendency to generalise1 which was inimical to strongly marked facial expression or characterisation4 ,the conditions of ,italian art1 on the other hand1 favoured an opposite tendency--to particularise1 to enforce detail1 to emphasise the artist's own ideal or the model's quality4 ,when the type of a ,greek deity had been fixed1 each successive master varied this within the closest limits possible4 ,for centuries the type remained fundamentally unaltered1 undergoing subtle transformations1 due partly to the artist's temperament1 and partly to changes in the temper of society4 ,consequently those aspects of the human form which are capable of most successful generalisation1 the body and the limbs1 exerted a kind of conventional tyranny over ,greek art4 ,and ,greek artists applied to the face the same rules of generalisation which were applicable to the body4 ,the ,greek god or goddess was a sensuous manifestation of the idea1 a particle of universal godhood incarnate in a special fleshly form1 corresponding to the particular psychological attributes of the deity whom the sculptor had to represent4 ,no deviation from the generalised type was possible4 ,the ,christian ,god1 on the contrary1 is a spirit2 and all the emanations from this spirit1 whether direct1 as in the person of ,christ1 or derived1 as in the persons of the saints1 owe their sensuous form and substance to the exigencies of mortal existence1 which these persons temporarily and phenomenally obeyed4 ,since1 then1 the sensuous manifestation has now become merely symbolic1 and is no longer an indispensable investiture of the idea1 it may be altered at will in ,christian art without irreverence4 ,the utmost capacity of the artist is now exerted1 not in enforcing or refining a generalised type1 but in discovering some new facial expression which shall reveal psychological quality in a particular being4 ,doing so1 he inevitably insists upon the face2 and having formed a face expressive of some defined quality1 he can hardly give to the body that generalised beauty which belongs to a ,greek nymph or athlete4 ,what we mean by the differences between ,classic and ,romantic art lies in the distinctions ,i am drawing4 ,classicism sacrifices character to breadth4 ,romanticism sacrifices breadth to character4 ,classic art deals more triumphantly with the body1 because the body gains by being broadly treated4 ,romantic art deals more triumphantly with the face1 because the features lose by being broadly treated4 ,this brings me back to ,mr4 ,ruskin1 who1 in another of his treatises1 condemns ,michelangelo for a want of variety1 beauty1 feeling1 in his heads and faces4 ,were this the case1 ,michelangelo would have little claim to rank as one of the world's chief artists4 ,we have admitted that the ,italians did not produce such perfectly beautiful bodes and limbs as the ,greeks did1 and have agreed that the ,greeks produced less perfectly beautiful faces than the ,italians4 ,suppose1 then1 that ,michelangelo failed in his heads and faces1 he1 being an ,italian1 and therefore confessedly inferior to the ,greeks in his bodies and limbs1 must1 by the force of logic1 emerge less meritorious than we thought him4 ,,vii ,to many of my readers the foregoing section will appear superfluous1 polemical1 sophistic--three bad things4 ,i wrote it1 and ,i let it stand1 however1 because it serves as preface to what ,i have to say in general about ,michelangelo's ideal of form4 ,he was essentially a ,romantic as opposed to a ,classic artist4 ,that is to say1 he sought invariably for character--character in type1 character in attitude1 character in every action of each muscle1 character in each extravagance of pose4 ,he applied the ,romantic principle to the body and the limbs1 exactly to that region of the human form which the ,greeks had conquered as their province4 ,he did so with consummate science and complete mastery of physiological law4 ,what is more1 he compelled the body to become expressive1 not1 as the ,greeks had done1 of broad general conceptions1 but of the most intimate and poignant personal emotions4 ,this was his main originality4 ,at the same time1 being a ,romantic1 he deliberately renounced the main tradition of that manner4 ,he refused to study portraiture1 as ,vasari tells us1 and as we see so plainly in the statues of the ,dukes at ,florence4 ,he generalised his faces1 composing an ideal cast of features out of several types4 ,in the rendering of the face and head1 then1 he chose to be a ,classic1 while in the treatment of the body he was vehemently modern4 ,in all his work which is not meant to be dramatic--that is1 excluding the damned souls in the ,last ,judgment1 the bust of ,brutus1 and some keen psychological designs--character is sacrificed to a studied ideal of form1 so far as the face is concerned4 ,that he did this wilfully1 on principle1 is certain4 ,the proof remains in the twenty heads of those incomparable genii of the ,sistine1 each one of whom possesses a beauty and a quality peculiar to himself alone4 ,they show that1 if he had so chosen1 he could have played upon the human countenance with the same facility as on the human body1 varying its expressiveness ad infinitum4 ,why ,michelangelo preferred to generalise the face and to particularise the body remains a secret buried in the abysmal deeps of his personality4 ,in his studies from the model1 unlike ,lionardo1 he almost always left the features vague1 while working out the trunk and limbs with strenuous passion4 ,he never seems to have been caught and fascinated by the problem offered by the eyes and features of a male or female4 ,he places masks or splendid commonplaces upon frames palpitant and vibrant with vitality in pleasure or in anguish4 ,in order to guard against an apparent contradiction1 ,i must submit that1 when ,michelangelo particularised the body and the limbs1 he strove to make them the symbols of some definite passion or emotion4 ,he seems to have been more anxious about the suggestions afforded by their pose and muscular employment than he was about the expression of the features4 ,but we shall presently discover that1 so far as pure physical type is concerned1 he early began to generalise the structure of the body1 passing finally into what may not unjustly be called a mannerism of form4 ,these points may be still further illustrated by what a competent critic has recently written upon ,michelangelo's treatment of form4 ,no one1 says ,professor ,brcke1 ever knew so well as ,michelangelo ,buonarroti how to produce powerful and strangely harmonious effects by means of figures in themselves open to criticism1 simply by his mode of placing and ordering them1 and of distributing their lines4 ,for him a figure existed only in his particular representation of it2 how it would have looked in any other position was a matter of no concern to him4 ,we may even go further1 and maintain that ,michelangelo was sometimes wilfully indifferent to the physical capacities of the human body in his passionate research of attitudes which present picturesque and novel beauty4 ,the ancients worked on quite a different method4 ,they created standard types which1 in every conceivable posture1 would exhibit the grace and symmetry belonging to well-proportioned frames4 ,michelangelo looked to the effect of a particular posture4 ,he may have been seduced by his habit of modelling figures in clay instead of going invariably to the living subject1 and so may have handled nature with unwarrantable freedom4 ,anyhow1 we have here another demonstration of his romanticism4 ,,viii ,the true test of the highest art is that it should rightly represent the human form4 ,agreed upon this point1 it remains for us to consider in what way ,michelangelo conceived and represented the human form4 ,if we can discover his ideal1 his principles1 his leading instincts in this decisive matter1 we shall unlock1 so far as that is possible1 the secret of his personality as man and artist4 ,the psychological quality of every great master must eventually be determined by his mode of dealing with the phenomena of sex4 ,in ,pheidias we find a large impartiality4 ,his men and women are cast in the same mould of grandeur1 inspired with equal strength and sweetness1 antiphonal notes in dual harmony4 ,praxiteles leans to the female1 ,lysippus to the male2 and so1 through all the gamut of the figurative craftsmen1 we discover more or less affinity for man or woman4 ,one is swayed by woman and her gracefulness1 the other by man and his vigour4 ,few have realised the ,pheidian perfection of doing equal justice4 ,michelangelo emerges as a mighty master who was dominated by the vision of male beauty1 and who saw the female mainly through the fascination of the other sex4 ,the defect of his art is due to a certain constitutional callousness1 a want of sensuous or imaginative sensibility for what is specifically feminine4 ,not a single woman carved or painted by the hand of ,michelangelo has the charm of early youth or the grace of virginity4 ,the ,eve of the ,sistine1 the ,madonna of ,s4 ,peter's1 the ,night and ,dawn of the ,medicean ,sacristy1 are female in the anatomy of their large and grandly modelled forms1 but not feminine in their sentiment4 ,this proposition requires no proof4 ,it is only needful to recall a ,madonna by ,raphael1 a ,diana by ,correggio1 a ,leda by ,lionardo1 a ,venus by ,titian1 a ,s4 ,agnes by ,tintoretto4 ,we find ourselves immediately in a different region--the region of artists who loved1 admired1 and comprehended what is feminine in the beauty and the temperament of women4 ,michelangelo neither loved1 nor admired1 nor yielded to the female sex4 ,therefore he could not deal plastically with what is best and loveliest in the female form4 ,his plastic ideal of the woman is masculine4 ,he builds a colossal frame of muscle1 bone1 and flesh1 studied with supreme anatomical science4 ,he gives to ,eve the full pelvis and enormous haunches of an adult matron4 ,it might here be urged that he chose to symbolise the fecundity of her who was destined to be the mother of the human race4 ,but if this was his meaning1 why did he not make ,adam a corresponding symbol of fatherhood8 ,adam is an adolescent man1 colossal in proportions1 but beardless1 hairless2 the attributes of sex in him are developed1 but not matured by use4 ,the ,night1 for whom no symbolism of maternity was needed1 is a woman who has passed through many pregnancies4 ,those deeply delved wrinkles on the vast and flaccid abdomen sufficiently indicate this4 ,yet when we turn to ,michelangelo's sonnets on ,night1 we find that he habitually thought of her as a mysterious and shadowy being1 whose influence1 though potent for the soul1 disappeared before the frailest of all creatures bearing light4 ,the ,dawn1 again1 in her deep lassitude1 has nothing of vernal freshness4 ,built upon the same type as the ,night1 she looks like ,messalina dragging herself from heavy slumber1 for once satiated as well as tired1 stricken for once with the conscience of disgust4 ,when he chose to depict the acts of passion or of sensual pleasure1 a similar want of sympathy with what is feminine in womanhood leaves an even more discordant impression on the mind4 ,i would base the proof of this remark upon the marble ,leda of the ,bargello ,museum1 and an old engraving of ,ixion clasping the phantom of ,juno under the form of a cloud4 ,in neither case do we possess ,michelangelo's own handiwork2 he must not1 therefore1 be credited with the revolting expression1 as of a drunken profligate1 upon the face of ,leda4 ,yet in both cases he is indubitably responsible for the general design1 and for the brawny carnality of the repulsive woman4 ,i find it difficult to resist the conclusion that ,michelangelo felt himself compelled to treat women as though they were another and less graceful sort of males4 ,the sentiment of woman1 what really distinguishes the sex1 whether voluptuously or passionately or poetically apprehended1 emerges in no eminent instance of his work4 ,there is a ,cartoon at ,naples for a ,bacchante1 which ,bronzino transferred to canvas and coloured4 ,this design illustrates the point on which ,i am insisting4 ,an athletic circus-rider of mature years1 with abnormally developed muscles1 might have posed as model for this female votary of ,dionysus4 ,before he made this drawing1 ,michelangelo had not seen those frescoes of the dancing ,bacchantes from ,pompeii2 nor had he perhaps seen the ,maenads on ,greek bas-reliefs tossing wild tresses backwards1 swaying virginal lithe bodies to the music of the tambourine4 ,we must not1 therefore1 compare his concept with those masterpieces of the later classical imagination4 ,still1 many of his contemporaries1 vastly inferior to him in penetrative insight1 a ,giovanni da ,udine1 a ,perino del ,vaga1 a ,primaticcio1 not to speak of ,raffaello or of ,lionardo1 felt what the charm of youthful womanhood upon the revel might be4 ,he remained insensible to the melody of purely feminine lines2 and the only reason why his transcripts from the female form are not gross like those of ,flemish painters1 repulsive like ,rembrandt's1 fleshly like ,rubens's1 disagreeable like the drawings made by criminals in prisons1 is that they have little womanly about them4 ,lest these assertions should appear too dogmatic1 ,i will indicate the series of works in which ,i recognise ,michelangelo's sympathy with genuine female quality4 ,all the domestic groups1 composed of women and children1 which fill the lunettes and groinings between the windows in the ,sistine ,chapel1 have a charming twilight sentiment of family life or maternal affection4 ,they are among the loveliest and most tranquil of his conceptions4 ,the ,madonna above the tomb of ,julius ,,ii4 cannot be accused of masculinity1 nor the ecstatic figure of the ,rachel beneath it4 ,both of these statues represent what ,goethe called das ewig ,weibliche under a truly felt and natural aspect4 ,the ,delphian and ,erythrean ,sibyls are superb in their majesty4 ,again1 in those numerous designs for ,crucifixions1 ,depositions from the ,cross1 and ,piets1 which occupied so much of ,michelangelo's attention during his old age1 we find an intense and pathetic sympathy with the sorrows of ,mary1 expressed with noble dignity and a pious sense of godhead in the human mother4 ,it will be remarked that throughout the cases ,i have reserved as exceptions1 it is not woman in her plastic beauty and her radiant charm that ,michelangelo has rendered1 but woman in her tranquil or her saddened and sorrow-stricken moods4 ,what he did not comprehend and could not represent was woman in her girlishness1 her youthful joy1 her physical attractiveness1 her magic of seduction4 ,michelangelo's women suggest demonic primitive beings1 composite and undetermined products of the human race in evolution1 before the specific qualities of sex have been eliminated from a general predominating mass of masculinity4 ,at their best1 they carry us into the realm of ,lucretian imagination4 ,he could not have incarnated in plastic form ,shakespeare's ,juliet and ,imogen1 ,dante's ,francesca da ,rimini1 ,tasso's ,erminia and ,clorinda2 but he might have supplied a superb illustration to the opening lines of the ,lucretian epic1 where ,mars lies in the bed of ,venus1 and the goddess spreads her ample limbs above her ,roman lover4 ,he might have evoked images tallying the vision of primal passion in the fourth book of that poem4 ,as ,i have elsewhere said1 writing about ,lucretius3 ,there is something almost tragic in these sighs and pantings and pleasure-throes1 these incomplete fruitions of souls pent within their frames of flesh4 ,we seem to see a race of men and women such as never lived1 except perhaps in ,rome or in the thought of ,michelangelo1 meeting in leonine embracements that yield pain1 whereof the climax is1 at best1 relief from rage and respite for a moment from consuming fire4 ,there is a life elemental rather than human in those mighty limbs2 and the passion that twists them on the marriage-bed has in it the stress of storms1 the rampings and roarings of leopards at play4 ,take this single line3-- et ,venus in silvis jungebat corpora amantum4 ,what a picture of primeval breadth and vastness6 ,the forest is the world1 and the bodies of the lovers are things natural and unashamed1 and ,venus is the tyrannous instinct that controls the blood in spring4 ,what makes ,michelangelo's crudity in his plastic treatment of the female form the more remarkable is that in his poetry he seems to feel the influence of women mystically4 ,i shall have to discuss this topic in another place4 ,it is enough here to say that1 with very few exceptions1 we remain in doubt whether he is addressing a woman at all4 ,there are none of those spontaneous utterances by which a man involuntarily expresses the outgoings of his heart to a beloved object1 the throb of irresistible emotion1 the physical ache1 the sense of wanting1 the joys and pains1 the hopes and fears1 the ecstasies and disappointments1 which belong to genuine passion4 ,the woman is1 for him1 an allegory1 something he has not approached and handled4 ,of her personality we learn nothing4 ,of her bodily presentment1 the eyes alone are mentioned2 and the eyes are treated as the path to ,paradise for souls which seek emancipation from the flesh4 ,raffaello's few and far inferior sonnets vibrate with an intense and potent sensibility to this woman or to that4 ,michelangelo's donna might just as well be a man2 and indeed the poems he addressed to men1 though they have nothing sensual about them1 reveal a finer touch in the emotion of the writer4 ,it is difficult to connect this vaporous incorporeal donna of the poems with those brawny colossal adult females of the statues1 unless we suppose that ,michelangelo remained callous both to the physical attractions and the emotional distinction of woman as she actually is4 ,i have tried to demonstrate that1 plastically1 he did not understand women1 and could not reproduce their form in art with sympathetic feeling for its values of grace1 suavity1 virginity1 and frailty4 ,he imported masculine qualities into every female theme he handled4 ,the case is different when we turn to his treatment of the male figure4 ,it would be impossible to adduce a single instance1 out of the many hundreds of examples furnished by his work1 in which a note of femininity has been added to the masculine type4 ,he did not think enough of women to reverse the process1 and create hermaphroditic beings like the ,apollino of ,praxiteles or the ,s4 ,sebastian of ,sodoma4 ,his boys and youths and adult men remain1 in the truest and the purest sense of the word1 virile4 ,yet with what infinite variety1 with what a deep intelligence of its resources1 with what inexhaustible riches of enthusiasm and science1 he played upon the lyre of the male nude6 ,how far more fit for purposes of art he felt the man to be than the woman is demonstrated1 not only by his approaching woman from the masculine side1 but also by his close attention to none but male qualities in men4 ,i need not insist or enlarge upon this point4 ,the fact is apparent to every one with eyes to see4 ,it would be futile to expound ,michelangelo's fertility in dealing with the motives of the male figure as minutely as ,i judged it necessary to explain the poverty of his inspiration through the female4 ,but it ought to be repeated that1 over the whole gamut of the scale1 from the grace of boyhood1 through the multiform delightfulness of adolescence into the firm force of early manhood1 and the sterner virtues of adult age1 one severe and virile spirit controls his fashioning of plastic forms4 ,he even exaggerates what is masculine in the male1 as he caricatures the female by ascribing impossible virility to her4 ,but the exaggeration follows here a line of mental and moral rectitude4 ,it is the expression of his peculiar sensibility to physical structure4 ,,ix ,when we study the evolution of ,michelangelo's ideal of form1 we find at the beginning of his life a very short period in which he followed the traditions of ,donatello and imitated ,greek work4 ,the seated ,madonna in bas-relief and the ,giovannino belong to this first stage4 ,so does the bas-relief of the ,centaurs4 ,it soon becomes evident1 however1 that ,michelangelo was not destined to remain a continuator of ,donatello's manner or a disciple of the classics4 ,the next period1 which includes the ,madonna della ,febbre1 the ,bruges ,madonna1 the ,bacchus1 the ,cupid1 and the ,david1 is marked by an intense search after the truth of ,nature4 ,both ,madonnas might be criticised for unreality1 owing to the enormous development of the thorax and something artificial in the type of face4 ,but all the male figures seem to have been studied from the model4 ,there is an individuality about the character of each1 a naturalism1 an aiming after realistic expression1 which separate this group from previous and subsequent works by ,buonarroti4 ,traces of ,donatello's influence survive in the treatment of the long large hands of ,david1 the cast of features selected for that statue1 and the working of the feet4 ,indeed it may be said that ,donatello continued through life to affect the genius of ,michelangelo by a kind of sympathy1 although the elder master's navet was soon discarded by the younger4 ,the second period culminated in the ,cartoon for the ,battle of ,pisa4 ,this design appears to have fixed the style now known to us as ,michelangelesque1 and the loss of it is therefore irreparable4 ,it exercised the consummate science which he had acquired1 his complete mastery over the male nude4 ,it defined his firm resolve to treat linear design from the point of view of sculpture rather than of painting proper4 ,it settled his determination to work exclusively through and by the human figure1 rejecting all subordinate elements of decoration4 ,had we possessed this epoch-making masterpiece1 we should probably have known ,michelangelo's genius in its flower-period of early ripeness1 when anatomical learning was still combined with a sustained dependence upon ,nature4 ,the transition from the second to the third stage in this development of form-ideal remains imperfectly explained1 because the bathers in the ,arno were necessary to account for the difference between the realistic ,david and the methodically studied genii of the ,sistine4 ,the vault of the ,sistine shows ,michelangelo's third manner in perfection4 ,he has developed what may be called a scheme of the human form4 ,the apparently small head1 the enormous breadth of shoulder1 the thorax overweighing the whole figure1 the finely modelled legs1 the large and powerful extremities1 which characterise his style henceforward1 culminate in ,adam1 repeat themselves throughout the genii1 govern the prophets4 ,but ,nature has not been neglected4 ,nothing is more remarkable in that vast decorative mass of figures than the variety of types selected1 the beauty and animation of the faces1 the extraordinary richness1 elasticity1 and freshness of the attitudes presented to the eye4 ,every period of life has been treated with impartial justice1 and both sexes are adequately handled4 ,the ,delphian1 ,erythrean1 and ,libyan ,sibyls display a sublime sense of facial beauty4 ,the ,eve of the ,temptation has even something of positively feminine charm4 ,this is probably due to the fact that ,michelangelo here studied expression and felt the necessity of dramatic characterisation in this part of his work4 ,he struck each chord of what may be called the poetry of figurative art1 from the epic cantos of ,creation1 ,fall1 and ,deluge1 through the tragic odes uttered by prophets and sibyls down to the lyric notes of the genii1 and the sweet idyllic strains of the groups in the lunettes and spandrels4 ,it cannot be said that even here ,michelangelo felt the female nude as sympathetically as he felt the male4 ,the women in the picture of the ,deluge are colossal creatures1 scarcely distinguishable from the men except by their huge bosoms4 ,his personal sense of beauty finds fullest expression in the genii4 ,the variations on one theme of youthful loveliness and grace are inexhaustible2 the changes rung on attitude1 and face1 and feature are endless4 ,the type1 as ,i have said1 has already become schematic4 ,it is adolescent1 but the adolescence is neither that of the ,greek athlete nor that of the nude model4 ,indeed1 it is hardly natural2 nor yet is it ideal in the ,greek sense of that term4 ,the physical gracefulness of a slim ephebus was never seized by ,michelangelo4 ,his ,ganymede displays a massive trunk and brawny thighs4 ,compare this with the ,ganymede of ,titian4 ,compare the ,cupid at ,south ,kensington with the ,praxitelean ,genius of the ,vatican--the ,adonis and the ,bacchus of the ,bargello with ,hellenic statues4 ,the bulk and force of maturity are combined with the smoothness of boyhood and with a delicacy of face that borders on the feminine4 ,it is an arid region1 the region of this mighty master's spirit4 ,there are no heavens and no earth or sea in it2 no living creatures1 forests1 flowers2 no bright colours1 brilliant lights1 or cavernous darks4 ,in clear grey twilight appear a multitude of naked forms1 both male and female1 yet neither male nor female of the actual world2 rather the brood of an inventive intellect1 teeming with preoccupations of abiding thoughts and moods of feeling1 which become for it incarnate in these stupendous figures4 ,it is as though ,michelangelo worked from the image in his brain outwards to a physical presentment supplied by his vast knowledge of life1 creating forms proper to his own specific concept4 ,nowhere else in plastic art does the mental world peculiar to the master press in so immediately1 without modification and without mitigation1 upon our sentient imagination4 ,i sometimes dream that the inhabitants of the moon may be like ,michelangelo's men and women1 as ,i feel sure its landscape resembles his conception of the material universe4 ,what ,i have called ,michelangelo's third manner1 the purest manifestation of which is to be found in the vault of the ,sistine1 sustained itself for a period of many years4 ,the surviving fragments of sculpture for the tomb of ,julius1 especially the ,captives of the ,louvre and the statues in the ,sacristy at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 belong to this stage4 ,a close and intimate rapport with ,nature can be perceived in all the work he designed and executed during the pontificates of ,leo and ,clement4 ,the artist was at his fullest both of mental energy and physical vigour4 ,what he wrought now bears witness to his plenitude of manhood4 ,therefore1 although the type fixed for the ,sistine prevailed--,i mean that generalisation of the human form in certain wilfully selected proportions1 conceived to be ideally beautiful or necessary for the grand style in vast architectonic schemes of decoration--still it is used with an exquisite sensitiveness to the pose and structure of the natural body1 a delicate tact in the definition of muscle and articulation1 an acute feeling for the qualities of flesh and texture4 ,none of the creations of this period1 moreover1 are devoid of intense animating emotions and ideas4 ,unluckily1 during all the years which intervened between the ,sistine vault and the ,last ,judgment1 ,michelangelo was employed upon architectural problems and engineering projects1 which occupied his genius in regions far removed from that of figurative art4 ,it may1 therefore1 be asserted1 that although he did not retrograde from want of practice1 he had no opportunity of advancing further by the concentration of his genius on design4 ,this accounts1 ,i think1 for the change in his manner which we notice when he began to paint in ,rome under ,pope ,paul ,,iii4 ,the fourth stage in his development of form is reached now4 ,he has lost nothing of his vigour1 nothing of his science4 ,but he has drifted away from ,nature4 ,all the innumerable figures of the ,last ,judgment1 in all their varied attitudes1 with divers moods of dramatic expression1 are diagrams wrought out imaginatively from the stored-up resources of a lifetime4 ,it may be argued that it was impossible to pose models1 in other words1 to appeal to living men and women1 for the foreshortenings of falling or soaring shapes in that huge drift of human beings4 ,this is true2 and the strongest testimony to the colossal powers of observation possessed by ,michelangelo is that none of all those attitudes are wrong4 ,we may verify them1 if we take particular pains to do so1 by training the sense of seeing to play the part of a detective camera4 ,michelangelo was gifted with a unique faculty for seizing momentary movements1 fixing them upon his memory1 and transferring them to fresco by means of his supreme acquaintance with the bony structure and the muscular capacities of the human frame4 ,regarded from this point of view1 the ,last ,judgment was an unparalleled success4 ,as such the contemporaries of ,buonarroti hailed it4 ,still1 the breath of life has exaled from all those bodies1 and the tyranny of the schematic ideal of form is felt in each of them4 ,without meaning to be irreverent1 we might fancy that two elastic lay-figures1 one male1 the other female1 both singularly similar in shape1 supplied the materials for the total composition4 ,of the dramatic intentions and suggestions underlying these plastic and elastic shapes ,i am not now speaking4 ,it is my present business to establish the phases through which my master's sense of form passed from its cradle to its grave4 ,in the frescoes of the ,cappella ,paolina1 so ruined at this day that we can hardly value them1 the mechanic manner of the fourth stage seems to reach its climax4 ,ghosts of their former selves1 they still reveal the poverty of creative and spontaneous inspiration which presided over their nativity4 ,michelangelo's fourth manner might be compared with that of ,milton in ,paradise ,regained and ,samson ,agonistes4 ,both of these great artists in old age exaggerate the defects of their qualities4 ,michelangelo's ideal of line and proportion in the human form becomes stereotyped and strained1 as do ,milton's rhythms and his ,latinisms4 ,the generous wine of the ,bacchus and of ,comus1 so intoxicating in its newness1 the same wine in the ,sistine and ,paradise ,lost1 so overwhelming in its mature strength1 has acquired an austere aridity4 ,yet1 strange to say1 amid these autumn stubbles of declining genius we light upon oases more sweet1 more tenderly suggestive1 than aught the prime produced4 ,it is not my business to speak of ,milton here4 ,i need not recall his ,knights of ,logres and of ,lyonesse1 or resume his ,euripidean garlands showered on ,samson's grave4 ,but1 for my master ,michelangelo1 it will suffice to observe that all the grace his genius held1 refined1 of earthly grossness quit1 appeared1 under the dominance of this fourth manner1 in the mythological subjects he composed for ,tommaso ,cavalieri1 and1 far more nobly1 in his countless studies for the celebration of ,christ's ,passion4 ,the designs bequeathed to us from this period are very numerous4 ,they were never employed in the production of any monumental work of sculpture or of painting4 ,for this very reason1 because they were occasional improvisations1 preludes1 dreams of things to be1 they preserve the finest bloom1 the ,indian summer of his fancy4 ,lovers of ,michelangelo must dedicate their latest and most loving studies to this phase of his fourth manner4 ,x ,if we seek to penetrate the genius of an artist1 not merely forming a correct estimate of his technical ability and science1 but also probing his personality to the core1 as near as this is possible for us to do1 we ought to give our undivided study to his drawings4 ,it is there1 and there alone1 that we come face to face with the real man1 in his unguarded moments1 in his hours of inspiration1 in the laborious effort to solve a problem of composition1 or in the happy flow of genial improvisation4 ,michelangelo was wont to maintain that all the arts are included in the art of design4 ,sculpture1 painting1 architecture1 he said1 are but subordinate branches of draughtsmanship4 ,and he went so far as to assert that the mechanical arts1 with engineering and fortification1 nay1 even the minor arts of decoration and costume1 owe their existence to design4 ,the more we reflect upon this apparent paradox1 the more shall we feel it to be true4 ,at any rate1 there are no products of human thought and feeling capable of being expressed by form which do not find their common denominator in a linear drawing4 ,the simplicity of a sketch1 the comparative rapidity with which it is produced1 the concentration of meaning demanded by its rigid economy of means1 render it more symbolical1 more like the hieroglyph of its maker's mind1 than any finished work can be4 ,we may discover a greater mass of interesting objects in a painted picture or a carved statue2 but we shall never find exactly the same thing1 never the involuntary revelation of the artist's soul1 the irrefutable witness to his mental and moral qualities1 to the mysteries of his genius and to its limitations4 ,if this be true of all artists1 it is in a peculiar sense true of ,michelangelo4 ,great as he was as sculptor1 painter1 architect1 he was only perfect and impeccable as draughtsman4 ,inadequate realisation1 unequal execution1 fatigue1 satiety1 caprice of mood1 may sometimes be detected in his frescoes and his statues2 but in design we never find him faulty1 hasty1 less than absolute master over the selected realm of thought4 ,his most interesting and instructive work remains what he performed with pen and chalk in hand4 ,deeply1 therefore1 must we regret the false modesty which made him destroy masses of his drawings1 while we have reason to be thankful for those marvellous photographic processes which nowadays have placed the choicest of his masterpieces within the reach of every one4 ,the following passages from ,vasari's and ,condivi's ,lives deserve attention by those who approach the study of ,buonarroti's drawings4 ,vasari says3 ,his powers of imagination were such1 that he was frequently compelled to abandon his purpose1 because he could not express by the hand those grand and sublime ideas which he had conceived in his mind2 nay1 he has spoiled and destroyed many works for this cause2 and ,i know1 too1 that some short time before his death he burnt a large number of his designs1 sketches1 and cartoons1 that none might see the labours he had endured1 and the trials to which he had subjected his spirit1 in his resolve not to fall short of perfection4 ,i have myself secured some drawings by his hand1 which were found in ,florence1 and are now in my book of designs1 and these1 although they give evidence of his great genius1 yet prove also that the hammer of ,vulcan was necessary to bring ,minerva from the head of ,jupiter4 ,he would construct an ideal shape out of nine1 ten and even twelve different heads1 for no other purpose than to obtain a certain grace of harmony and composition which is not to be found in the natural form1 and would say that the artist must have his measuring tools1 not in the hand1 but in the eye1 because the hands do but operate1 it is the eye that judges2 he pursued the same idea in architecture also4 ,condivi adds some information regarding his extraordinary fecundity and variety of invention3 ,he was gifted with a most tenacious memory1 the power of which was such that1 though he painted so many thousands of figures1 as any one can see1 he never made one exactly like another or posed in the same attitude4 ,indeed1 ,i have heard him say that he never draws a line without remembering whether he has drawn it before2 erasing any repetition1 when the design was meant to be exposed to public view4 ,his force of imagination is also most extraordinary4 ,this has been the chief reason why he was never quite satisfied with his own work1 and always depreciated its quality1 esteeming that his hand failed to attain the idea which he had formed within his brain4 ,,xi ,the four greatest draughtsmen of this epoch were ,lionardo da ,vinci1 ,michelangelo1 ,raffaello1 and ,andrea del ,sarto4 ,they are not to be reckoned as equals2 for ,lionardo and ,michelangelo outstrip the other two almost as much as these surpass all lesser craftsmen4 ,each of the four men expressed his own peculiar vision of the world with pen1 or chalk1 or metal point1 finding the unique inevitable line1 the exact touch and quality of stroke1 which should present at once a lively transcript from real ,nature1 and a revelation of the artist's particular way of feeling ,nature4 ,in ,lionardo it is a line of subtlety and infinite suggestiveness2 in ,michelangelo it compels attention1 and forcibly defines the essence of the object2 in ,raffaello it carries melody1 the charm of an unerring rhythm2 in ,andrea it seems to call for tone1 colour1 atmosphere1 and makes their presence felt4 ,raffaello was often faulty3 even in the wonderful pen-drawing of two nudes he sent to ,albrecht ,drer as a sample of his skill1 we blame the knees and ankles of his models4 ,lionardo was sometimes wilful1 whimsical1 seduced by dreamland1 like a god born amateur4 ,andrea allowed his facility to lead him into languor1 and lacked passion4 ,michelangelo's work shows none of these shortcomings2 it is always technically faultness1 instinct with passion1 supereminent in force4 ,but we crave more of grace1 of sensuous delight1 of sweetness1 than he chose1 or perhaps was able1 to communicate4 ,we should welcome a little more of human weakness if he gave a little more of divine suavity4 ,michelangelo's style of design is that of a sculptor1 ,andrea's of a colourist1 ,lionardo's of a curious student1 ,raffaello's of a musician and improvisatore4 ,these distinctions are not merely fanciful1 nor based on what we know about the men in their careers4 ,we feel similar distinctions in the case of all great draughtsmen4 ,titian's chalk-studies1 ,fra ,bartolommeo's1 so singularly akin to ,andrea del ,sarto's1 ,giorgione's pen-and-ink sketch for a ,lucretia1 are seen at once by their richness and blurred outlines to be the work of colourists4 ,signorelli's transcripts from the nude1 remarkably similar to those of ,michelangelo1 reveal a sculptor rather than a painter4 ,botticelli1 with all his ,florentine precision1 shows that1 like ,lionardo1 he was a seeker and a visionary in his anxious feeling after curve and attitude4 ,mantegna seems to be graving steel or cutting into marble4 ,it is easy to apply this analysis in succession to any draughtsman who has style4 ,to do so would1 however1 be superfluous3 we should only be enforcing what is a truism to all intelligent students of art--namely1 that each individual stamps his own specific quality upon his handiwork2 reveals even in the neutral region of design his innate preference for colour or pure form as a channel of expression2 betrays the predominance of mental energy or sensuous charm1 of scientific curiosity or plastic force1 of passion or of tenderness1 which controls his nature4 ,this inevitable and unconscious revelation of the man in art-work strikes us as being singularly modern4 ,we do not apprehend it to at all the same extent in the sculpture of the ancients1 whether it be that our sympathies are too remote from ,greek and ,roman ways of feeling1 or whether the ancients really conceived art more collectively in masses1 less individually as persons4 ,no master exhibits this peculiarly modern quality more decisively than ,michelangelo1 and nowhere is the personality of his genius1 what marks him off and separates him from all fellow-men1 displayed with fuller emphasis than in his drawings4 ,to use the words of a penetrative critic1 from whom it is a pleasure to quote3 ,the thing about ,michelangelo is this2 he is not1 so to say1 at the head of a class1 but he stands apart by himself3 he is not possessed of a skill which renders him unapproached or unapproachable2 but rather1 he is of so unique an order1 that no other artist whatever seems to suggest comparison with him4 ,mr4 ,selwyn ,image goes on to define in what a true sense the words creator and creative may be applied to him3 how the shows and appearances of the world were for him but hieroglyphs of underlying ideas1 with which his soul was familiar1 and from which he worked again outward2 his learning and skill in the arts supplying to his hand such large and adequate symbols of them as are otherwise beyond attainment4 ,this1 in a very difficult and impalpable region of aesthetic criticism1 is finely said1 and accords with ,michelangelo's own utterances upon art and beauty in his poems4 ,dwelling like a star apart1 communing with the eternal ideas1 the permanent relations of the universe1 uttering his inmost thoughts about these mysteries through the vehicles of science and of art1 for which he was so singularly gifted1 ,michelangelo1 in no loose or trivial sense of that phrase1 proved himself to be a creator4 ,he introduces us to a world seen by no eyes except his own1 compels us to become familiar with forms unapprehended by our senses1 accustoms us to breathe a rarer and more fiery atmosphere than we were born into4 ,the vehicles used by ,michelangelo in his designs were mostly pen and chalk4 ,he employed both a sharp-nibbed pen of some kind1 and a broad flexible reed1 according to the exigencies of his subject or the temper of his mood4 ,the chalk was either red or black1 the former being softer than the latter4 ,i cannot remember any instances of those chiaroscuro washes which ,raffaello handled in so masterly a manner1 although ,michelangelo frequently combined bistre shading with pen outlines4 ,in like manner he does not seem to have favoured the metal point upon prepared paper1 with which ,lionardo produced unrivalled masterpieces4 ,some drawings1 where the yellow outline bites into a parchment paper1 blistering at the edges1 suggest a rusty metal in the instrument4 ,we must remember1 however1 that the inks of that period were frequently corrosive1 as is proved by the state of many documents now made illegible through the gradual attrition of the paper by mineral acids4 ,it is also not impossible that artists may have already invented what we call steel pens4 ,sarpi1 in the seventeenth century1 thanks a correspondent for the gift of one of these mechanical devices4 ,speaking broadly1 the reed and the quill1 red and black chalk1 or matita1 were the vehicles of ,michelangelo's expression as a draughtsman4 ,i have seen very few examples of studies heightened with white chalk1 and none produced in the fine ,florentine style of ,ghirlandajo by white chalk alone upon a dead-brown surface4 ,in this matter it is needful to speak with diffidence2 for the sketches of our master are so widely scattered that few students can have examined the whole of them2 and photographic reproductions1 however admirable in their fidelity to outline1 do not always give decisive evidence regarding the materials employed4 ,one thing seems manifest4 ,michelangelo avoided those mixed methods with which ,lionardo1 the magician1 wrought wonders4 ,he preferred an instrument which could be freely1 broadly handled1 inscribing form in strong plain strokes upon the candid paper4 ,the result attained1 whether wrought by bold lines1 or subtly hatched1 or finished with the utmost delicacy of modulated shading1 has always been traced out conscientiously and firmly1 with one pointed stylus 7pen1 chalk1 or matita71 chosen for the purpose4 ,as ,i have said1 it is the work of a sculptor1 accustomed to wield chisel and mallet upon marble1 rather than that of a painter1 trained to secure effects by shadows and glazings4 ,it is possible1 ,i think1 to define1 at least with some approximation to precision1 ,michelangelo's employment of his favourite vehicles for several purposes and at different periods of his life4 ,a broad-nibbed pen was used almost invariably in making architectural designs of cornices1 pilasters1 windows1 also in plans for military engineering4 ,sketches of tombs and edifices1 intended to be shown to patrons1 were partly finished with the pen2 and here we find a subordinate and very limited use of the brush in shading4 ,such performances may be regarded as products of the workshop rather than as examples of the artist's mastery4 ,the style of them is often conventional1 suggesting the intrusion of a pupil or the deliberate adoption of an office mannerism4 ,the pen plays a foremost part in all the greatest and most genial creations of his fancy when it worked energetically in preparation for sculpture or for fresco4 ,the ,louvre is rich in masterpieces of this kind--the fiery study of a ,david2 the heroic figures of two male nudes1 hatched into stubborn salience like pieces of carved wood2 the broad conception of the ,madonna at ,s4 ,lorenzo in her magnificent repose and passionate cascade of fallen draperies2 the repulsive but superabundantly powerful profile of a goat-like faun4 ,these1 and the stupendous studies of the ,albertina ,collection at ,vienna1 including the supine man with thorax violently raised1 are worked with careful hatchings1 stroke upon stroke1 effecting a suggestion of plastic roundness4 ,but we discover quite a different use of the pen in some large simple outlines of seated female figures at the ,louvre2 in thick1 almost muddy1 studies at ,vienna1 where the form emerges out of oft-repeated sodden blotches2 in the grim light and shade1 the rapid suggestiveness of the dissection scene at ,oxford4 ,the pen in the hand of ,michelangelo was the tool by means of which he realised his most trenchant conceptions and his most picturesque impressions4 ,in youth and early manhood1 when his genius was still vehement1 it seems to have been his favourite vehicle4 ,the use of chalk grew upon him in later life1 possibly because he trusted more to his memory now1 and loved the dreamier softer medium for uttering his fancies4 ,black chalk was employed for rapid notes of composition1 and also for the more elaborate productions of his pencil4 ,to this material we owe the head of ,horror which he gave to ,gherardo ,perini 7in the ,uffizi71 the ,phaethon1 the ,tityos1 the ,ganymede he gave to ,tommaso ,cavalieri 7at ,windsor74 ,it is impossible to describe the refinements of modulated shading and the precision of predetermined outlines by means of which these incomparable drawings have been produced4 ,they seem to melt and to escape inspection1 yet they remain fixed on the memory as firmly as forms in carven basalt4 ,the whole series of designs for ,christ's ,crucifixion and ,deposition from the ,cross are executed in chalk1 sometimes black1 but mostly red4 ,it is manifest1 upon examination1 that they are not studies from the model1 but thoughts evoked and shadowed forth on paper4 ,their perplexing multiplicity and subtle variety--as though a mighty improvisatore were preluding again and yet again upon the clavichord to find his theme1 abandoning the search1 renewing it1 altering the key1 changing the accent--prove that this continued seeking with the crayon after form and composition was carried on in solitude and abstract moments4 ,incomplete as the designs may be1 they reveal ,michelangelo's loftiest dreams and purest visions4 ,the nervous energy1 the passionate grip upon the subject1 shown in the pen-drawings1 are absent here4 ,these qualities are replaced by meditation and an air of rapt devotion4 ,the drawings for the ,passion might be called the prayers and pious thoughts of the stern master4 ,red chalk he used for some of his most brilliant conceptions4 ,it is not necessary to dwell upon the bending woman's head at ,oxford1 or the torso of the lance-bearer at ,vienna4 ,let us confine our attention to what is perhaps the most pleasing and most perfect of all ,michelangelo's designs--the ,bersaglio1 or the ,arcieri1 in the ,queen's collection at ,windsor4 ,it is a group of eleven naked men and one woman1 fiercely footing the air1 and driving shafts with all their might to pierce a classical terminal figure1 whose face1 like that of ,pallas1 and broad breast are guarded by a spreading shield4 ,the draughtsman has indicated only one bow1 bent with fury by an old man in the background4 ,yet all the actions proper to archery are suggested by the violent gestures and strained sinews of the crowd4 ,at the foot of the terminal statue1 ,cupid lies asleep upon his wings1 with idle bow and quiver4 ,two little genii of love1 in the background1 are lighting up a fire1 puffing its flames1 as though to drive the archers onward4 ,energy and ardour1 impetuous movement and passionate desire1 could not be expressed with greater force1 nor the tyranny of some blind impulse be more imaginatively felt4 ,the allegory seems to imply that happiness is not to be attained1 as human beings mostly strive to seize it1 by the fierce force of the carnal passions4 ,it is the contrast between celestial love asleep in lustful souls1 and vulgar love inflaming tyrannous appetites3-- ,the one love soars1 the other downward tends2 ,the soul lights this1 while that the senses stir1 ,and still lust's arrow at base quarry flies4 ,this magnificent design was engraved during ,buonarroti's lifetime1 or shortly afterwards1 by ,niccol ,beatrizet4 ,some follower of ,raffaello used the print for a fresco in the ,palazzo ,borghese at ,rome4 ,it forms one of the series in which ,raffaello's marriage of ,alexander and ,roxana is painted4 ,this has led some critics to ascribe the drawing itself to the ,urbinate4 ,indeed1 at first sight1 one might almost conjecture that the original chalk study was a genuine work of ,raffaello1 aiming at rivalry with ,michelangelo's manner4 ,the calm beauty of the statue's classic profile1 the refinement of all the faces1 the exquisite delicacy of the adolescent forms1 and the dominant veiling of strength with grace1 are not precisely ,michelangelesque4 ,the technical execution of the design1 however1 makes its attribution certain4 ,well as ,raffaello could draw1 he could not draw like this4 ,he was incapable of rounding and modelling the nude with those soft stipplings and granulated shadings which bring the whole surface out like that of a bas-relief in polished marble4 ,his own drawing for ,alexander and ,roxana1 in red chalk1 and therefore an excellent subject for comparison with the ,arcieri1 is hatched all over in straight lines2 a method adopted by ,michelangelo when working with the pen1 but1 so far as ,i am aware1 never1 or very rarely1 used when he was handling chalk4 ,the style of this design and its exquisite workmanship correspond exactly with the finish of the ,cavalieri series at ,windsor4 ,the paper1 moreover1 is indorsed in ,michelangelo's handwriting with a memorandum bearing the date ,april #ab1 #aecj4 ,we have then in this masterpiece of draughtsmanship an example1 not of ,raffaello in a ,michelangelising mood1 but of ,michelangelo for once condescending to surpass ,raffaello on his own ground of loveliness and rhythmic grace4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,i ,julius died upon the #bast of ,february #aeac4 ,a prince1 says ,guicciardini1 of inestimable courage and tenacity1 but headlong1 and so extravagant in the schemes he formed1 that his own prudence and moderation had less to do with shielding him from ruin than the discord of sovereigns and the circumstances of the times in ,europe3 worthy1 in all truth1 of the highest glory had he been a secular potentate1 or if the pains and anxious thought he employed in augmenting the temporal greatness of the ,church by war had been devoted to her spiritual welfare in the arts of peace4 ,italy rejoiced when ,giovanni de' ,medici was selected to succeed him1 with the title of ,leo ,x4 ,venus ruled in ,rome with ,alexander1 ,mars with ,julius1 now ,pallas enters on her reign with ,leo4 ,such was the tenor of the epigrams which greeted ,leo upon his triumphal progress to the ,lateran4 ,it was felt that a ,pope of the house of ,medici would be a patron of arts and letters1 and it was hoped that the son of ,lorenzo the ,magnificent might restore the equilibrium of power in ,italy4 ,leo ,x4 has enjoyed a greater fame than he deserved4 ,extolled as an ,augustus in his lifetime1 he left his name to what is called the golden age of ,italian culture4 ,yet he cannot be said to have raised any first-rate men of genius1 or to have exercised a very wise patronage over those whom ,julius brought forward4 ,michelangelo and ,raffaello were in the full swing of work when ,leo claimed their services4 ,we shall see how he hampered the rare gifts of the former by employing him on uncongenial labours2 and it was no great merit to give a free rein to the inexhaustible energy of ,raffaello4 ,the project of a new ,s4 ,peter's belonged to ,julius4 ,leo only continued the scheme1 using such assistants as the times provided after ,bramante's death in #aead4 ,julius instinctively selected men of soaring and audacious genius1 who were capable of planning on a colossal scale4 ,leo delighted in the society of clever people1 poetasters1 petty scholars1 lutists1 and buffoons4 ,rome owes no monumental work to his inventive brain1 and literature no masterpiece to his discrimination4 ,ariosto1 the most brilliant poet of the ,renaissance1 returned in disappointment from the ,vatican4 ,when ,i went to ,rome and kissed the foot of ,leo1 writes the ironical satirist1 he bent down from the holy chair1 and took my hand and saluted me on both cheeks4 ,besides1 he made me free of half the stamp-dues ,i was bound to pay2 and then1 breast full of hope1 but smirched with mud1 ,i retired and took my supper at the ,ram4 ,the words which ,leo is reported to have spoken to his brother ,giuliano when he heard the news of his election1 express the character of the man and mark the difference between his ambition and that of ,julius4 ,let us enjoy the ,papacy1 since ,god has given it us4 ,to enjoy life1 to squander the treasures of the ,church on amusements1 to feed a rabble of flatterers1 to contract enormous debts1 and to disturb the peace of ,italy1 not for some vast scheme of ecclesiastical aggrandisement1 but in order to place the princes of his family on thrones1 that was ,leo's conception of the ,papal privileges and duties4 ,the portraits of the two ,popes1 both from the hand of ,raffaello1 are eminently characteristic4 ,julius1 bent1 white-haired1 and emaciated1 has the nervous glance of a passionate and energetic temperament4 ,leo1 heavy-jawed1 dull-eyed1 with thick lips and a brawny jowl1 betrays the coarser fibre of a sensualist4 ,,ii ,we have seen already that ,julius1 before his death1 provided for his monument being carried out upon a reduced scale4 ,michelangelo entered into a new contract with the executors1 undertaking to finish the work within the space of seven years from the date of the deed1 ,may #f1 #aeac4 ,he received in several payments1 during that year and the years #aead1 #aeae1 #aeaf1 the total sum of #fajj golden ducats4 ,this proves that he must have pushed the various operations connected with the tomb vigorously forward1 employing numerous workpeople1 and ordering supplies of marble4 ,in fact1 the greater part of what remains to us of the unfinished monument may be ascribed to this period of comparatively uninterrupted labour4 ,michelangelo had his workshop in the ,macello de' ,corvi1 but we know very little about the details of his life there4 ,his correspondence happens to be singularly scanty between the years #aeac and #aeaf4 ,one letter1 however1 written in ,may #aeah1 to the ,capitano of ,cortona throws a ray of light upon this barren tract of time1 and introduces an artist of eminence1 whose intellectual affinity to ,michelangelo will always remain a matter of interest4 ,while ,i was at ,rome1 in the first year of ,pope ,leo1 there came the ,master ,luca ,signorelli of ,cortona1 painter4 ,i met him one day near ,monte ,giordano1 and he told me that he was come to beg something from the ,pope1 ,i forget what3 he had run the risk of losing life and limb for his devotion to the house of ,medici1 and now it seemed they did not recognise him3 and so forth1 saying many things ,i have forgotten4 ,after these discourses1 he asked me for forty giulios a coin equal in value to the more modern paolo1 and worth perhaps eight shillings of present money1 and told me where to send them to1 at the house of a shoemaker1 his lodgings4 ,i not having the money about me1 promised to send it1 and did so by the hand of a young man in my service1 called ,silvio1 who is still alive and in ,rome1 ,i believe4 ,after the lapse of some days1 perhaps because his business with the ,pope had failed1 ,messer ,luca came to my house in the ,macello de' ,corvi1 the same where ,i live now1 and found me working on a marble statue1 four cubits in height1 which has the hands bound behind the back1 and bewailed himself with me1 and begged another forty1 saying that he wanted to leave ,rome4 ,i went up to my bedroom1 and brought the money down in the presence of a ,bolognese maid ,i kept1 and ,i think the ,silvio above mentioned was also there4 ,when ,luca got the cash1 he went away1 and ,i have never seen him since2 but ,i remember complaining to him1 because ,i was out of health and could not work1 and he said3 ',have no fear1 for the angels from heaven will come to take you in their arms and aid you4' ,this is in several ways an interesting document4 ,it brings vividly before our eyes magnificent expensive ,signorelli and his meanly living comrade1 each of them mighty masters of a terrible and noble style1 passionate lovers of the nude1 devoted to masculine types of beauty1 but widely and profoundly severed by differences in their personal tastes and habits4 ,it also gives us a glimpse into ,michelangelo's workshop at the moment when he was blocking out one of the bound ,captives at the ,louvre4 ,it seems from what follows in the letter that ,michelangelo had attempted to recover the money through his brother ,buonarroto1 but that ,signorelli refused to acknowledge his debt4 ,the ,capitano wrote that he was sure it had been discharged4 ,that1 adds ,michelangelo1 is the same as calling me the biggest blackguard2 and so ,i should be1 if ,i wanted to get back what had been already paid4 ,but let your ,lordship think what you like about it1 ,i am bound to get the money1 and so ,i swear4 ,the remainder of the autograph is torn and illegible2 it seems to wind up with a threat4 ,the records of this period are so scanty that every detail acquires a certain importance for ,michelangelo's biographer4 ,by a deed executed on the #adth of ,june #aead1 we find that he contracted to make a figure of ,christ in marble1 life-sized1 naked1 erect1 with a cross in his arms1 and in such attitude as shall seem best to ,michelangelo4 ,the persons who ordered the statue were ,bernardo ,cencio 7a ,canon of ,s4 ,peter's71 ,mario ,scappucci1 and ,metello ,varj dei ,porcari1 a ,roman of ancient blood4 ,they undertook to pay #bjj golden ducats for the work2 and ,michelangelo promised to finish it within the space of four years1 when it was to be placed in the ,church of ,s4 ,maria sopra ,minerva4 ,metello ,varj1 though mentioned last in the contract1 seems to have been the man who practically gave the commission1 and to whom ,michelangelo was finally responsible for its performance4 ,he began to hew it from a block1 and discovered black veins in the working4 ,this1 then1 was thrown aside1 and a new marble had to be attacked4 ,the statue1 now visible at the ,minerva1 was not finished until the year #aeba1 when we shall have to return to it again4 ,there is a point of some interest in the wording of this contract1 on which1 as facts to dwell upon are few and far between at present1 ,i may perhaps allow myself to digress4 ,the master is here described as ,michelangelo 7di ,lodovico7 ,simoni1 ,scultore4 ,now ,michelangelo always signed his own letters ,michelangelo ,buonarroti1 although he addressed the members of his family by the surname of ,simoni4 ,this proves that the patronymic usually given to the house at large was still ,simoni1 and that ,michelangelo himself acknowledged that name in a legal document4 ,the adoption of ,buonarroti by his brother's children and descendants may therefore be ascribed to usage ensuing from the illustration of their race by so renowned a man4 ,it should also be observed that at this time ,michelangelo is always described in deeds as sculptor1 and that he frequently signs with ,michelangelo1 ,scultore4 ,later on in life he changed his views4 ,he wrote in #aedh to his nephew ,lionardo3 ,tell the priest not to write to me again as ,michelangelo the sculptor1 for ,i am not known here except as ,michelangelo ,buonarroti4 ,say1 too1 that if a citizen of ,florence wants to have an altar-piece painted1 he must find some painter2 for ,i was never either sculptor or painter in the way of one who keeps a shop4 ,i have always avoided that1 for the honour of my father and my brothers4 ,true1 ,i have served three ,popes2 but that was a matter of necessity4 ,earlier1 in #aedc1 he had written to the same effect3 ,when you correspond with me1 do not use the superscription ,michelangelo ,simoni1 nor sculptor2 it is enough to put ,michelangelo ,buonarroti1 for that is how ,i am known here4 ,on another occasion1 advising his nephew what surname the latter ought to adopt1 he says3 ,i should certainly use ,simoni1 and if the whole 7that is1 the whole list of patronymics in use at ,florence7 is too long1 those who cannot read it may leave it alone4 ,these communications prove that1 though he had come to be known as ,buonarroti1 he did not wish the family to drop their old surname of ,simoni4 ,the reason was that he believed in their legendary descent from the ,counts of ,canossa through a ,podest of ,florence1 traditionally known as ,simone da ,canossa4 ,this opinion had been confirmed in #aebj1 as we have seen above1 by a letter he received from the ,conte ,alessandro da ,canossa1 addressing him as ,honoured kinsman4 ,in the correspondence with ,lionardo1 ,michelangelo alludes to this act of recognition3 ,you will find a letter from the ,conte ,alessandro da ,canossa in the book of contracts4 ,he came to visit me at ,rome1 and treated me like a relative4 ,take care of it4 ,the dislike expressed by ,michelangelo to be called sculptor1 and addressed upon the same terms as other artists1 arose from a keen sense of his nobility4 ,the feeling emerges frequently in his letters between #aedj and #aeej4 ,i will give a specimen3 ,as to the purchase of a house1 ,i repeat that you ought to buy one of honourable condition1 at #aejj or #bjjj crowns2 and it ought to be in our quarter 7,santa ,croce71 if possible4 ,i say this1 because an honourable mansion in the city does a family great credit4 ,it makes more impression than farms in the country2 and we are truly burghers1 who claim a very noble ancestry4 ,i always strove my utmost to resuscitate our house1 but ,i had not brothers able to assist me4 ,try then to do what ,i write you1 and make ,gismondo come back to live in ,florence1 so that ,i may not endure the shame of hearing it said here that ,i have a brother at ,settignano who trudges after oxen4 ,one day1 when ,i find the time1 ,i will tell you all about our origin1 and whence we sprang1 and when we came to ,florence4 ,perhaps you know nothing about it2 still we ought not to rob ourselves of what ,god gave us4 ,the same feeling runs through the letters he wrote ,lionardo about the choice of a wife4 ,one example will suffice3 ,i believe that in ,florence there are many noble and poor families with whom it would be a charity to form connections4 ,if there were no dower1 there would also be no arrogance4 ,pay no heed should people say you want to ennoble yourself1 since it is notorious that we are ancient citizens of ,florence1 and as noble as any other house4 ,michelangelo1 as we know now1 was mistaken in accepting his supposed connection with the illustrious ,counts of ,canossa1 whose castle played so conspicuous a part in the struggle between ,hildebrand and the ,empire1 and who were imperially allied through the connections of the ,countess ,matilda4 ,still he had tradition to support him1 confirmed by the assurance of the head of the ,canossa family4 ,nobody could accuse him of being a snob or parvenu4 ,he lived like a poor man1 indifferent to dress1 establishment1 and personal appearances4 ,yet he prided himself upon his ancient birth2 and since the ,simoni had been indubitably noble for several generations1 there was nothing despicable in his desire to raise his kinsfolk to their proper station4 ,almost culpably careless in all things that concerned his health and comfort1 he spent his earnings for the welfare of his brothers1 in order that an honourable posterity might carry on the name he bore1 and which he made illustrious4 ,we may smile at his peevishness in repudiating the title of sculptor after bearing it through so many years of glorious labour2 but when he penned the letters ,i have quoted1 he was the supreme artist of ,italy1 renowned as painter1 architect1 military engineer2 praised as a poet2 befriended with the best and greatest of his contemporaries2 recognised as unique1 not only in the art of sculpture4 ,if he felt some pride of race1 we cannot blame the plain-liver and high-thinker1 who1 robbing himself of luxuries and necessaries even1 enabled his kinsmen to maintain their rank among folk gently born and nobly nurtured4 ,,iii ,in ,june #aeae ,michelangelo was still working at the tomb of ,julius4 ,but a letter to ,buonarroto shows that he was already afraid of being absorbed for other purposes by ,leo3 ,i am forced to put great strain upon myself this summer in order to complete my undertaking2 for ,i think that ,i shall soon be obliged to enter the ,pope's service4 ,for this reason1 ,i have bought some twenty migliaia measure of weight of brass to cast certain figures4 ,the monument then was so far advanced that1 beside having a good number of the marble statues nearly finished1 he was on the point of executing the bronze reliefs which filled their interspaces4 ,we have also reason to believe that the architectural basis forming the foundation of the sepulchre had been brought well forward1 since it is mentioned1 in the next ensuing contracts4 ,just at this point1 however1 when two or three years of steady labour would have sufficed to terminate this mount of sculptured marble1 ,leo diverted ,michelangelo's energies from the work1 and wasted them in schemes that came to nothing4 ,when ,buonarroti penned that sonnet in which he called the ,pope his ,medusa1 he might well have been thinking of ,leo1 though the poem ought probably to be referred to the earlier pontificate of ,julius4 ,certainly the ,medici did more than the ,delia ,rovere to paralyse his power and turn the life within him into stone4 ,writing to ,sebastiano del ,piombo in #aeba1 ,michelangelo shows how fully he was aware of this4 ,he speaks of the three years ,i have lost4 ,a meeting had been arranged for the late autumn of #aeae between ,leo ,x4 and ,francis ,i4 at ,bologna4 ,the ,pope left ,rome early in ,november1 and reached ,florence on the #cjth4 ,the whole city burst into a tumult of jubilation1 shouting the ,medicean cry of ,palle as ,leo passed slowly through the streets1 raised in his pontifical chair upon the shoulders of his running footmen4 ,buonarroto wrote a long and interesting account of this triumphal entry to his brother in ,rome4 ,he describes how a procession was formed by the ,pope's court and guard and the gentlemen of ,florence4 ,among the rest1 there went a bevy of young men1 the noblest in our commonwealth1 all dressed alike with doublets of violet satin1 holding gilded staves in their hands4 ,they paced before the ,papal chair1 a brave sight to see4 ,and first there marched his guard1 and then his grooms1 who carried him aloft beneath a rich canopy of brocade1 which was sustained by members of the ,college1 while round about the chair walked the ,signory4 ,the procession moved onward to the ,church of ,s4 ,maria del ,fiore1 where the ,pope stayed to perform certain ceremonies at the high altar1 after which he was carried to his apartments at ,s4 ,maria ,novella4 ,buonarroto was one of the ,priors during this month1 and accordingly he took an official part in all the entertainments and festivities1 which continued for three days4 ,on the #crd of ,december ,leo left ,florence for ,bologna1 where ,francis arrived upon the #aath4 ,their conference lasted till the #aeth1 when ,francis returned to ,milan4 ,on the #ahth ,leo began his journey back to ,florence1 which he re-entered on the #bbnd4 ,on ,christmas day 7,buonarroto writes ,pasgua7 a grand ,mass was celebrated at ,s4 ,maria ,novella1 at which the ,signory attended4 ,the ,pope celebrated in person1 and1 according to custom on high state occasions1 the water with which he washed his hands before and during the ceremony had to be presented by personages of importance4 ,this duty1 says ,buonarroto1 fell first to one of the ,signori1 who was ,giannozzo ,salviati2 and as ,i happened that morning to be ,proposto1 ,i went the second time to offer water to his ,holiness2 the third time1 this was done by the ,duke of ,camerino1 and the fourth time by the ,gonfalonier of ,justice4 ,buonarroto remarks that he feels pretty certain it will be all the same to ,michelangelo whether he hears or does not hear about these matters4 ,yet1 from time to time1 when ,i have leisure1 ,i scribble a few lines4 ,buonarroto himself was interested in this event2 for1 having been one of the ,priors1 he received from ,leo the title of ,count ,palatine1 with reversion to all his posterity4 ,moreover1 for honourable addition to his arms1 he was allowed to bear a chief charged with the ,medicean ball and fleur-de-lys1 between the capital letters ,l4 and ,x4 ,whether ,leo conceived the plan of finishing the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo at ,florence before he left ,rome1 or whether it occurred to him during this visit1 is not certain4 ,the church had been erected by the ,medici and other magnates from ,brunelleschi's designs1 and was perfect except for the faade4 ,in its sacristy lay the mortal remains of ,cosimo1 ,lorenzo the ,magnificent1 and many other members of the ,medicean family4 ,here ,leo came on the first ,sunday in ,advent to offer up prayers1 and the ,pope is said to have wept upon his father's tomb4 ,it may possibly have been on this occasion that he adopted the scheme so fatal to the happiness of the great sculptor4 ,condivi clearly did not know what led to ,michelangelo's employment on the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo1 and ,vasari's account of the transaction is involved4 ,both1 however1 assert that he was wounded1 even to tears1 at having to abandon the monument of ,julius1 and that he prayed in vain to be relieved of the new and uncongenial task4 ,,iv ,leo at first intended to divide the work between several masters1 giving ,buonarroti the general direction of the whole4 ,he ordered ,giuliano da ,san ,gallo1 ,raffaello da ,urbino1 ,baccio d',agnolo1 ,andrea and ,jacopo ,sansovino to prepare plans4 ,while these were in progress1 ,michelangelo also thought that he would try his hand at a design4 ,as ill-luck ruled1 ,leo preferred his sketch to all the rest4 ,vasari adds that his unwillingness to be associated with any other artist in the undertaking1 and his refusal to follow the plans of an architect1 prevented the work from being executed1 and caused the men selected by ,leo to return in desperation to their ordinary pursuits4 ,there may be truth in the report2 for it is certain that1 after ,michelangelo had been forced to leave the tomb of ,julius and to take part in the faade1 he must have claimed to be sole master of the business4 ,the one thing we know about his mode of operation is1 that he brooked no rival near him1 mistrusted collaborators1 and found it difficult to co-operate even with the drudges whom he hired at monthly wages4 ,light is thrown upon these dissensions between ,michelangelo and his proposed assistants by a letter which ,jacopo ,sansovino wrote to him at ,carrara1 on the #cjth of ,june #aeag4 ,he betrays his animus at the commencement by praising ,baccio ,bandinelli1 to mention whom in the same breath with ,buonarroti was an insult4 ,then he proceeds3 ,the ,pope1 the ,cardinal1 and ,jacopo ,salviati are men who when they say yes1 it is a written contract1 inasmuch as they are true to their word1 and not what you pretend them to be4 ,you measure them with your own rod2 for neither contracts nor plighted troth avail with you1 who are always saying nay and yea1 according as you think it profitable4 ,i must inform you1 too1 that the ,pope promised me the sculptures1 and so did ,salviati2 and they are men who will maintain me in my right to them4 ,in what concerns you1 ,i have done all ,i could to promote your interests and honour1 not having earlier perceived that you never conferred a benefit on any one1 and that1 beginning with myself1 to expect kindness from you1 would be the same as wanting water not to wet4 ,i have reason for what ,i say1 since we have often met together in familiar converse1 and may the day be cursed on which you ever said any good about anybody on earth4 ,how ,michelangelo answered this intemperate and unjust invective is not known to us4 ,in some way or other the quarrel between the two sculptors must have been made up--probably through a frank apology on ,sansovino's part4 ,when ,michelangelo1 in #aebd1 supplied the ,duke of ,sessa with a sketch for the sepulchral monument to be erected for himself and his wife1 he suggested that ,sansovino should execute the work1 proving thus by acts how undeserved the latter's hasty words had been4 ,the ,church of ,s4 ,lorenzo exists now just as it was before the scheme for its faade occurred to ,leo4 ,not the smallest part of that scheme was carried into effect1 and large masses of the marbles quarried for the edifice lay wasted on the ,tyrrhene sea-shore4 ,we do not even know what design ,michelangelo adopted4 ,a model may be seen in the ,accademia at ,florence ascribed to ,baccio d',agnolo1 and there is a drawing of a faade in the ,uffizi attributed1 to ,michelangelo1 both of which have been supposed to have some connection with ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,it is hardly possible1 however1 that ,buonarroti's competitors could have been beaten from the field by things so spiritless and ugly4 ,a pen-and-ink drawing at the ,museo ,buonarroti possesses greater merit1 find may perhaps have been a first rough sketch for the faade4 ,it is not drawn to scale or worked out in the manner of practical architects2 but the sketch exhibits features which we know to have existed in ,buonarroti's plan--masses of sculpture1 with extensive bas-reliefs in bronze4 ,in form the faade would not have corresponded to ,brunelleschi's building4 ,that1 however1 signified nothing to ,italian architects1 who were satisfied when the frontispiece to a church or palace agreeably masked what lay behind it4 ,as a frame for sculpture1 the design might have served its purpose1 though there are large spaces difficult to account for2 and spiteful folk were surely justified in remarking to the ,pope that no one life sufficed for the performance of the whole4 ,nothing testifies more plainly to the ascendancy which this strange man acquired over the imagination of his contemporaries1 while yet comparatively young1 than the fact that ,michelangelo had to relinquish work for which he was pre-eminently fitted 7the tomb of ,julius7 for work to which his previous studies and his special inclinations in no-wise called him4 ,he undertook the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo reluctantly1 with tears in his eyes and dolour in his bosom1 at the ,pope ,medusa's bidding4 ,he was compelled to recommence art at a point which hitherto possessed for him no practical importance4 ,the drawings of the tomb1 the sketch of the faade1 prove that in architecture he was still a novice4 ,hitherto1 he regarded building as the background to sculpture1 or the surface on which frescoes might be limned4 ,to achieve anything great in this new sphere implied for him a severe course of preliminary studies4 ,it depends upon our final estimate of ,michelangelo as an architect whether we regard the three years spent in ,leo's service for ,s4 ,lorenzo as wasted4 ,being what he was1 it is certain that1 when the commission had been given1 and he determined to attack his task alone1 the man set himself down to grasp the principles of construction4 ,there was leisure enough for such studies in the years during which we find him moodily employed among ,tuscan quarries4 ,the question is whether this strain upon his richly gifted genius did not come too late4 ,when called to paint the ,sistine1 he complained that painting was no art of his4 ,he painted1 and produced a masterpiece2 but sculpture still remained the major influence in all he wrought there4 ,now he was bidden to quit both sculpture and painting for another field1 and1 as ,vasari hints1 he would not work under the guidance of men trained to architecture4 ,the result was that ,michelangelo applied himself to building with the full-formed spirit of a figurative artist4 ,the obvious defects and the salient qualities of all he afterwards performed as architect seem due to the forced diversion of his talent at this period to a type of art he had not properly assimilated4 ,architecture was not the natural mistress of his spirit4 ,he bent his talents to her service at a ,pontiff's word1 and1 with the honest devotion to work which characterised the man1 he produced renowned monuments stamped by his peculiar style4 ,nevertheless1 in building1 he remains a sublime amateur1 aiming at scenical effect1 subordinating construction to decoration1 seeking ever back toward opportunities for sculpture or for fresco1 and occasionally 7as in the cupola of ,s4 ,peter's7 hitting upon a thought beyond the reach of inferior minds4 ,the paradox implied in this diversion of our hero from the path he ought to have pursued may be explained in three ways4 ,first1 he had already come to be regarded as a man of unique ability1 from whom everything could be demanded4 ,next1 it was usual for the masters of the ,renaissance1 from ,leo ,battista ,alberti down to ,raffaello da ,urbino and ,lionardo da ,vinci1 to undertake all kinds of technical work intrusted to their care by patrons4 ,finally1 ,michelangelo1 though he knew that sculpture was his goddess1 and never neglected her first claim upon his genius1 felt in him that burning ambition for greatness1 that desire to wrestle with all forms of beauty and all depths of science1 which tempted him to transcend the limits of a single art and try his powers in neighbour regions4 ,he was a man born to aim at all1 to dare all1 to embrace all1 to leave his personality deep-trenched on all the provinces of art he chose to traverse4 ,v ,the whole of #aeaf and #aeag elapsed before ,leo's plans regarding ,s4 ,lorenzo took a definite shape4 ,yet we cannot help imagining that when ,michelangelo cancelled his first contract with the executors of ,julius1 and adopted a reduced plan for the monument1 he was acting under ,papal pressure4 ,this was done at ,rome in ,july1 and much against the will of both parties4 ,still it does not appear that any one contemplated the abandonment of the scheme2 for ,buonarroti bound himself to perform his new contract within the space of nine years1 and to engage in no work of great importance which should interfere with its fulfilment4 ,he spent a large part of the year #aeaf at ,carrara1 quarrying marbles1 and even hired the house of a certain ,francesco ,pelliccia in that town4 ,on the #ast of ,november he signed an agreement with the same ,pelliccia involving the purchase of a vast amount of marble1 whereby the said ,pelliccia undertook to bring down four statues of #d-a_/b cubits each and fifteen of #d-a_/d cubits from the quarries where they were being rough-hewn4 ,it was the custom to block out columns1 statues1 c41 on the spot where the stone had been excavated1 in order1 probably1 to save weight when hauling4 ,thus the blocks arrived at the sea-shore with rudely adumbrated outlines of the shape they were destined to assume under the artist's chisel4 ,it has generally been assumed that the nineteen figures in question were intended for the tomb4 ,what makes this not quite certain1 however1 is that the contract of ,july specifies a greatly reduced quantity and scale of statues4 ,therefore they may have been intended for the faade4 ,anyhow1 the contract above-mentioned with ,francesco ,pelliccia was cancelled on the #gth of ,april following1 for reasons which will presently appear4 ,during the month of ,november #aeaf ,michelangelo received notice from the ,pope that he was wanted in ,rome4 ,about the same time news reached him from ,florence of his father's severe illness4 ,on the #bcrd he wrote as follows to ,buonarroto3 ,i gathered from your last that ,lodovico was on the point of dying1 and how the doctor finally pronounced that if nothing new occurred he might be considered out of danger4 ,since it is so1 ,i shall not prepare to come to ,florence1 for it would be very inconvenient4 ,still1 if there is danger1 ,i should desire to see him1 come what might1 before he died1 if even ,i had to die together with him4 ,i have good hope1 however1 that he will get well1 and so ,i do not come4 ,and if he should have a relapse--from which may ,god preserve him and us--see that he lacks nothing for his spiritual welfare and the sacraments of the ,church1 and find out from him if he wishes us to do anything for his soul4 ,also1 for the necessaries of the body1 take care that he lacks nothing2 for ,i have laboured only and solely for him1 to help him in his needs before he dies4 ,so bid your wife look with loving-kindness to his household affairs4 ,i will make everything good to her and all of you1 if it be necessary4 ,do not have the least hesitation1 even if you have to expend all that we possess4 ,we may assume that the subsequent reports regarding ,lodovico's health were satisfactory2 for on the #eth of ,december ,michelangelo set out for ,rome4 ,the executors of ,julius had assigned him free quarters in a house situated in the ,trevi district1 opposite the public road which leads to ,s4 ,maria del ,loreto4 ,here1 then1 he probably took up his abode4 ,we have seen that he had bound himself to finish the monument of ,julius within the space of nine years1 and to engage in no work of great moment which should interfere with its performance4 ,how this clause came to be inserted in a deed inspired by ,leo is one of the difficulties with which the whole tragedy of the sepulchre bristles4 ,perhaps we ought to conjecture that the ,pope's intentions with regard to the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo only became settled in the late autumn4 ,at any rate1 he had now to transact with the executors of ,julius1 who were obliged to forego the rights over ,michelangelo's undivided energies which they had acquired by the clause ,i have just cited4 ,they did so with extreme reluctance1 and to the bitter disappointment of the sculptor1 who saw the great scheme of his manhood melting into air1 dwindling in proportions1 becoming with each change less capable of satisfactory performance4 ,having at last definitely entered the service of ,pope ,leo1 ,michelangelo travelled to ,florence1 and intrusted ,baccio d',agnolo with the construction of the model of his faade4 ,it may have been upon the occasion of this visit that one of his father's whimsical fits of temper called out a passionate and sorry letter from his son4 ,it appears that ,pietro ,urbano1 ,michelangelo's trusty henchman at this period1 said something which angered ,lodovico1 and made him set off in a rage to ,settignano3-- ,dearest ,father1--,i marvelled much at what had happened to you the other day1 when ,i did not find you at home4 ,and now1 hearing that you complain of me1 and say that ,i have turned you out of doors1 ,i marvel much the more1 inasmuch as ,i know for certain that never once from the day that ,i was born till now had ,i a single thought of doing anything or small or great which went against you2 and all this time the labours ,i have undergone have been for the love of you alone4 ,since ,i returned from ,rome to ,florence1 you know that ,i have always cared for you1 and you know that all that belongs to me ,i have bestowed on you4 ,some days ago1 then1 when you were ill1 ,i promised solemnly never to fail you in anything within the scope of my whole faculties so long as my life lasts2 and this ,i again affirm4 ,now ,i am amazed that you should have forgotten everything so soon4 ,and yet you have learned to know me by experience these thirty years1 you and your sons1 and are well aware that ,i have always thought and acted1 so far as ,i was able1 for your good4 ,how can you go about saying ,i have turned you out of doors8 ,do you not see what a reputation you have given me by saying ,i have turned you out8 ,only this was wanting to complete my tale of troubles1 all of which ,i suffer for your love4 ,you repay me well1 forsooth4 ,but let it be as it must3 ,i am willing to acknowledge that ,i have always brought shame and loss on you1 and on this supposition ,i beg your pardon4 ,reckon that you are pardoning a son who has lived a bad life and done you all the harm which it is possible to do4 ,and so ,i once again implore you to pardon me1 scoundrel that ,i am1 and not bring on me the reproach of having turned you out of doors2 for that matters more than you imagine to me4 ,after all1 ,i am your son4 ,from ,florence ,michelangelo proceeded again to ,carrara for the quarrying of marble4 ,this was on the last day of ,december4 ,from his domestic correspondence we find that he stayed there until at least the #acth of ,march #aeag2 but he seems to have gone to ,florence just about that date1 in order to arrange matters with ,baccio d',agnolo about the model4 ,a fragmentary letter to ,buonarroto1 dated ,march #ac1 shows that he had begun a model of his own at ,carrara1 and that he no longer needed ,baccio's assistance4 ,on his arrival at ,florence he wrote to ,messer ,buoninsegni1 who acted as intermediary at ,rome between himself and the ,pope in all things that concerned the faade3 ,messer ,domenico1 ,i have come to ,florence to see the model which ,baccio has finished1 and find it a mere child's plaything4 ,if you think it best to have it sent1 write to me4 ,i leave again to-morrow for ,carrara1 where ,i have begun to make a model in clay with ,grassa a stone-hewer from ,settignano4 ,then he adds that1 in the long run1 he believes that he shall have to make the model himself1 which distresses him on account of the ,pope and the ,cardinal ,giulio4 ,lastly1 he informs his correspondent that he has contracted with two separate companies for two hundred cartloads of ,carrara marble4 ,an important letter to the same ,domenico ,buoninsegni1 dated ,carrara1 ,may #b1 #aeag1 proves that ,michelangelo had become enthusiastic about his new design4 ,i have many things to say to you4 ,so ,i beg you to take some patience when you read my words1 because it is a matter of moment4 ,well1 then1 ,i feel it in me to make this faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo such that it shall be a mirror of architecture and of sculpture to all ,italy4 ,but the ,pope and the ,cardinal must decide at once whether they want to have it done or not4 ,if they desire it1 then they must come to some definite arrangement1 either intrusting the whole to me on contract1 and leaving me a free hand1 or adopting some other plan which may occur to them1 and about which ,i can form no idea4 ,he proceeds at some length to inform ,buoninsegni of various transactions regarding the purchase of marble1 and the difficulties he encounters in procuring perfect blocks4 ,his estimate for the costs of the whole faade is #ce1jjj golden ducats1 and he offers to carry the work through for that sum in six years4 ,meanwhile he peremptorily demands an immediate settlement of the business1 stating that he is anxious to leave ,carrara4 ,the vigorous tone of this document is unmistakable4 ,it seems to have impressed his correspondents2 for ,buoninsegni replies upon the #hth of ,may that the ,cardinal expressed the highest satisfaction at the great heart he had for conducting the work of the faade4 ,at the same time the ,pope was anxious to inspect the model4 ,leo1 ,i fancy1 was always more than half-hearted about the faade4 ,he did not personally sympathise with ,michelangelo's character2 and1 seeing what his tastes were1 it is impossible that he can have really appreciated the quality of his genius4 ,giulio de' ,medici1 afterwards ,pope ,clement ,,vii41 was more in sympathy with ,buonarroti both as artist and as man4 ,to him we may with probability ascribe the impulse given at this moment to the project4 ,after several visits to ,florence during the summer1 and much correspondence with the ,medici through their ,roman agent1 ,michelangelo went finally1 upon the #cast of ,august1 to have the model completed under his own eyes by a workman in his native city4 ,it was carefully constructed of wood1 showing the statuary in wax-relief4 ,nearly four months were expended on this miniature4 ,the labour was lost1 for not a vestige of it now remains4 ,near the end of ,december he despatched his servant1 ,pietro ,urbano1 with the finished work to ,rome4 ,on the #bith of that month1 ,urbano writes that he exposed the model in ,messer ,buoninsegni's apartment1 and that the ,pope and ,cardinal were very well pleased with it4 ,buoninsegni wrote to the same effect1 adding1 however1 that folk said it could never be finished in the sculptor's lifetime1 and suggesting that ,michelangelo should hire assistants from ,milan1 where he1 ,buoninsegni1 had seen excellent stonework in progress at the ,duomo4 ,some time in ,january #aeah1 ,michelangelo travelled to ,rome1 conferred with ,leo1 and took the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo on contract4 ,in ,february he returned by way of ,florence to ,carrara1 where the quarry-masters were in open rebellion against him1 and refused to carry out their contracts4 ,this forced him to go to ,genoa1 and hire ships there for the transport of his blocks4 ,then the ,carraresi corrupted the captains of these boats1 and drove ,michelangelo to ,pisa 7,april #g71 where he finally made an arrangement with a certain ,francesco ,peri to ship the marbles lying on the sea-shore at ,carrara4 ,the reason of this revolt against him at ,carrara may be briefly stated4 ,the ,medici determined to begin working the old marble quarries of ,pietra ,santa1 on the borders of the ,florentine domain1 and this naturally aroused the commercial jealousy of the folk at ,carrara4 ,information1 says ,condivi1 was sent to ,pope ,leo that marbles could be found in the high-lands above ,pietra ,santa1 fully equal in quality and beauty to those of ,carrara4 ,michelangelo1 having been sounded on the subject1 chose to go on quarrying at ,carrara rather than to take those belonging to the ,state of ,florence4 ,this he did because he was befriended with the ,marchese ,alberigo1 and lived on a good understanding with him4 ,the ,pope wrote to ,michelangelo1 ordering him to repair to ,pietra ,santa1 and see whether the information he had received from ,florence was correct4 ,he did so1 and ascertained that the marbles were very hard to work1 and ill-adapted to their purpose2 even had they been of the proper kind1 it would be difficult and costly to convey them to the sea4 ,a road of many miles would have to be made through the mountains with pick and crowbar1 and along the plain on piles1 since the ground there was marshy4 ,michelangelo wrote all this to the ,pope1 who preferred1 however1 to believe the persons who had written to him from ,florence4 ,so he ordered him to construct the road4 ,the road1 it may parenthetically be observed1 was paid for by the wealthy ,wool ,corporation of ,florence1 who wished to revive this branch of ,florentine industry4 ,michelangelo1 carrying out the ,pope's commands1 had the road laid down1 and transported large quantities of marbles to the sea-shore4 ,among these were five columns of the proper dimensions1 one of which may be seen upon the ,piazza di ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,the other four1 forasmuch as the ,pope changed his mind and turned his thoughts elsewhere1 are still lying on the sea-beach4 ,now the ,marquis of ,carrara1 deeming that ,michelangelo had developed the quarries at ,pietra ,santa out of ,florentine patriotism1 became his enemy1 and would not suffer him to return to ,carrara1 for certain blocks which had been excavated there3 all of which proved the source of great loss to ,michelangelo4 ,when the contract with ,francesco ,pellicia was cancelled1 ,april #g1 #aeag1 the project for developing the ,florentine stone-quarries does not seem to have taken shape4 ,we must assume1 therefore1 that the motive for this step was the abandonment of the tomb4 ,the ,ricordi show that ,michelangelo was still buying marbles and visiting ,carrara down to the end of ,february #aeah4 ,his correspondence from ,pietra ,santa and ,serravezza1 where he lived when he was opening the ,florentine quarries of ,monte ,altissimo1 does not begin1 with any certainty1 until ,march #aeah4 ,we have indeed one letter written to ,girolamo del ,bardella of ,porto ,venere upon the #fth of ,august1 without date of year4 ,this was sent from ,serravezza1 and ,milanesi1 when he first made use of it1 assigned it to #aeag4 ,gotti1 following that indication1 asserts that ,michelangelo began his operations at ,monte ,altissimo in ,july #aeag2 but ,milanesi afterwards changed his opinion1 and assigned it to the year #aeai4 ,i believe he was right1 because the first letter1 bearing a certain date from ,pietra ,santa1 was written in ,march #aeah to ,pietro ,urbano4 ,it contains the account of ,michelangelo's difficulties with the ,carraresi1 and his journey to ,genoa and ,pisa4 ,we have1 therefore1 every reason to believe that he finally abandoned ,carrara1 for ,pietra ,santa at the end of ,february #aeah4 ,pietra ,santa is a little city on the ,tuscan seaboard2 ,serravezza is a still smaller fortress-town at the foot of the ,carrara mountains4 ,monte ,altissimo rises above it2 and on the flanks of that great hill lie the quarries ,della ,finocchiaja1 which ,michelangelo opened at the command of ,pope ,leo4 ,it was not without reluctance that ,michelangelo departed from ,carrara1 offending the ,marquis ,malaspina1 breaking his contracts1 and disappointing the folk with whom he had lived on friendly terms ever since his first visit in #aeje4 ,a letter from the ,cardinal ,giulio de' ,medici shows that great pressure was put upon him4 ,it runs thus3 ,we have received yours1 and shown it to our ,lord the ,pope4 ,considering that all your doings are in favour of ,carrara1 you have caused his ,holiness and us no small astonishment4 ,what we heard from ,jacopo ,salviati contradicts your opinion4 ,he went to examine the marble-quarries at ,pietra ,santa1 and informed us that there are enormous quantities of stone1 excellent in quality and easy to bring down4 ,this being the case1 some suspicion has arisen in our minds that you1 for your own interests1 are too partial to the quarries of ,carrara1 and want to depreciate those of ,pietra ,santa4 ,this of a truth1 would be wrong in you1 considering the trust we have always reposed in your honesty4 ,wherefore we inform you that1 regardless of any other consideration1 his ,holiness wills that all the work to be done at ,s4 ,peter's or ,s4 ,reparata1 or on the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo1 shall be carried out with marbles supplied from ,pietra ,santa1 and no others1 for the reasons above written4 ,moreover1 we hear that they will cost less than those of ,carrara2 but1 even should they cost more1 his ,holiness is firmly resolved to act as ,i have said1 furthering the business of ,pietra ,santa for the public benefit of the city4 ,look to it1 then1 that you carry out in detail all that we have ordered without fail2 for if you do otherwise1 it will be against the expressed wishes of his ,holiness and ourselves1 and we shall have good reason to be seriously wroth with you4 ,our agent ,domenico 7,buoninsegni7 is bidden to write to the same effect4 ,reply to him how much money you want1 and quickly1 banishing from your mind every kind of obstinacy4 ,michelangelo began to work with his usual energy at roadmaking and quarrying4 ,what he learned of practical business as engineer1 architect1 master of works1 and paymaster during these years among the ,carrara mountains must have been of vast importance for his future work4 ,he was preparing himself to organise the fortifications of ,florence and the ,leonine ,city1 and to crown ,s4 ,peter's with the cupola4 ,quarrying1 as ,i have said1 implied cutting out and rough-hewing blocks exactly of the right dimensions for certain portions of a building or a piece of statuary4 ,the master was therefore obliged to have his whole plan perfect in his head before he could venture to order marble4 ,models1 drawings made to scale1 careful measurements1 were necessary at each successive step4 ,day and night ,buonarroti was at work2 in the saddle early in the morning1 among stone-cutters and road-makers2 in the evening1 studying1 projecting1 calculating1 settling up accounts by lamplight4 ,,vi ,the narrative of ,michelangelo's personal life and movements must here be interrupted in order to notice an event in which he took no common interest4 ,the members of the ,florentine ,academy addressed a memorial to ,leo ,x41 requesting him to authorise the translation of ,dante ,alighieri's bones from ,ravenna to his native city4 ,the document was drawn up in ,latin1 and dated ,october #bj1 #aeah4 ,among the names and signatures appended1 ,michelangelo's alone is written in ,italian3 ,i1 ,michelangelo1 the sculptor1 pray the like of your ,holiness1 offering my services to the divine poet for the erection of a befitting sepulchre to him in some honourable place in this city4 ,nothing resulted from this petition1 and the supreme poet's remains still rest beneath the little cupola1 more neat than solemn1 guarded by ,pietro ,lombardi's half-length portrait4 ,of ,michelangelo's special devotion to ,dante and the ,divine ,comedy we have plenty of proof4 ,in the first place1 there exist the two fine sonnets to his memory1 which were celebrated in their author's lifetime1 and still remain among the best of his performances in verse4 ,it does not appear when they were composed4 ,the first is probably earlier than the second2 for below the autograph of the latter is written1 ,messer ,donato1 you ask of me what ,i do not possess4 ,the ,donato is undoubtedly ,donato ,giannotti1 with whom ,michelangelo lived on very familiar terms at ,rome about #aede4 ,i will here insert my ,english translation of these sonnets3-- ,from heaven his spirit came1 and1 robed in clay1 ,the realms of justice and of mercy trod3 ,then rose a living man to gaze on ,god1 ,that he might make the truth as clear as day4 ,for that pure star1 that brightened with his ray ,the undeserving nest where ,i was born1 ,the whole wide world would be a prize to scorn2 ,none but his ,maker can due guerdon pay4 ,i speak of ,dante1 whose high work remains ,unknown1 unhonoured by that thankless brood1 ,who only to just men deny their wage4 ,were ,i but he6 ,born for like lingering pains1 ,against his exile coupled with his good ,i'd gladly change the world's best heritage6 ,no tongue can tell of him what should be told1 ,for on blind eyes his splendour shines too strong2 ',twere easier to blame those who wrought him wrong1 ,than sound his least praise with a mouth of gold4 ,he to explore the place of pain was bold1 ,then soared to ,god1 to teach our souls by song2 ,the gates heaven oped to bear his feet along1 ,against his just desire his country rolled4 ,thankless ,i call her1 and to her own pain ,the nurse of fell mischance2 for sign take this1 ,that ever to the best she deals more scorn2 ,among a thousand proofs let one remain2 ,though ne'er was fortune more unjust than his1 ,his equal or his better ne'er was born4 ,the influence of ,dante over ,buonarroti's style of composition impressed his contemporaries4 ,benedetto ,varchi1 in the proemium to a lecture upon one of ,michelangelo's poems1 speaks of it as a most sublime sonnet1 full of that antique purity and ,dantesque gravity4 ,dante's influence over the great artist's pictorial imagination is strongly marked in the fresco of the ,last ,judgment1 where ,charon's boat1 and ,minos with his twisted tail1 are borrowed direct from the ,inferno4 ,condivi1 moreover1 informs us that the statues of the ,lives ,contemplative and ,active upon the tomb of ,julius were suggested by the ,rachel and ,leah of the ,purgatorio4 ,we also know that he filled a book with drawings illustrative of the ,divine ,comedy4 ,by a miserable accident this most precious volume1 while in the possession of ,antonio ,montauti1 the sculptor1 perished at sea on a journey from ,livorno to ,rome4 ,but the strongest proof of ,michelangelo's reputation as a learned student of ,dante is given in ,donato ,giannotti's ,dialogue upon the number of days spent by the poet during his journey through ,hell and ,purgatory4 ,luigi del ,riccio1 who was a great friend of the sculptor's1 is supposed to have been walking one day toward the ,lateran with ,antonio ,petreo4 ,their conversation fell upon ,cristoforo ,landino's theory that the time consumed by ,dante in this transit was the whole of the night of ,good ,friday1 together with the following day4 ,while engaged in this discussion1 they met ,donato ,giannotti taking the air with ,michelangelo4 ,the four friends joined company1 and ,petreo observed that it was a singular good fortune to have fallen that morning upon two such eminent ,dante scholars4 ,donato replied3 ,with regard to ,messer ,michelangelo1 you have abundant reason to say that he is an eminent ,dantista1 since ,i am acquainted with no one who understands him better and has a fuller mastery over his works4 ,it is not needful to give a detailed account of ,buonarroti's ,dantesque criticism1 reported in these dialogues1 although there are good grounds for supposing them in part to represent exactly what ,giannotti heard him say4 ,this applies particularly to his able interpretation of the reason why ,dante placed ,brutus and ,cassius in hell--not as being the murderers of a tyrant1 but as having laid violent hands upon the sacred majesty of the ,empire in the person of ,caesar4 ,the narrative of ,dante's journey through ,hell and ,purgatory1 which is put into ,michelangelo's mouth1 if we are to believe that he really made it extempore and without book1 shows a most minute knowledge of the ,inferno4 ,,vii ,michelangelo's doings at ,serravezza can be traced with some accuracy during the summers of #aeah and #aeai4 ,an important letter to ,buonarroto1 dated ,april #b1 #aeah1 proves that the execution of the road had not yet been decided on4 ,he is impatient to hear whether the ,wool ,corporation has voted the necessary funds and appointed him to engineer it4 ,with regard to the construction of the road here1 please tell ,jacopo ,salviati that ,i shall carry out his wishes1 and he will not be betrayed by me4 ,i do not look after any interests of my own in this matter1 but seek to serve my patrons and my country4 ,if ,i begged the ,pope and ,cardinal to give me full control over the business1 it was that ,i might be able to conduct it to those places where the best marbles are4 ,nobody here knows anything about them4 ,i did not ask for the commission in order to make money2 nothing of the sort is in my head4 ,this proves conclusively that much which has been written about the waste of ,michelangelo's abilities on things a lesser man might have accomplished is merely sentimental4 ,on the contrary1 he was even accused of begging for the contract from a desire to profit by it4 ,in another letter1 of ,april #ah1 the decision of the ,wool ,corporation was still anxiously expected4 ,michelangelo gets impatient4 ,i shall mount my horse1 and go to find the ,pope and ,cardinal1 tell them how it is with me1 leave the business here1 and return to ,carrara4 ,the folk there pray for my return as one is wont to pray to ,christ4 ,then he complains of the worthlessness and disloyalty of the stone-hewers he brought from ,florence1 and winds up with an angry postscript3 ,oh1 cursed a thousand times the day and hour when ,i left ,carrara6 ,this is the cause of my utter ruin4 ,but ,i shall go back there soon4 ,nowadays it is a sin to do one's duty4 ,on the #bbnd of ,april the ,wool ,corporation assigned to ,michelangelo a contract for the quarries1 leaving him free to act as he thought best4 ,complaints follow about his workmen4 ,one passage is curious3 ,sandro1 he too has gone away from here4 ,he stopped several months with a mule and a little mule in grand style1 doing nothing but fish and make love4 ,he cost me a hundred ducats to no purpose2 has left a certain quantity of marble1 giving me the right to take the blocks that suit my purpose4 ,however1 ,i cannot find among them what is worth twenty-five ducats1 the whole being a jumble of rascally work4 ,either maliciously or through ignorance1 he has treated me very ill4 ,upon the #agth ,april #aeag1 ,michelangelo had bought a piece of ground in ,via ,mozza1 now ,via ,s4 ,zanobi1 at ,florence1 from the ,chapter of ,s4 ,maria del ,fiore1 in order to build a workshop there4 ,he wished1 about the time of the last letter quoted1 to get an additional lot of land1 in order to have larger space at his command for the finishing of marbles4 ,the negotiations went on through the summer of #aeah1 and on the #bdth of ,november he records that the purchase was completed4 ,premises adapted to the sculptor's purpose were erected1 which remained in ,michelangelo's possession until the close of his life4 ,in ,august #aeah he writes to a friend at ,florence that the road is now as good as finished1 and that he is bringing down his columns4 ,the work is more difficult than he expected4 ,one man's life had been already thrown away1 and ,michelangelo himself was in great danger4 ,the place where we have to quarry is exceedingly rough1 and the workmen are very stupid at their business4 ,for some months ,i must make demands upon my powers of patience until the mountains are tamed and the men instructed4 ,afterwards we shall proceed more quickly4 ,enough1 that ,i mean to do what ,i promised1 and shall produce the finest thing that ,italy has ever seen1 if ,god assists me4 ,there is no want of heart and spirit in these letters4 ,irritable at moments1 ,michelangelo was at bottom enthusiastic1 and1 like ,napoleon ,buonaparte1 felt capable of conquering the world with his sole arm4 ,in ,september we find him back again at ,florence1 where he seems to have spent the winter4 ,his friends wanted him to go to ,rome2 they thought that his presence there was needed to restore the confidence of the ,medici and to overpower calumniating rivals4 ,in reply to a letter of admonition written in this sense by his friend ,lionardo di ,compagno1 the saddle-maker1 he writes3 ,your urgent solicitations are to me so many stabs of the knife4 ,i am dying of annoyance at not being able to do what ,i should like to do1 through my ill-luck4 ,at the same time he adds that he has now arranged an excellent workshop1 where twenty statues can be set up together4 ,the drawback is that there are no means of covering the whole space in and protecting it against the weather4 ,this yard1 encumbered with the marbles for ,s4 ,lorenzo1 must have been in the ,via ,mozza4 ,early in the spring he removed to ,serravezza1 and resumed the work of bringing down his blocked-out columns from the quarries4 ,one of these pillars1 six of which he says were finished1 was of huge size1 intended probably for the flanks to the main door at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,it tumbled into the river1 and was smashed to pieces4 ,michelangelo attributed the accident solely to the bad quality of iron which a rascally fellow had put into the lewis-ring by means of which the block was being raised4 ,on this occasion he again ran considerable risk of injury1 and suffered great annoyance4 ,the following letter of condolence1 written by ,jacopo ,salviati1 proves how much he was grieved1 and also shows that he lived on excellent terms with the ,pope's right-hand man and counsellor3 ,keep up your spirits and proceed gallantly with your great enterprise1 for your honour requires this1 seeing you have commenced the work4 ,confide in me2 nothing will be amiss with you1 and our ,lord is certain to compensate you for far greater losses than this4 ,have no doubt upon this point1 and if you want one thing more than another1 let me know1 and you shall be served immediately4 ,remember that your undertaking a work of such magnitude will lay our city under the deepest obligation1 not only to yourself1 but also to your family for ever4 ,great men1 and of courageous spirit1 take heart under adversities1 and become more energetic4 ,a pleasant thread runs through ,michelangelo's correspondence during these years4 ,it is the affection he felt for his workman ,pietro ,urbano4 ,when he leaves the young man behind him at ,florence1 he writes frequently1 giving him advice1 bidding him mind his studies1 and also telling him to confess4 ,it happened that ,urbano fell ill at ,carrara1 toward the end of ,august4 ,michelangelo1 on hearing the news1 left ,florence and travelled by post to ,carrara4 ,thence he had his friend transported on the backs of men to ,serravezza1 and after his recovery sent him to pick up strength in his native city of ,pistoja4 ,in one of the ,ricordi he reckons the cost of all this at #cc-a_/b ducats4 ,while ,michelangelo was residing at ,pietra ,santa in #aeah1 his old friend and fellow-worker1 ,pietro ,rosselli1 wrote to him from ,rome1 asking his advice about a tabernacle of marble which ,pietro ,soderini had ordered4 ,it was to contain the head of ,s4 ,john the ,baptist1 and to be placed in the ,church of the ,convent of ,s4 ,silvestro4 ,on the #gth of ,june ,soderini wrote upon the same topic1 requesting a design4 ,this ,michelangelo sent in ,october1 the execution of the shrine being intrusted to ,federigo ,frizzi4 ,the incident would hardly be worth mentioning1 except for the fact that it brings to mind one of ,michelangelo's earliest patrons1 the good-hearted ,gonfalonier of ,justice1 and anticipates the coming of the only woman he is known to have cared for1 ,vittoria ,colonna4 ,it was at ,s4 ,silvestro that she dwelt1 retired in widowhood1 and here occurred those ,sunday morning conversations of which ,francesco d',olanda has left us so interesting a record4 ,during the next year1 #aeai1 a certain ,tommaso di ,dolfo invited him to visit ,adrianople4 ,he reminded him how1 coming together in ,florence1 when ,michelangelo lay there in hiding from ,pope ,julius1 they had talked about the ,east1 and he had expressed a wish to travel into ,turkey4 ,tommaso di ,dolfo dissuaded him on that occasion1 because the ruler of the province was a man of no taste and careless about the arts4 ,things had altered since1 and he thought there was a good opening for an able sculptor4 ,things1 however1 had altered in ,italy also1 and ,buonarroti felt no need to quit the country where his fame was growing daily4 ,considerable animation is introduced into the annals of ,michelangelo's life at this point by his correspondence with jovial ,sebastiano del ,piombo4 ,we possess one of this painter's letters1 dating as early as #aeaj1 when he thanks ,buonarroti for consenting to be godfather to his boy ,luciano2 a second of #aeab1 which contains the interesting account of his conversation with ,pope ,julius about ,michelangelo and ,raffaello2 and a third1 of #aeah1 turning upon the rivalry between the two great artists4 ,but the bulk of ,sebastiano's gossipy and racy communications belongs to the period of thirteen years between #aebj and #aecc2 then it suddenly breaks off1 owing to ,michelangelo's having taken up his residence at ,rome during the autumn of #aecc4 ,a definite rupture at some subsequent period separated the old friends4 ,these letters are a mine of curious information respecting artistic life at ,rome4 ,they prove1 beyond the possibility of doubt1 that1 whatever ,buonarroti and ,sanzio may have felt1 their flatterers1 dependants1 and creatures cherished the liveliest hostility and lived in continual rivalry4 ,it is somewhat painful to think that ,michelangelo could have lent a willing ear to the malignant babble of a man so much inferior to himself in nobleness of nature--have listened when ,sebastiano taunted ,raffaello as ,prince of the ,synagogue1 or boasted that a picture of his own was superior to the tapestries just come from ,flanders4 ,yet ,sebastiano was not the only friend to whose idle gossip the great sculptor indulgently stooped4 ,lionardo1 the saddle-maker1 was even more offensive4 ,he writes1 for instance1 upon ,new ,year's ,day1 #aeai1 to say that the ,resurrection of ,lazarus1 for which ,michelangelo had contributed some portion of the design1 was nearly finished1 and adds3 ,those who understand art rank it far above ,raffaello4 ,the vault1 too1 of ,agostino ,chigi has been exposed to view1 and is a thing truly disgraceful to a great artist1 far worse than the last hall of the ,palace4 ,sebastiano has nothing to fear4 ,we gladly turn from these quarrels to what ,sebastiano teaches us about ,michelangelo's personal character4 ,the general impression in the world was that he was very difficult to live with4 ,julius1 for instance1 after remarking that ,raffaello changed his style in imitation of ,buonarroti1 continued3 ',but he is terrible1 as you see2 one cannot get on with him4' ,i answered to his ,holiness that your terribleness hurt nobody1 and that you only seem to be terrible because of your passionate devotion to the great works you have on hand4 ,again1 he relates ,leo's estimate of his friend's character3 ,i know in what esteem the ,pope holds you1 and when he speaks of you1 it would seem that he were talking about a brother1 almost with tears in his eyes2 for he has told me you were brought up together as boys 7,giovanni de' ,medici and the sculptor were exactly of the same age71 and shows that he knows and loves you4 ,but you frighten everybody1 even ,popes6 ,michelangelo must have complained of this last remark1 for ,sebastiano1 in a letter dated a few days later1 reverts to the subject3 ,touching what you reply to me about your terribleness1 ,i1 for my part1 do not esteem you terrible2 and if ,i have not written on this subject do not be surprised1 seeing you do not strike me as terrible1 except only in art--that is to say1 in being the greatest master who ever lived3 that is my opinion2 if ,i am in error1 the loss is mine4 ,later on1 he tells us what ,clement ,,vii4 thought3 ,one letter to your friend 7the ,pope7 would be enough2 you would soon see what fruit it bore2 because ,i know how he values you4 ,he loves you1 knows your nature1 adores your work1 and tastes its quality as much as it is possible for man to do4 ,indeed1 his appreciation is miraculous1 and such as ought to give great satisfaction to an artist4 ,he speaks of you so honourably1 and with such loving affection1 that a father could not say of a son what he does of you4 ,it is true that he has been grieved at times by buzzings in his ear about you at the time of the siege of ,florence4 ,he shrugged his shoulders and cried1 ',michelangelo is in the wrong2 ,i never did him any injury4' ,it is interesting to find ,sebastiano1 in the same letter1 complaining of ,michelangelo's sensitiveness4 ,one favour ,i would request of you1 that is1 that you should come to learn your worth1 and not stoop as you do to every little thing1 and remember that eagles do not prey on flies4 ,enough6 ,i know that you will laugh at my prattle2 but ,i do not care2 ,nature has made me so1 and ,i am not ,zuan da ,rezzo4 ,,viii ,the year #aebj was one of much importance for ,michelangelo4 ,a ,ricordo dated ,march #aj gives a brief account of the last four years1 winding up with the notice that ,pope ,leo1 perhaps because he wants to get the faade at ,s4 ,lorenzo finished quicker than according to the contract made with me1 and ,i also consenting thereto1 sets me free 444 and so he leaves me at liberty1 under no obligation of accounting to any one for anything which ,i have had to do with him or others upon his account4 ,it appears from the draft of a letter without date that some altercation between ,michelangelo and the ,medici preceded this rupture4 ,he had been withdrawn from ,serravezza to ,florence in order that he might plan the new buildings at ,s4 ,lorenzo2 and the workmen of the ,opera del ,duomo continued the quarrying business in his absence4 ,marbles which he had excavated for ,s4 ,lorenzo were granted by the ,cardinal de' ,medici to the custodians of the cathedral1 and no attempt was made to settle accounts4 ,michelangelo's indignation was roused by this indifference to his interests1 and he complains in terms of extreme bitterness4 ,then he sums up all that he has lost1 in addition to expected profits4 ,i do not reckon the wooden model for the said faade1 which ,i made and sent to ,rome2 ,i do not reckon the period of three years wasted in this work2 ,i do not reckon that ,i have been ruined 7in health and strength perhaps7 by the undertaking2 ,i do not reckon the enormous insult put on me by being brought here to do the work1 and then seeing it taken away from me1 and for what reason ,i have not yet learned2 ,i do not reckon my house in ,rome1 which ,i left1 and where marbles1 furniture and blocked-out statues have suffered to upwards of #ejj ducats4 ,omitting all these matters1 out of the #bcjj ducats ,i received1 only #ejj remain in my hands4 ,when he was an old man1 ,michelangelo told ,condivi that ,pope ,leo changed his mind about ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,in the often-quoted letter to the prelate he said3 ,leo1 not wishing me to work at the tomb of ,julius1 pretended that he wanted to complete the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo at ,florence4 ,what was the real state of the case can only be conjectured4 ,it does not seem that the ,pope took very kindly to the faade2 so the project may merely have been dropped through carelessness4 ,michelangelo neglected his own interests by not going to ,rome1 where his enemies kept pouring calumnies into the ,pope's ears4 ,the ,marquis of ,carrara1 as reported by ,lionardo1 wrote to ,leo that he had sought to do you honour1 and had done so to his best ability4 ,it was your fault if he had not done more--the fault of your sordidness1 your quarrelsomeness1 your eccentric conduct4 ,when1 then1 a dispute arose between the ,cardinal and the sculptor about the marbles1 ,leo may have felt that it was time to break off from an artist so impetuous and irritable4 ,still1 whatever faults of temper ,michelangelo may have had1 and however difficult he was to deal with1 nothing can excuse the ,medici for their wanton waste of his physical and mental energies at the height of their development4 ,on the #fth of ,april #aebj ,raffaello died1 worn out with labour and with love1 in the flower of his wonderful young manhood4 ,it would be rash to assert that he had already given the world the best he had to offer1 because nothing is so incalculable as the evolution of genius4 ,still we perceive now that his latest manner1 both as regards style and feeling1 and also as regards the method of execution by assistants1 shows him to have been upon the verge of intellectual decline4 ,while deploring ,michelangelo's impracticability--that solitary1 self-reliant1 and exacting temperament which made him reject collaboration1 and which doomed so much of his best work to incompleteness--we must remember that to the very end of his long life he produced nothing 7except perhaps in architecture7 which does not bear the seal and superscription of his fervent self4 ,raffaello1 on the contrary1 just before his death1 seemed to be exhaling into a nebulous mist of brilliant but unsatisfactory performances4 ,diffusing the rich and facile treasures of his genius through a host of lesser men1 he had almost ceased to be a personality4 ,even his own work1 as proved by the ,transfiguration1 was deteriorating4 ,the blossom was overblown1 the bubble on the point of bursting2 and all those pupils who had gathered round him1 drawing like planets from the sun their lustre1 sank at his death into frigidity and insignificance4 ,only ,giulio ,romano burned with a torrid sensual splendour all his own4 ,fortunately for the history of the ,renaissance1 ,giulio lived to evoke the wonder of the ,mantuan villa1 that climax of associated crafts of decoration1 which remains for us the symbol of the dream of art indulged by ,raffaello in his ,roman period4 ,these pupils of the ,urbinate claimed now1 on their master's death1 and claimed with good reason1 the right to carry on his great work in the ,borgian apartments of the ,vatican4 ,the ,sala de' ,pontefici1 or the ,hall of ,constantine1 as it is sometimes called1 remained to be painted4 ,they possessed designs bequeathed by ,raffaello for its decoration1 and ,leo1 very rightly1 decided to leave it in their hands4 ,sebastiano del ,piombo1 however1 made a vigorous effort to obtain the work for himself4 ,his ,raising of ,lazarus1 executed in avowed competition with the ,transfiguration1 had brought him into the first rank of ,roman painters4 ,it was seen what the man1 with ,michelangelo to back him up1 could do4 ,we cannot properly appreciate this picture in its present state4 ,the glory of the colouring has passed away2 and it was precisely here that ,sebastiano may have surpassed ,raffaello1 as he was certainly superior to the school4 ,sebastiano wrote letter after letter to ,michelangelo in ,florence4 ,he first mentions ,raffaello's death1 whom may ,god forgive2 then says that the garzoni of the ,urbinate are beginning to paint in oil upon the walls of the ,sala de' ,pontefici4 ,i pray you to remember me1 and to recommend me to the ,cardinal1 and if ,i am the man to undertake the job1 ,i should like you to set me to work at it2 for ,i shall not disgrace you1 as indeed ,i think ,i have not done already4 ,i took my picture 7the ,lazarus7 once more to the ,vatican1 and placed it beside ,raffaello's 7the ,transfiguration71 and ,i came without shame out of the comparison4 ,in answer1 apparently1 to this first letter on the subject1 ,michelangelo wrote a humorous recommendation of his friend and gossip to the ,cardinal ,bernardo ,dovizi da ,bibbiena4 ,it runs thus3 ,i beg your most reverend ,lordship1 not as a friend or servant1 for ,i am not worthy to be either1 but as a low fellow1 poor and brainless1 that you will cause ,sebastian1 the ,venetian painter1 now that ,rafael is dead1 to have some share in the works1 at the ,palace4 ,if it should seem to your ,lordship that kind offices are thrown away upon a man like me1 ,i might suggest that on some rare occasions a certain sweetness may be found in being kind even to fools1 as onions taste well1 for a change of food1 to one who is tired of capons4 ,you oblige men of mark every day4 ,i beg your ,lordship to try what obliging me is like4 ,the obligation will be a very great one1 and ,sebastian is a worthy man4 ,if1 then1 your kind offers are thrown away on me1 they will not be so on ,sebastian1 for ,i am certain he will prove a credit to your ,lordship4 ,in his following missives ,sebastiano flatters ,michelangelo upon the excellent effect produced by the letter4 ,the ,cardinal informed me that the ,pope had given the ,hall of the ,pontiffs to ,raffaello's 'prentices1 and they have begun with a figure in oils upon the wall1 a marvellous production which eclipses all the rooms painted by their master1 and proves that when it is finished1 this hall will beat the record1 and be the finest thing done in painting since the ancients4 ,then he asked if ,i had read your letter4 ,i said1 ,no4 ,he laughed loudly1 as though at a good joke1 and ,i quitted him with compliments4 ,bandinelli1 who is copying the ,laocoon1 tells me that the ,cardinal showed him your letter1 and also showed it to the ,pope2 in fact1 nothing is talked about at the ,vatican except your letter1 and it makes everybody laugh4 ,he adds that he does not think the hall ought to be committed to young men4 ,having discovered what sort of things they meant to paint there1 battle-pieces and vast compositions1 he judges the scheme beyond their scope4 ,michelangelo alone is equal to the task4 ,meanwhile1 ,leo1 wishing to compromise matters1 offered ,sebastiano the great hall in the lower apartments of the ,borgias1 where ,alexander ,,vi4 used to live1 and where ,pinturicchio painted--rooms shut up in pious horror by ,julius when he came to occupy the palace of his hated and abominable predecessor4 ,sebastiano's reliance upon ,michelangelo1 and his calculation that the way to get possession of the coveted commission would depend on the latter's consenting to supply him with designs1 emerge in the following passage3 ,the ,cardinal told me that he was ordered by the ,pope to offer me the lower hall4 ,i replied that ,i could accept nothing without your permission1 or until your answer came1 which is not to hand at the date of writing4 ,i added that1 unless ,i were engaged to ,michelangelo1 even if the ,pope commanded me to paint that hall1 ,i would not do so1 because ,i do not think myself inferior to ,raffaello's 'prentices1 especially after the ,pope1 with his own mouth1 had offered me half of the upper hall2 and anyhow1 ,i do not regard it as creditable to myself to paint the cellars1 and they to have the gilded chambers4 ,i said they had better be allowed to go on painting4 ,he answered that the ,pope had only done this to avoid rivalries4 ,the men possessed designs ready for that hall1 and ,i ought to remember that the lower one was also a hall of the ,pontiffs4 ,my reply was that ,i would have nothing to do with it2 so that now they are laughing at me1 and ,i am so worried that ,i am well-nigh mad4 ,later on he adds3 ,it has been my object1 through you and your authority1 to execute vengeance for myself and you too1 letting malignant fellows know that there are other demigods alive beside ,raffael da ,urbino and his 'prentices4 ,the vacillation of ,leo in this business1 and his desire to make things pleasant1 are characteristic of the man1 who acted just in the same way while negotiating with princes4 ,,ix ,when ,michelangelo complained that he was rovinato per detta opera di ,san ,lorenzo1 he probably did not mean that he was ruined in purse1 but in health and energy4 ,for some while after ,leo gave him his liberty1 he seems to have remained comparatively inactive4 ,during this period the sacristy at ,s4 ,lorenzo and the ,medicean tombs were probably in contemplation4 ,giovanni ,cambi says that they were begun at the end of ,march #aebj4 ,but we first hear something definite about them in a ,ricordo which extends from ,april #i to ,august #ai1 #aeba4 ,michelangelo says that on the former of these dates he received money from the ,cardinal de' ,medici for a journey to ,carrara1 whither he went and stayed about three weeks1 ordering marbles for the tombs which are to be placed in the new sacristy at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,and there ,i made out drawings to scale1 and measured models in clay for the said tombs4 ,he left his assistant ,scipione of ,settignano at ,carrara as overseer of the work and returned to ,florence4 ,on the #bjth of ,july following he went again to ,carrara1 and stayed nine days4 ,on the #afth of ,august the contractors for the blocks1 all of which were excavated from the old ,roman quarry of ,polvaccio1 came to ,florence1 and were paid for on account4 ,scipione returned on the #aith of ,august4 ,it may be added that the name of ,stefano1 the miniaturist1 who acted as ,michelangelo's factotum through several years1 is mentioned for the first time in this minute and interesting record4 ,that the commission for the sacristy came from the ,cardinal ,giulio1 and not from the ,pope1 appears in the document ,i have just cited4 ,the fact is confirmed by a letter written to ,fattucci in #aebc3 ,about two years have elapsed since ,i returned from ,carrara1 whither ,i had gone to purchase marbles for the tombs of the ,cardinal4 ,the letter is curious in several respects1 because it shows how changeable through many months ,giulio remained about the scheme2 at one time bidding ,michelangelo prepare plans and models1 at another refusing to listen to any proposals2 then warming up again1 and saying that1 if he lived long enough1 he meant to erect the faade as well4 ,the final issue of the affair was1 that after ,giulio became ,pope ,clement ,,vii41 the sacristy went forward1 and ,michelangelo had to put the sepulchre of ,julius aside4 ,during the pontificate of ,adrian1 we must believe that he worked upon his statues for that monument1 since a ,cardinal was hardly powerful enough to command his services2 but when the ,cardinal became ,pope1 and threatened to bring an action against him for moneys received1 the case was altered4 ,the letter to ,fattucci1 when carefully studied1 leads to these conclusions4 ,very little is known to us regarding his private life in the year #aeba4 ,we only possess one letter1 relating to the purchase of a house4 ,in ,october he stood godfather to the infant son of ,niccol ,soderini1 nephew of his old patron1 the ,gonfalonier4 ,this barren period is marked by only one considerable event--that is1 the termination of the ,cristo ,risorto1 or ,christ ,triumphant1 which had been ordered by ,metello ,varj de' ,porcari in #aead4 ,the statue seems to have been rough-hewn at the quarries1 packed up1 and sent to ,pisa on its way to ,florence as early as ,december #aeah1 but it was not until ,march #aeba that ,michelangelo began to occupy himself about it seriously4 ,he then despatched ,pietro ,urbano to ,rome with orders to complete it there1 and to arrange with the purchaser for placing it upon a pedestal4 ,sebastiano's letters contain some references to this work1 which enable us to understand how wrong it would be to accept it as a representative piece of ,buonarroti's own handicraft4 ,on the #ith of ,november #aebj he writes that his gossip1 ,giovanni da ,reggio1 goes about saying that you did not execute the figure1 but that it is the work of ,pietro ,urbano4 ,take good care that it should be seen to be from your hand1 so that poltroons and babblers may burst4 ,on the #fth of ,september #aeba he returns to the subject4 ,urbano was at this time resident in ,rome1 and behaving himself so badly1 in ,sebastiano's opinion1 that he feels bound to make a severe report4 ,in the first place1 you sent him to ,rome with the statue to finish and erect it4 ,what he did and left undone you know already4 ,but ,i must inform you that he has spoiled the marble wherever he touched it4 ,in particular1 he shortened the right foot and cut the toes off2 the hands too1 especially the right hand1 which holds the cross1 have been mutilated in the fingers4 ,frizzi says they seem to have been worked by a biscuit-maker1 not wrought in marble1 but kneaded by some one used to dough4 ,i am no judge1 not being familiar with the method of stone-cutting2 but ,i can tell you that the fingers look to me very stiff and dumpy4 ,it is clear also that he has been peddling at the beard2 and ,i believe my little boy would have done so with more sense1 for it looks as though he had used a knife without a point to chisel the hair4 ,this can easily be remedied1 however4 ,he has also spoiled one of the nostrils4 ,a little more1 and the whole nose would have been ruined1 and only ,god could have restored it4 ,michelangelo apparently had already taken measures to transfer the ,christ from ,urbano's hands to those of the sculptor ,federigo ,frizzi4 ,this irritated his former friend and workman4 ,pietro shows a very ugly and malignant spirit after finding himself cast off by you4 ,he does not seem to care for you or any one alive1 but thinks he is a great master4 ,he will soon find out his mistake1 for the poor young man will never be able to make statues4 ,he has forgotten all he knew of art1 and the knees of your ,christ are worth more than all ,rome together4 ,it was ,sebastiano's wont to run babbling on this way4 ,once again he returns to ,pietro ,urbano4 ,i am informed that he has left ,rome2 he has not been seen for several days1 has shunned the ,court1 and ,i certainly believe that he will come to a bad end4 ,he gambles1 wants all the women of the town1 struts like a ,ganymede in velvet shoes through ,rome1 and flings his cash about4 ,poor fellow6 ,i am sorry for him since1 after all1 he is but young4 ,such was the end of ,pietro ,urbano4 ,michelangelo was certainly unfortunate with his apprentices4 ,one cannot help fancying he may have spoiled them by indulgence4 ,vasari1 mentioning ,pietro1 calls him a person of talent1 but one who never took the pains to work4 ,frizzi brought the ,christ ,triumphant into its present state1 patching up what the lither lad from ,pistoja had boggled4 ,buonarroti1 who was sincerely attached to ,varj1 and felt his artistic reputation now at stake1 offered to make a new statue4 ,but the magnanimous ,roman gentleman replied that he was entirely satisfied with the one he had received4 ,he regarded and esteemed it as a thing of gold1 and1 in refusing ,michelangelo's offer1 added that this proved his noble soul and generosity1 inasmuch as1 when he had already made what could not be surpassed and was incomparable1 he still wanted to serve his friend better4 ,the price originally stipulated was paid1 and ,varj added an autograph testimonial1 strongly affirming his contentment with the whole transaction4 ,these details prove that the ,christ of the ,minerva must be regarded as a mutilated masterpiece4 ,michelangelo is certainly responsible for the general conception1 the pose1 and a large portion of the finished surface1 details of which1 especially in the knees1 so much admired by ,sebastiano1 and in the robust arms1 are magnificent4 ,he designed the figure wholly nude1 so that the heavy bronze drapery which now surrounds the loins1 and bulges drooping from the left hip1 breaks the intended harmony of lines4 ,yet1 could this brawny man have ever suggested any distinctly religious idea8 ,christ1 victor over ,death and ,hell1 did not triumph by ponderosity and sinews4 ,the spiritual nature of his conquest1 the ideality of a divine soul disencumbered from the flesh1 to which it once had stooped in love for sinful man1 ought certainly to have been emphasised1 if anywhere through art1 in the statue of a ,risen ,christ4 ,substitute a scaling-ladder for the cross1 and here we have a fine life-guardsman1 stripped and posing for some classic battle-piece4 ,we cannot quarrel with ,michelangelo about the face and head4 ,those vulgarly handsome features1 that beard1 pomaded and curled by a barber's 'prentice1 betray no signs of his inspiration4 ,only in the arrangement of the hair1 hyacinthine locks descending to the shoulders1 do we recognise the touch of the divine sculptor4 ,the ,christ became very famous4 ,francis ,i4 had it cast and sent to ,paris1 to be repeated in bronze4 ,what is more strange1 it has long been the object of a religious cult4 ,the right foot1 so mangled by poor ,pietro1 wears a fine brass shoe1 in order to prevent its being kissed away4 ,this almost makes one think of ,goethe's hexameter3 ,wunderthtige ,bilder sind meist nur schlechte ,gemlde4 ,still it must be remembered that excellent critics have found the whole work admirable4 ,gsell-,fels says3 ,it is his second ,moses2 in movement and physique one of the greatest masterpieces2 as a ,christ-ideal1 the heroic conception of a humanist4 ,that last observation is just4 ,we may remember that ,vida was composing his ,christiad while ,frizzi was curling the beard of the ,cristo ,risorto4 ,vida always speaks of ,jesus as ,heros and of ,god the ,father as ,superum ,pater ,nimbipotens or ,regnator ,olympi4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,i ,leo ,x4 expired upon the #ast day of ,december #aeba4 ,the vacillating game he played in ,european politics had just been crowned with momentary success4 ,some folk believed that the ,pope died of joy after hearing that his ,imperial allies had entered the town of ,milan2 others thought that he succumbed to poison4 ,we do not know what caused his death4 ,but the unsoundness of his constitution1 over-taxed by dissipation and generous living1 in the midst of public cares for which the man had hardly nerve enough1 may suffice to account for a decease certainly sudden and premature4 ,michelangelo1 born in the same year1 was destined to survive him through more than eight lustres of the life of man4 ,leo was a personality whom it is impossible to praise without reserve4 ,the ,pope at that time in ,italy had to perform three separate functions4 ,his first duty was to the ,church4 ,leo left the ,see of ,rome worse off than he found it3 financially bankrupt1 compromised by vague schemes set on foot for the aggrandisement of his family1 discredited by many shameless means for raising money upon spiritual securities4 ,his second duty was to ,italy4 ,leo left the peninsula so involved in a mesh of meaningless entanglements1 diplomatic and aimless wars1 that anarchy and violence proved to be the only exit from the situation4 ,his third duty was to that higher culture which ,italy dispensed to ,europe1 and of which the ,papacy had made itself the leading propagator4 ,here ,leo failed almost as conspicuously as in all else he attempted4 ,he debased the standard of art and literature by his ill-placed liberalities1 seeking quick returns for careless expenditure1 not selecting the finest spirits of his age for timely patronage1 diffusing no lofty enthusiasm1 but breeding round him mushrooms of mediocrity4 ,nothing casts stronger light upon the low tone of ,roman society created by ,leo than the outburst of frenzy and execration which exploded when a ,fleming was elected as his successor4 ,adrian ,florent1 belonging to a family surnamed ,dedel1 emerged from the scrutiny of the ,conclave into the pontifical chair4 ,he had been the tutor of ,charles ,v41 and this may suffice to account for his nomination4 ,cynical wits ascribed that circumstance to the direct and unexpected action of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,he was the one foreigner who occupied the seat of ,s4 ,peter after the period when the metropolis of ,western ,christendom became an ,italian principality4 ,adrian1 by his virtues and his failings1 proved that modern ,rome1 in her social corruption and religious indifference1 demanded an ,italian ,pontiff4 ,single-minded and simple1 raised unexpectedly by circumstances into his supreme position1 he shut his eyes absolutely to art and culture1 abandoned diplomacy1 and determined to act only as the chief of the ,catholic ,church4 ,in ecclesiastical matters ,adrian was undoubtedly a worthy man4 ,he returned to the original conception of his duty as the ,primate of ,occidental ,christendom2 and what might have happened had he lived to impress his spirit upon ,rome1 remains beyond the reach of calculation4 ,dare we conjecture that the sack of #aebg would have been averted8 ,adrian reigned only a year and eight months4 ,he had no time to do anything of permanent value1 and was hardly powerful enough to do it1 even if time and opportunity had been afforded4 ,in the thunderstorm gathering over ,rome and the ,papacy1 he represents that momentary lull during which men hold their breath and murmur4 ,all the place-seekers1 parasites1 flatterers1 second-rate artificers1 folk of facile talents1 whom ,leo gathered round him1 vented their rage against a ,pope who lived sparsely1 shut up the ,belvedere1 called statues idols of the ,pagans1 and spent no farthing upon twangling lutes and frescoed chambers4 ,truly ,adrian is one of the most grotesque and significant figures upon the page of modern history4 ,his personal worth1 his inadequacy to the needs of the age1 and his incompetence to control the tempest loosed by ,della ,roveres1 ,borgias1 and ,medici around him1 give the man a tragic irony4 ,after his death1 upon the #bcrd of ,september #aebc1 the ,cardinal ,giulio de' ,medici was made ,pope4 ,he assumed the title of ,clement ,,vii4 upon the #ith of ,november4 ,the wits who saluted ,adrian's doctor with the title of ,saviour of the ,fatherland1 now rejoiced at the election of an ,italian and a ,medici4 ,the golden years of ,leo's reign would certainly return1 they thought2 having no foreknowledge of the tragedy which was so soon to be enacted1 first at ,rome1 and afterwards at ,florence1 ,michelangelo wrote to his friend ,topolino at ,carrara3 ,you will have heard that ,medici is made ,pope2 all the world seems to me to be delighted1 and ,i think that here at ,florence great things will soon be set on foot in our art4 ,therefore1 serve well and faithfully4 ,,ii ,our records are very scanty1 both as regards personal details and art-work1 for the life of ,michelangelo during the pontificate of ,adrian ,,vi4 ,the high esteem in which he was held throughout ,italy is proved by three incidents which may shortly be related4 ,in #aebb1 the ,board of ,works for the cathedral church of ,s4 ,petronio at ,bologna decided to complete the faade4 ,various architects sent in designs2 among them ,peruzzi competed with one in the ,gothic style1 and another in that of the ,classical revival4 ,great differences of opinion arose in the city as to the merits of the rival plans1 and the ,board in ,july invited ,michelangelo1 through their secretary1 to come and act as umpire4 ,they promised to reward him magnificently4 ,it does not appear that ,michelangelo accepted the offer4 ,in #aebc1 ,cardinal ,grimani1 who was a famous collector of art-objects1 wrote begging for some specimen of his craft4 ,grimani left it open to him to choose material and subject2 painting1 bronze1 or marble1 according to his fancy4 ,michelangelo must have promised to fulfill the commission1 for we have a letter from ,grimani thanking him effusively4 ,he offers to pay fifty ducats at the commencement of the work1 and what ,michelangelo thinks fit to demand at its conclusion3 for such is the excellence of your ability1 that we shall take no thought of money-value4 ,grimani was ,patriarch of ,aquileja4 ,in the same year1 #aebc1 the ,genoese entered into negotiations for a colossal statue of ,andrea ,doria1 which they desired to obtain from the hand of ,michelangelo4 ,its execution must have been seriously contemplated1 for the ,senate of ,genoa banked #cjj ducats for the purpose4 ,we regret that ,michelangelo could not carry out a work so congenial to his talent as this ideal portrait of the mighty ,signer ,capitano would have been2 but we may console ourselves by reflecting that even his energies were not equal to all tasks imposed upon him4 ,the real matter for lamentation is that they suffered so much waste in the service of vacillating ,popes4 ,to the year #aebc belongs1 in all probability1 the last extant letter which ,michelangelo wrote to his father4 ,lodovico was dissatisfied with a contract which had been drawn up on the #afth of ,june in that year1 and by which a certain sum of money1 belonging to the dowry of his late wife1 was settled in reversion upon his eldest son4 ,michelangelo explains the tenor of the deed1 and then breaks forth into the1 following bitter and ironical invective3 ,if my life is a nuisance to you1 you have found the means of protecting yourself1 and will inherit the key of that treasure which you say that ,i possess4 ,and you will be acting rightly2 for all ,florence knows how mighty rich you were1 and how ,i always robbed you1 and deserve to be chastised4 ,highly will men think of you for this4 ,cry out and tell folk all you choose about me1 but do not write again1 for you prevent my working4 ,what ,i have now to do is to make good all you have had from me during the past five-and-twenty years4 ,i would rather not tell you this1 but ,i cannot help it4 ,take care1 and be on your guard against those whom it concerns you4 ,a man dies but once1 and does not come back again to patch up things ill done4 ,you have put off till the death to do this4 ,may ,god assist you6 ,in another draft of this letter ,lodovico is accused of going about the town complaining that he was once a rich man1 and that ,michelangelo had robbed him4 ,still1 we must not take this for proved2 one of the great artist's main defects was an irritable suspiciousness1 which caused him often to exaggerate slights and to fancy insults4 ,he may have attached too much weight to the grumblings of an old man1 whom at the bottom of his heart he loved dearly4 ,,iii ,clement1 immediately after his election1 resolved on setting ,michelangelo at work in earnest on the ,sacristy4 ,at the very beginning of ,january he also projected the building of the ,laurentian ,library1 and wrote1 through his ,roman agent1 ,giovanni ,francesco ,fattucci1 requesting to have two plans furnished1 one in the ,greek1 the other in the ,latin style4 ,michelangelo replied as follows3 ,i gather from your last that his ,holiness our ,lord wishes that ,i should furnish the design for the library4 ,i have received no information1 and do not know where it is to be erected4 ,it is true that ,stefano talked to me about the scheme1 but ,i paid no heed4 ,when he returns from ,carrara ,i will inquire1 and will do all that is in my power1 albeit architecture is not my profession4 ,there is something pathetic in this reiterated assertion that his real art was sculpture4 ,at the same time ,clement wished to provide for him for life4 ,he first proposed that ,buonarroti should promise not to marry1 and should enter into minor orders4 ,this would have enabled him to enjoy some ecclesiastical benefice1 but it would also have handed him over firmly bound to the service of the ,pope4 ,circumstances already hampered him enough1 and ,michelangelo1 who chose to remain his own master1 refused4 ,as ,berni wrote3 ,voleva far da se1 non comandato4 ,as an alternative1 a pension was suggested4 ,it appears that he only asked for fifteen ducats a month1 and that his friend ,pietro ,gondi had proposed twenty-five ducats4 ,fattucci1 on the #acth of ,january #aebd1 rebuked him in affectionate terms for his want of pluck1 informing him that ,jacopo ,salviati has given orders that ,spina should be instructed to pay you a monthly provision of fifty ducats4 ,moreover1 all the disbursements made for the work at ,s4 ,lorenzo were to be provided by the same agent in ,florence1 and to pass through ,michelangelo's hands4 ,a house was assigned him1 free of rent1 at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 in order that he might be near his work4 ,henceforth he was in almost weekly correspondence with ,giovanni ,spina on affairs of business1 sending in accounts and drawing money by means of his then trusted servant1 ,stefano1 the miniaturist4 ,that ,stefano did not always behave himself according to his master's wishes appears from the following characteristic letter addressed by ,michelangelo to his friend ,pietro ,gondi3 ,the poor man1 who is ungrateful1 has a nature of this sort1 that if you help him in his needs1 he says that what you gave him came out of superfluities2 if you put him in the way of doing work for his own good1 he says you were obliged1 and set him to do it because you were incapable2 and all the benefits which he received he ascribes to the necessities of the benefactor4 ,but when everybody can see that you acted out of pure benevolence1 the ingrate waits until you make some public mistake1 which gives him the opportunity of maligning his benefactor and winning credence1 in order to free himself from the obligation under which he lies4 ,this has invariably happened in my case4 ,no one ever entered into relations with me--,i speak of workmen--to whom ,i did not do good with all my heart4 ,afterwards1 some trick of temper1 or some madness1 which they say is in my nature1 which hurts nobody except myself1 gives them an excuse for speaking evil of me and calumniating my character4 ,such is the reward of all honest men4 ,these general remarks1 he adds1 apply to ,stefano1 whom he placed in a position of trust and responsibility1 in order to assist him4 ,what ,i do is done for his good1 because ,i have undertaken to benefit the man1 and cannot abandon him2 but let him not imagine or say that ,i am doing it because of my necessities1 for1 ,god be praised1 ,i do not stand in need of men4 ,he then begs ,gondi to discover what ,stefano's real mind is4 ,this is a matter of great importance to him for several reasons1 and especially for this3 ,if ,i omitted to justify myself1 and were to put another in his place1 ,i should be published among the ,piagnoni for the biggest traitor who ever lived1 even though ,i were in the right4 ,we conclude1 then1 that ,michelangelo thought of dismissing ,stefano1 but feared lest he should get into trouble with the powerful political party1 followers of ,savonarola1 who bore the name of ,piagnoni at ,florence4 ,gondi must have patched the quarrel up1 for we still find ,stefano's name in the ,ricordi down to ,april #d1 #aebd4 ,shortly after that date1 ,antonio ,mini seems to have taken his place as ,michelangelo's right-hand man of business4 ,these details are not so insignificant as they appear4 ,they enable us to infer that the ,sacristy of ,s4 ,lorenzo may have been walled and roofed in before the end of ,april #aebd2 for1 in an undated letter to ,pope ,clement1 ,michelangelo says that ,stefano has finished the lantern1 and that it is universally admired4 ,with regard to this lantern1 folk told him that he would make it better than ,brunelleschi's4 ,different perhaps1 but better1 no6 he answered4 ,the letter to ,clement just quoted is interesting in several respects4 ,the boldness of the beginning makes one comprehend how ,michelangelo was terrible even to ,popes3-- ,most ,blessed ,father1--,inasmuch as intermediates are often the cause of grave misunderstandings1 ,i have summoned up courage to write without their aid to your ,holiness about the tombs at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,i repeat1 ,i know not which is preferable1 the evil that does good1 or the good that hurts4 ,i am certain1 mad and wicked as ,i may be1 that if ,i had been allowed to go on as ,i had begun1 all the marbles needed for the work would have been in ,florence to-day1 and properly blocked out1 with less cost than has been expended on them up to this date2 and they would have been superb1 as are the others ,i have brought here4 ,after this he entreats ,clement to give him full authority in carrying out the work1 and not to put superiors over him4 ,michelangelo1 we know1 was extremely impatient of control and interference2 and we shall see1 within a short time1 how excessively the watching and spying of busybodies worried and disturbed his spirits4 ,but these were not his only sources of annoyance4 ,the heirs of ,pope ,julius1 perceiving that ,michelangelo's time and energy were wholly absorbed at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 began to threaten him with a lawsuit4 ,clement1 wanting apparently to mediate between the litigants1 ordered ,fattucci to obtain a report from the sculptor1 with a full account of how matters stood4 ,this evoked the long and interesting document which has been so often cited4 ,there is no doubt whatever that ,michelangelo acutely felt the justice of the ,duke of ,urbino's grievances against him4 ,he was broken-hearted at seeming to be wanting in his sense of honour and duty4 ,people1 he says1 accused him of putting the money which had been paid for the tomb out at usury1 living meanwhile at ,florence and amusing himself4 ,it also hurt him deeply to be distracted from the cherished project of his early manhood in order to superintend works for which he had no enthusiasm1 and which lay outside his sphere of operation4 ,it may1 indeed1 be said that during these years ,michelangelo lived in a perpetual state of uneasiness and anxiety about the tomb of ,julius4 ,as far back as #aeah the ,cardinal ,leonardo ,grosso1 ,bishop of ,agen1 and one of ,julius's executors1 found it necessary to hearten him with frequent letters of encouragement4 ,in one of these1 after commending his zeal in extracting marbles and carrying on the monument1 the ,cardinal proceeds3 ,be then of good courage1 and do not yield to any perturbations of the spirit1 for we put more faith in your smallest word than if all the world should say the contrary4 ,we know your loyalty1 and believe you to be wholly devoted to our person2 and if there shall be need of aught which we can supply1 we are willing1 as we have told you on other occasions1 to do so2 rest then in all security of mind1 because we love you from the heart1 and desire to do all that may be agreeable to you4 ,this good friend was dead at the time we have now reached1 and the violent ,duke ,francesco ,maria della ,rovere acted as the principal heir of ,pope ,julius4 ,in a passion of disgust he refused to draw his pension1 and abandoned the house at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,this must have happened in ,march #aebd1 for his friend ,leonardo writes to him from ,rome upon the #bdth3 ,i am also told that you have declined your pension1 which seems to me mere madness1 and that you have thrown the house up1 and do not work4 ,friend and gossip1 let me tell you that you have plenty of enemies1 who speak their worst2 also that the ,pope and ,pucci and ,jacopo ,salviati are your friends1 and have plighted their troth to you4 ,it is unworthy of you to break your word to them1 especially in an affair of honour4 ,leave the matter of the tomb to those who wish you well1 and who are able to set you free without the least encumbrance1 and take care you do not come short in the ,pope's work4 ,die first4 ,and take the pension1 for they give it with a willing heart4 ,how long he remained in contumacy is not quite certain2 apparently until the #bith of ,august4 ,we have a letter written on that day to ,giovanni ,spina3 ,after ,i left you yesterday1 ,i went back thinking over my affairs2 and1 seeing that the ,pope has set his heart on ,s4 ,lorenzo1 and how he urgently requires my service1 and has appointed me a good provision in order that ,i may serve him with more convenience and speed2 seeing also that not to accept it keeps me back1 and that ,i have no good excuse for not serving his ,holiness2 ,i have changed my mind1 and whereas ,i hitherto refused1 ,i now demand it 7i4e41 the salary71 considering this far wiser1 and for more reasons than ,i care to write2 and1 more especially1 ,i mean to return to the house you took for me at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 and settle down there like an honest man3 inasmuch as it sets gossip going1 and does me great damage not to go back there4 ,from a ,ricordo dated ,october #ai1 #aebd1 we learn in fact that he then drew his full pay for eight months4 ,,iv ,since ,michelangelo was now engaged upon the ,medicean tombs at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 it will be well to give some account of the several plans he made before deciding on the final scheme1 which he partially executed4 ,we may assume1 ,i think1 that the sacristy1 as regards its general form and dimensions1 faithfully represents the first plan approved by ,clement4 ,this follows from the rapidity and regularity with which the structure was completed4 ,but then came the question of filling it with sarcophagi and statues4 ,as early as ,november #bh1 #aebj1 ,giulio de' ,medici1 at that time ,cardinal1 wrote from the ,villa ,magliana4 to ,buonarroti1 addressing him thus3 ,spectabilis vir1 amice noster charissime4 ,he says that he is pleased with the design for the chapel1 and with the notion of placing the four tombs in the middle4 ,then he proceeds to make some sensible remarks upon the difficulty of getting these huge masses of statuary into the space provided for them4 ,michelangelo1 as ,heath ,wilson has pointed out1 very slowly acquired the sense of proportion on which technical architecture depends4 ,his early sketches only show a feeling for mass and picturesque effect1 and a strong inclination to subordinate the building to sculpture4 ,it may be questioned who were the four ,medici for whom these tombs were intended4 ,cambi1 in a passage quoted above1 writing at the end of ,march #aebj7871 says that two were raised for ,giuliano1 ,duke of ,nemours1 and ,lorenzo1 ,duke of ,urbino1 and that the ,cardinal meant one to be for himself4 ,the fourth he does not speak about4 ,it has been conjectured that ,lorenzo the ,magnificent and his brother ,giuliano1 fathers respectively of ,leo and of ,clement1 were to occupy two of the sarcophagi2 and also1 with greater probability1 that the two ,popes1 ,leo and ,clement1 were associated with the ,dukes4 ,before #aebd the scheme expanded1 and settled into a more definite shape4 ,the sarcophagi were to support statue-portraits of the ,dukes and ,popes1 with ,lorenzo the ,magnificent and his brother ,giuliano4 ,at their base1 upon the ground1 were to repose six rivers1 two for each tomb1 showing that each sepulchre would have held two figures4 ,the rivers were perhaps ,arno1 ,tiber1 ,metauro1 ,po1 ,taro1 and ,ticino4 ,this we gather from a letter written to ,michelangelo on the #bcrd of ,may in that year4 ,michelangelo made designs to meet this plan1 but whether the tombs were still detached from the wall does not appear4 ,standing inside the sacristy1 it seems impossible that six statue-portraits and six river-gods on anything like a grand scale could have been crowded into the space1 especially when we remember that there was to be an altar1 with other objects described as ornaments--gli altri ornamenti4 ,probably the ,madonna and ,child1 with ,,ss4 ,cosimo and ,damiano1 now extant in the chapel1 formed an integral part of the successive schemes4 ,one thing is certain1 that the notion of placing the tombs in the middle of the sacristy was soon abandoned4 ,all the marble panelling1 pilasters1 niches1 and so forth1 which at present clothe the walls and dominate the architectural effect1 are clearly planned for mural monuments4 ,a rude sketch preserved in the ,uffizi throws some light upon the intermediate stages of the scheme4 ,it is incomplete1 and was not finally adopted2 but we see in it one of the four sides of the chapel1 divided vertically above into three compartments1 the middle being occupied by a ,madonna1 the two at the sides filled in with bas-reliefs4 ,at the base1 on sarcophagi or cassoni1 recline two nude male figures4 ,the space between these and the upper compartments seems to have been reserved for allegorical figures1 since a colossal naked boy1 ludicrously out of scale with the architecture and the recumbent figures1 has been hastily sketched in4 ,in architectural proportion and sculpturesque conception this design is very poor4 ,it has the merit1 however1 of indicating a moment in the evolution of the project when the mural scheme had been adopted4 ,the decorative details which surmount the composition confirm the feeling every one must have1 that1 in their present state1 the architecture of the ,medicean monuments remains imperfect4 ,in this process of endeavouring to trace the development of ,michelangelo's ideas for the sacristy1 seven original drawings at the ,british ,museum are of the greatest importance4 ,they may be divided into three groups4 ,one sketch seems to belong to the period when the tombs were meant to be placed in the centre of the chapel4 ,it shows a single facet of the monument1 with two sarcophagi placed side by side and seated figures at the angles4 ,five are variations upon the mural scheme1 which was eventually adopted4 ,they differ considerably in details1 proving what trouble the designer took to combine a large number of figures in a single plan4 ,he clearly intended at some time to range the ,medicean statues in pairs1 and studied several types of curve for their sepulchral urns4 ,the feature common to all of them is a niche1 of door or window shape1 with a powerfully indented architrave4 ,reminiscences of the design for the tomb of ,julius are not infrequent2 and it may be remarked1 as throwing a side-light upon that irrecoverable project of his earlier manhood1 that the figures posed upon the various spaces of architecture differ in their scale4 ,two belonging to this series are of especial interest1 since we learn from them how he thought of introducing the rivers at the basement of the composition4 ,it seems that he hesitated long about the employment of circular spaces in the framework of the marble panelling4 ,these were finally rejected4 ,one of the finest and most comprehensive of the drawings ,i am now describing contains a rough draft of a curved sarcophagus1 with an allegorical figure reclining upon it1 indicating the first conception of the ,dawn4 ,another1 blurred and indistinct1 with clumsy architectural environment1 exhibits two of these allegories1 arranged much as we now see them at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,a river-god1 recumbent beneath the feet of a female statue1 carries the eye down to the ground1 and enables us to comprehend how these subordinate figures were wrought into the complex harmony of flowing lines he had imagined4 ,the seventh study differs in conception from the rest2 it stands alone4 ,there are four handlings of what begins like a huge portal1 and is gradually elaborated into an architectural scheme containing three great niches for statuary4 ,it is powerful and simple in design1 governed by semicircular arches--a feature which is absent from the rest4 ,all these drawings are indubitably by the hand of ,michelangelo1 and must be reckoned among his first free efforts to construct a working plan4 ,the ,albertina ,collection at ,vienna yields us an elaborate design for the sacristy1 which appears to have been worked up from some of the rougher sketches4 ,it is executed in pen1 shaded with bistre1 and belongs to what ,i have ventured to describe as office work4 ,it may have been prepared for the inspection of ,leo and the ,cardinal4 ,here we have the sarcophagi in pairs1 recumbent figures stretched upon a shallow curve inverted1 colossal orders of a bastard ,ionic type1 a great central niche framing a seated ,madonna1 two male figures in side niches1 suggestive of ,giuliano and ,lorenzo as they were at last conceived1 four allegorical statues1 and1 to crown the whole structure1 candelabra of a peculiar shape1 with a central round1 supported by two naked genii4 ,it is difficult1 as ,i have before observed1 to be sure how much of the drawings executed in this way can be ascribed with safety to ,michelangelo himself4 ,they are carefully outlined1 with the precision of a working architect2 but the sculptural details bear the aspect of what may be termed a generic ,florentine style of draughtsmanship4 ,two important letters from ,michelangelo to ,fattucci1 written in ,october #aebe and ,april #aebf1 show that he had then abandoned the original scheme1 and adopted one which was all but carried into effect4 ,i am working as hard as ,i can1 and in fifteen days ,i shall begin the other captain4 ,afterwards the only important things left will be the four rivers4 ,the four statues on the sarcophagi1 the four figures on the ground which are the rivers1 the two captains1 and ,our ,lady1 who is to be placed upon the tomb at the head of the chapel2 these are what ,i mean to do with my own hand4 ,of these ,i have begun six2 and ,i have good hope of finishing them in due time1 and carrying the others forward in part1 which do not signify so much4 ,the six he had begun are clearly the ,dukes and their attendant figures of ,day1 ,night1 ,dawn1 ,evening4 ,the ,madonna1 one of his noblest works1 came within a short distance of completion4 ,,ss4 ,cosimo and ,damiano passed into the hands of ,montelupo and ,montorsoli4 ,of the four rivers we have only fragments in the shape of some exquisite little models4 ,where they could have been conveniently placed is difficult to imagine2 possibly they were abandoned from a feeling that the chapel would be overcrowded4 ,v ,according to the plan adopted in this book1 ,i shall postpone such observations as ,i have to make upon the ,medicean monuments until the date when ,michelangelo laid down his chisel1 and shall now proceed with the events of his life during the years #aebe and #aebf4 ,he continued to be greatly troubled about the tomb of ,julius ,,ii4 ,the lawsuit instituted by the ,duke of ,urbino hung over his head2 and though he felt sure of the ,pope's powerful support1 it was extremely important1 both for his character and comfort1 that affairs should be placed upon a satisfactory basis4 ,fattucci in ,rome acted not only as ,clement's agent in business connected with ,s4 ,lorenzo2 he also was intrusted with negotiations for the settlement of the ,duke's claims4 ,the correspondence which passed between them forms1 therefore1 our best source of information for this period4 ,on ,christmas ,eve in #aebd ,michelangelo writes from ,florence to his friend1 begging him not to postpone a journey he had in view1 if the only business which detained him was the trouble about the tomb4 ,a pleasant air of manly affection breathes through this document1 showing ,michelangelo to have been unselfish in a matter which weighed heavily and daily on his spirits4 ,how greatly he was affected can be inferred from a letter written to ,giovanni ,spina on the #aith of ,april #aebe4 ,while reading this1 it must be remembered that the ,duke laid his action for the recovery of a considerable balance1 which he alleged to be due to him upon disbursements made for the monument4 ,michelangelo1 on the contrary1 asserted that he was out of pocket1 as we gather from the lengthy report he forwarded in #aebd to ,fattucci4 ,the difficulty in the accounts seems to have arisen from the fact that payments for the ,sistine ,chapel and the tomb had been mixed up4 ,the letter to ,spina runs as follows3 ,there is no reason for sending a power of attorney about the tomb of ,pope ,julius1 because ,i do not want to plead4 ,they cannot bring a suit if ,i admit that ,i am in the wrong2 so ,i assume that ,i have sued and lost1 and have to pay2 and this ,i am disposed to do1 if ,i am able4 ,therefore1 if the ,pope will help me in the matter--and this would be the greatest satisfaction to me1 seeing ,i am too old and ill to finish the work--he might1 as intermediary1 express his pleasure that ,i should repay what ,i have received for its performance1 so as to release me from this burden1 and to enable the relatives of ,pope ,julius to carry out the undertaking by any master whom they may choose to employ4 ,in this way his ,holiness could be of very great assistance to me4 ,of course ,i desire to reimburse as little as possible1 always consistently with justice4 ,his ,holiness might employ some of my arguments1 as1 for instance1 the time spent for the ,pope at ,bologna1 and other times wasted without any compensation1 according to the statements ,i have made in full to ,ser ,giovan ,francesco 7,fattucci74 ,directly the terms of restitution have been settled1 ,i will engage my property1 sell1 and put myself in a position to repay the money4 ,i shall then be able to think of the ,pope's orders and to work2 as it is1 ,i can hardly be said to live1 far less to work4 ,there is no other way of putting an end to the affair more safe for myself1 nor more agreeable1 nor more certain to ease my mind4 ,it can be done amicably without a lawsuit4 ,i pray to ,god that the ,pope may be willing to accept the mediation1 for ,i cannot see that any one else is fit to do it4 ,giorgio ,vasari says that he came in the year #aebe for a short time as pupil to ,michelangelo4 ,in his own biography he gives the date1 more correctly1 #aebd4 ,at any rate1 the period of ,vasari's brief apprenticeship was closed by a journey which the master made to ,rome1 and ,buonarroti placed the lad in ,andrea del ,sarto's workshop4 ,he left for ,rome in haste4 ,francesco ,maria1 ,duke of ,urbino1 was again molesting him1 asserting that he had received #af1jjj ducats to complete the tomb1 while he stayed idling at ,florence for his own amusement4 ,he threatened that1 if he did not attend to the work1 he would make him suffer4 ,so1 when he arrived there1 ,pope ,clement1 who wanted to command his services1 advised him to reckon with the ,duke's agents1 believing that1 for what he had already done1 he was rather creditor than debtor4 ,the matter remained thus4 ,we do not know when this journey to ,rome took place4 ,from a hint in the letter of ,december #bd1 #aebd1 to ,fattucci1 where ,michelangelo observes that only he in person would be able to arrange matters1 it is possible that we may refer it to the beginning of #aebe4 ,probably he was able to convince1 not only the ,pope1 but also the ,duke's agents that he had acted with scrupulous honesty1 and that his neglect of the tomb was due to circumstances over which he had no control1 and which he regretted as acutely as anybody4 ,there is no shadow of doubt that this was really the case4 ,every word written by ,michelangelo upon the subject shows that he was heart-broken at having to abandon the long-cherished project4 ,some sort of arrangement must have been arrived at4 ,clement took the matter into his own hands1 and during the summer of #aebe amicable negotiations were in progress4 ,on the #dth of ,september ,michelangelo writes again to ,fattucci1 saying that he is quite willing to complete the tomb upon the same plan as that of the ,pope ,pius 7now in the ,church of ,s4 ,andrea della ,valle7--that is1 to adopt a mural system instead of the vast detached monument4 ,this would take less time4 ,he again urges his friend not to stay at ,rome for the sake of these affairs4 ,he hears that the plague is breaking out there4 ,and ,i would rather have you alive than my business settled4 ,if ,i die before the ,pope1 ,i shall not have to settle any troublesome affairs4 ,if ,i live1 ,i am sure the ,pope will settle them1 if not now1 at some other time4 ,so come back4 ,i was with your mother yesterday1 and advised her1 in the presence of ,granacci and ,john the turner1 to send for you home4 ,while in ,rome ,michelangelo conferred with ,clement about the sacristy and library at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,for a year after his return to ,florence he worked steadily at the ,medicean monuments1 but not without severe annoyances1 as appears from the following to ,fattucci3 ,the four statues ,i have in hand are not yet finished1 and much has still to be done upon them4 ,the four rivers are not begun1 because the marble is wanting1 and yet it is here4 ,i do not think it opportune to tell you why4 ,with regard to the affairs of ,julius1 ,i am well disposed to make the tomb like that of ,pius in ,s4 ,peter's1 and will do so little by little1 now one piece and now another1 and will pay for it out of my own pocket1 if ,i keep my pension and my house1 as you promised me4 ,i mean1 of course1 the house at ,rome1 and the marbles and other things ,i have there4 ,so that1 in fine1 ,i should not have to restore to the heirs of ,julius1 in order to be quit of the contract1 anything which ,i have hitherto received2 the tomb itself1 completed after the pattern of that of ,pius1 sufficing for my full discharge4 ,moreover1 ,i undertake to perform the work within a reasonable time1 and to finish the statues with my own hand4 ,he then turns to his present troubles at ,florence4 ,the pension was in arrears1 and busybodies annoyed him with interferences of all sorts4 ,if my pension were paid1 as was arranged1 ,i would never stop working for ,pope ,clement with all the strength ,i have1 small though that be1 since ,i am old4 ,at the same time ,i must not be slighted and affronted as ,i am now1 for such treatment weighs greatly on my spirits4 ,the petty spites ,i speak of have prevented me from doing what ,i want to do these many months2 one cannot work at one thing with the hands1 another with the brain1 especially in marble4 ',tis said here that these annoyances are meant to spur me on2 but ,i maintain that those are scurvy spurs which make a good steed jib4 ,i have not touched my pension during the past year1 and struggle with poverty4 ,i am left in solitude to bear my troubles1 and have so many that they occupy me more than does my art2 ,i cannot keep a man to manage my house through lack of means4 ,michelangelo's dejection caused serious anxiety to his friends4 ,jacopo ,salviati1 writing on the #cjth ,october from ,rome1 endeavoured to restore his courage4 ,i am greatly distressed to hear of the fancies you have got into your head4 ,what hurts me most is that they should prevent your working1 for that rejoices your ill-wishers1 and confirms them in what they have always gone on preaching about your habits4 ,he proceeds to tell him how absurd it is to suppose that ,baccio ,bandinelli is preferred before him4 ,i cannot perceive how ,baccio could in any way whatever be compared to you1 or his work be set on the same level as your own4 ,the letter winds up with exhortations to work4 ,brush these cobwebs of melancholy away2 have confidence in his ,holiness2 do not give occasion to your enemies to blaspheme1 and be sure that your pension will be paid2 ,i pledge my word for it4 ,buonarroti1 it is clear1 wasted his time1 not through indolence1 but through allowing the gloom of a suspicious and downcast temperament--what the ,italians call accidia--to settle on his spirits4 ,skipping a year1 we find that these troublesome negotiations about the tomb were still pending4 ,he still hung suspended between the devil and the deep sea1 the importunate ,duke of ,urbino and the vacillating ,pope4 ,spina1 it seems1 had been writing with too much heat to ,rome1 probably urging ,clement to bring the difficulties about the tomb to a conclusion4 ,michelangelo takes the correspondence up again with ,fattucci on ,november #f1 #aebf4 ,what he says at the beginning of the letter is significant4 ,he knows that the political difficulties in which ,clement had become involved were sufficient to distract his mind1 as ,julius once said1 from any interest in stones small or big4 ,well1 the letter starts thus3 ,i know that ,spina wrote in these days past to ,rome very hotly about my affairs with regard to the tomb of ,julius4 ,if he blundered1 seeing the times in which we live1 ,i am to blame1 for ,i prayed him urgently to write4 ,it is possible that the trouble of my soul made me say more than ,i ought4 ,information reached me lately about the affair which alarmed me greatly4 ,it seems that the relatives of ,julius are very ill-disposed towards me4 ,and not without reason4--,the suit is going on1 and they are demanding capital and interest to such an amount that a hundred of my sort could not meet the claims4 ,this has thrown me into terrible agitation1 and makes me reflect where ,i should be if the ,pope failed me4 ,i could not live a moment4 ,it is that which made me send the letter alluded to above4 ,now1 ,i do not want anything but what the ,pope thinks right4 ,i know that he does not desire my ruin and my disgrace4 ,he proceeds to notice that the building work at ,s4 ,lorenzo is being carried forward very slowly1 and money spent upon it with increasing parsimony4 ,still he has his pension and his house2 and these imply no small disbursements4 ,he cannot make out what the ,pope's real wishes are4 ,if he did but know ,clement's mind1 he would sacrifice everything to please him4 ,only if ,i could obtain permission to begin something either here or in ,rome1 for the tomb of ,julius1 ,i should be extremely glad2 for1 indeed1 ,i desire to free myself from that obligation more than to live4 ,the letter closes on a note of sadness3 ,if ,i am unable to write what you will understand1 do not be surprised1 for ,i have lost my wits entirely4 ,after this we hear nothing more about the tomb in ,michelangelo's correspondence till the year #aeca4 ,during the intervening years ,italy was convulsed by the sack of ,rome1 the siege of ,florence1 and the ,french campaigns in ,lombardy and ,naples4 ,matters only began to mend when ,charles ,v4 met ,clement at ,bologna in #aecj1 and established the affairs of the peninsula upon a basis which proved durable4 ,that fatal lustre 7#aebf-aecj7 divided the ,italy of the ,renaissance from the ,italy of modern times with the abruptness of an ,alpine watershed4 ,yet ,michelangelo1 aged fifty-one in #aebf1 was destined to live on another thirty-eight years1 and1 after the death of ,clement1 to witness the election of five successive ,popes4 ,the span of his life was not only extraordinary in its length1 but also in the events it comprehended4 ,born in the mediaeval pontificate of ,sixtus ,,iv41 brought up in the golden days of ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 he survived the ,franco-,spanish struggle for supremacy1 watched the progress of the ,reformation1 and only died when a new ,church and a new ,papacy had been established by the ,tridentine ,council amid states sinking into the repose of decrepitude4 ,,vi ,we must return from this digression and resume the events of ,michelangelo's life in #aebe4 ,the first letter to ,sebastiano del ,piombo is referred to ,april of that year4 ,he says that a picture1 probably the portrait of ,anton ,francesco degli ,albizzi1 is eagerly expected at ,florence4 ,when it arrived in ,may1 he wrote again under the influence of generous admiration for his friend's performance3 ,last evening our friend the ,captain ,cuio and certain other gentlemen were so kind as to invite me to sup with them4 ,this gave me exceeding great pleasure1 since it drew me forth a little from my melancholy1 or shall we call it my mad mood4 ,not only did ,i enjoy the supper1 which was most agreeable1 but far more the conversation4 ,among the topics discussed1 what gave me most delight was to hear your name mentioned by the ,captain2 nor was this all1 for he still added to my pleasure1 nay1 to a superlative degree1 by saying that1 in the art of painting he held you to be sole and without peer in the whole world1 and that so you were esteemed at ,rome4 ,i could not have been better pleased4 ,you see that my judgment is confirmed2 and so you must not deny that you are peerless1 when ,i write it1 since ,i have a crowd of witnesses to my opinion4 ,there is a picture too of yours here1 ,god be praised1 which wins credence for me with every one who has eyes4 ,correspondence was carried on during this year regarding the library at ,s4 ,lorenzo2 and though ,i do not mean to treat at length about that building in this chapter1 ,i cannot omit an autograph postscript added by ,clement to one of his secretary's missives3 ,thou knowest that ,popes have no long lives2 and we cannot yearn more than we do to behold the chapel with the tombs of our kinsmen1 or at any rate to hear that it is finished4 ,likewise1 as regards the library4 ,wherefore we recommend both to thy diligence4 ,meantime we will betake us 7as thou saidst erewhile7 to a wholesome patience1 praying ,god that ,he may put it into thy heart to push the whole forward together4 ,fear not that either work to do or rewards shall fail thee while we live4 ,farewell1 with the blessing of ,god and ours4--,julius4 ,julius was the ,pope's baptismal name4--,,ed4 ,michelangelo began the library in #aebf1 as appears from his ,ricordi4 ,still the work went on slowly1 not through his negligence1 but1 as we have seen1 from the ,pope's preoccupation with graver matters4 ,he had a great many workmen in his service at this period1 and employed celebrated masters in their crafts1 as ,tasso and ,carota for wood-carving1 ,battista del ,cinque and ,ciapino for carpentry1 upon the various fittings of the library4 ,all these details he is said to have designed2 and it is certain that he was considered responsible for their solidity and handsome appearance4 ,sebastiano1 for instance1 wrote to him about the benches3 ,our ,lord wishes that the whole work should be of carved walnut4 ,he does not mind spending three florins more2 for that is a trifle1 if they are ,cosimesque in style1 ,i mean resemble the work done for the magnificent ,cosimo4 ,michelangelo could not have been the solitary worker of legend and tradition4 ,the nature of his present occupations rendered this impossible4 ,for the completion of his architectural works he needed a band of able coadjutors4 ,thus in #aebf ,giovanni da ,udine came from ,rome to decorate the vault of the sacristy with frescoed arabesques4 ,his work was nearly terminated in #aecc1 when some question arose about painting the inside of the lantern4 ,sebastiano1 apparently in good faith1 made the following burlesque suggestion3 ,for myself1 ,i think that the ,ganymede would go there very well2 one could put an aureole about him1 and turn him into a ,s4 ,john of the ,apocalypse when he is being caught up into the heavens4 ,the whole of one side of the ,italian ,renaissance1 its so-called neo-paganism1 is contained in this remark4 ,while still occupied with thoughts about ,s4 ,lorenzo1 ,clement ordered ,michelangelo to make a receptacle for the precious vessels and reliques collected by ,lorenzo the ,magnificent4 ,it was first intended to place this chest1 in the form of a ciborium1 above the high altar1 and to sustain it on four columns4 ,eventually1 the ,pope resolved that it should be a sacrarium1 or cabinet for holy things1 and that this should stand above the middle entrance door to the church4 ,the chest was finished1 and its contents remained there until the reign of the ,grand ,duke ,pietro ,leopoldo1 when they were removed to the chapel next the old sacristy4 ,another very singular idea occurred to his ,holiness in the autumn of #aebe4 ,he made ,fattucci write that he wished to erect a colossal statue on the piazza of ,s4 ,lorenzo1 opposite the ,stufa ,palace4 ,the giant was to surmount the roof of the ,medicean ,palace1 with its face turned in that direction and its back to the house of ,luigi della ,stufa4 ,being so huge1 it would have to be composed of separate pieces fitted together4 ,michelangelo speedily knocked this absurd plan on the head in a letter which gives a good conception of his dry and somewhat ponderous humour4 ,about the ,colossus of forty cubits1 which you tell me is to go or to be placed at the corner of the loggia in the ,medicean garden1 opposite the corner of ,messer ,luigi della ,stufa1 ,i have meditated not a little1 as you bade me4 ,in my opinion that is not the proper place for it1 since it would take up too much room on the roadway4 ,i should prefer to put it at the other1 where the barber's shop is4 ,this would be far better in my judgment1 since it has the square in front1 and would not encumber the street4 ,there might be some difficulty about pulling down the shop1 because of the rent4 ,so it has occurred to me that the statue might be carved in a sitting position2 the ,colossus would be so lofty that if we made it hollow inside1 as indeed is the proper method for a thing which has to be put together from pieces1 the shop might be enclosed within it1 and the rent be saved4 ,and inasmuch as the shop has a chimney in its present state1 ,i thought of placing a cornucopia in the statue's hand1 hollowed out for the smoke to pass through4 ,the head too would be hollow1 like all the other members of the figure4 ,this might be turned to a useful purpose1 according to the suggestion made me by a huckster on the square1 who is my good friend4 ,he privily confided to me that it would make an excellent dovecote4 ,then another fancy came into my head1 which is still better1 though the statue would have to be considerably heightened4 ,that1 however1 is quite feasible1 since towers are built up of blocks2 and then the head might serve as bell-tower to ,san ,lorenzo1 which is much in need of one4 ,setting up the bells inside1 and the sound booming through the mouth1 it would seem as though the ,colossus were crying mercy1 and mostly upon feast-days1 when peals are rung most often and with bigger bells4 ,nothing more is heard of this fantastic project2 whence we may conclude that the irony of ,michelangelo's epistle drove it out of the ,pope's head4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,i ,it lies outside the scope of this work to describe the series of events which led up to the sack of ,rome in #aebg4 ,clement1 by his tortuous policy1 and by the avarice of his administration1 had alienated every friend and exasperated all his foes4 ,the ,eternal ,city was in a state of chronic discontent and anarchy4 ,the ,colonna princes drove the ,pope to take refuge in the ,castle of ,s4 ,angelo2 and when the ,lutheran rabble raised by ,frundsberg poured into ,lombardy1 the ,duke of ,ferrara assisted them to cross the ,po1 and the ,duke of ,urbino made no effort to bar the passes of the ,apennines4 ,losing one leader after the other1 these ruffians1 calling themselves an ,imperial army1 but being in reality the scum and offscourings of all nations1 without any aim but plunder and ignorant of policy1 reached ,rome upon the #fth of ,may4 ,they took the city by assault1 and for nine months ,clement1 leaning from the battlements of ,hadrian's ,mausoleum1 watched smoke ascend from desolated palaces and desecrated temples1 heard the wailing of women and the groans of tortured men1 mingling with the ribald jests of ,german drunkards and the curses of ,castilian bandits4 ,roaming those galleries and gazing from those windows1 he is said to have exclaimed in the words of ,job3 ,why died ,i not from the womb8 why did ,i not give up the ghost when ,i came out of the belly8 ,the immediate effect of this disaster was that the ,medici lost their hold on ,florence4 ,the ,cardinal of ,cortona1 with the young princes ,ippolito and ,alessandro de' ,medici1 fled from the city on the #agth of ,may1 and a popular government was set up under the presidency of ,niccol ,capponi4 ,during this year and the next1 ,michelangelo was at ,florence2 but we know very little respecting the incidents of his life4 ,a ,ricordo bearing the date ,april #bi shows the disturbed state of the town4 ,i record how1 some days ago1 ,piero di ,filippo ,gondi asked for permission to enter the new sacristy at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 in order to hide there certain goods belonging to his family1 by reason of the perils in which we are now4 ,to-day1 upon the #bith of ,april #aebg1 he has begun to carry in some bundles1 which he says are linen of his sisters2 and ,i1 not wishing to witness what he does or to know where he hides the gear away1 have given him the key of the sacristy this evening4 ,there are only two letters belonging to the year #aebg4 ,both refer to a small office which had been awarded to ,michelangelo with the right to dispose of the patronage4 ,he offered it to his favourite brother1 ,buonarroto1 who does not seem to have thought it worth accepting4 ,the documents for #aebh are almost as meagre4 ,we do not possess a single letter1 and the most important ,ricordi relate to ,buonarroto's death and the administration of his property4 ,he died of the plague upon the #bnd of ,july1 to the very sincere sorrow of his brother4 ,it is said that ,michelangelo held him in his arms while he was dying1 without counting the risk to his own life4 ,among the minutes of disbursements made for ,buonarroto's widow and children after his burial1 we find that their clothes had been destroyed because of the infection4 ,all the cares of the family now fell on ,michelangelo's shoulders4 ,he placed his niece ,francesca in a convent till the time that she should marry1 repaid her dowry to the widow ,bartolommea1 and provided for the expenses of his nephew ,lionardo4 ,for the rest1 there is little to relate which has any bearing on the way in which he passed his time before the siege of ,florence began4 ,one glimpse1 however1 is afforded of his daily life and conversation by ,benvenuto ,cellini1 who had settled in ,florence after the sack of ,rome1 and was working in a shop he opened at the ,mercato ,nuovo4 ,the episode is sufficiently interesting to be quoted4 ,a ,sienese gentleman had commissioned ,cellini to make him a golden medal1 to be worn in the hat4 ,the subject was to be ,hercules wrenching the lion's mouth4 ,while ,i was working at this piece1 ,michel ,agnolo ,buonarroti came oftentimes to see it4 ,i had spent infinite pains upon the design1 so that the attitude of the figure and the fierce passion of the beast were executed in quite a different style from that of any craftsman who had hitherto attempted such groups4 ,this1 together with the fact that the special branch of art was totally unknown to ,michel ,agnolo1 made the divine master give such praises to my work that ,i felt incredibly inspired for further effort4 ,just then ,i met with ,federigo ,ginori1 a young man of very lofty spirit4 ,he had lived some years in ,naples and being endowed with great charms of person and presence1 had been the lover of a ,neapolitan princess4 ,he wanted to have a medal made with ,atlas bearing the world upon his shoulders1 and applied to ,michel ,agnolo for a design4 ,michel ,agnolo made this answer3 ',go and find out a young goldsmith named ,benvenuto2 he will serve you admirably1 and certainly he does not stand in need of sketches by me4 ,however1 to prevent your thinking that ,i want to save myself the trouble of so slight a matter1 ,i will gladly sketch you something2 but meanwhile speak to ,benvenuto1 and let him also make a model2 he can then execute the better of the two designs4' ,federigo ,ginori came to me and told me what he wanted1 adding thereto how ,michel ,agnolo had praised me1 and how he had suggested ,i should make a waxen model while he undertook to supply a sketch4 ,the words of that great man so heartened me1 that ,i set myself to work at once with eagerness upon the model2 and when ,i had finished it1 a painter who was intimate with ,michel ,agnolo1 called ,giuliano ,bugiardini1 brought me the drawing of ,atlas4 ,on the same occasion ,i showed ,giuliano my little model in wax1 which was very different from ,michel ,agnolo's drawing2 and ,federigo1 in concert with ,bugiardini1 agreed that ,i should work upon my model4 ,so ,i took it in hand1 and when ,michel ,agnolo saw it1 he praised me to the skies4 ,the courtesy shown by ,michelangelo on this occasion to ,cellini may be illustrated by an inedited letter addressed to him from ,vicenza4 ,the writer was ,valerio ,belli1 who describes himself as a cornelian-cutter4 ,he reminds the sculptor of a promise once made to him in ,florence of a design for an engraved gem4 ,a remarkably fine stone has just come into his hands1 and he should much like to begin to work upon it4 ,these proofs of ,buonarroti's liberality to brother artists are not unimportant1 since he was unjustly accused during his lifetime of stinginess and churlishness4 ,,ii ,at the end of the year #aebh it became clear to the ,florentines that they would have to reckon with ,clement ,,vii4 ,as early as ,august #ah1 #aebg1 ,france and ,england leagued together1 and brought pressure upon ,charles ,v41 in whose name ,rome had been sacked4 ,negotiations were proceeding1 which eventually ended in the peace of ,barcelona 7,june #bj1 #aebi71 whereby the ,emperor engaged to sacrifice the ,republic to the ,pope's vengeance4 ,it was expected that the remnant of the ,prince of ,orange's army would be marched up to besiege the town4 ,under the anxiety caused by these events1 the citizens raised a strong body of militia1 enlisted ,malatesta ,baglioni and ,stefano ,colonna as generals1 and began to take measures for strengthening the defences4 ,what may be called the ,war ,office of the ,florentine ,republic bore the title of ,dieci della ,guerra1 or the ,ten4 ,it was their duty to watch over and provide for all the interests of the commonwealth in military matters1 and now at this juncture serious measures had to be taken for putting the city in a state of defence4 ,already in the year #aebg1 after the expulsion of the ,medici1 a subordinate board had been created1 to whom very considerable executive and administrative faculties were delegated4 ,this board1 called the ,nove della ,milizia1 or the ,nine1 were empowered to enrol all the burghers under arms1 and to take charge of the walls1 towers1 bastions1 and other fortifications4 ,it was also within their competence to cause the destruction of buildings1 and to compensate the evicted proprietors at a valuation which they fixed themselves4 ,in the spring of #aebi the ,war ,office decided to gain the services of ,michelangelo1 not only because he was the most eminent architect of his age in ,florence1 but also because the ,buonarroti family had always been adherents of the ,medicean party1 and the ,ten judged that his appointment to a place on the ,nove di ,milizia would be popular with the democracy4 ,the patent conferring this office upon him1 together with full authority over the work of fortification1 was issued on the #fth of ,april4 ,its terms were highly complimentary4 ,considering the genius and practical attainments of ,michelangelo di ,lodovico ,buonarroti1 our citizen1 and knowing how excellent he is in architecture1 beside his other most singular talents in the liberal arts1 by virtue whereof the common consent of men regards him as unsurpassed by any masters of our times2 and1 moreover1 being assured that in love and affection toward the country he is the equal of any other good and loyal burgher2 bearing in mind1 too1 the labour he has undergone and the diligence he has displayed1 gratis and of his free will1 in the said work 7of fortification7 up to this day2 and wishing to employ his industry and energies to the like effect in future2 we1 of our motion and initiative1 do appoint him to be governor and procurator-general over the construction and fortification of the city walls1 as well as every other sort of defensive operation and munition for the town of ,florence1 for one year certain1 beginning with the present date2 adding thereto full authority over all persons in respect to the said work of reparation or pertaining to it4 ,from this preamble it appears that ,michelangelo had been already engaged in volunteer service connected with the defence of ,florence4 ,a stipend of one golden florin per diem was fixed by the same deed2 and upon the #bbnd of ,april following a payment of thirty florins was decreed1 for one month's salary1 dating from the #fth of ,april4 ,if the ,government thought to gain popular sympathy by ,michelangelo's appointment1 they made the mistake of alienating the aristocracy4 ,it was the weakness of ,florence at this momentous crisis in her fate1 to be divided into parties1 political1 religious1 social2 whose internal jealousies deprived her of the strength which comes alone from unity4 ,when ,giambattista ,busini wrote that interesting series of letters to ,benedetto ,varchi from which the latter drew important materials for his annals of the siege1 he noted this fact4 ,envy must always be reckoned as of some account in republics1 especially when the nobles form a considerable element1 as in ours3 for they were angry1 among other matters1 to see a ,carducci made ,gonfalonier1 ,michelangelo a member of the ,nine1 a ,cei or a ,giugni elected to the ,ten4 ,michelangelo had scarcely been chosen to control the general scheme for fortifying ,florence1 when the ,signory began to consider the advisability of strengthening the citadels of ,pisa and ,livorno1 and erecting lines along the ,arno4 ,their commissary at ,pisa wrote urging the necessity of ,buonarroti's presence on the spot4 ,in addition to other pressing needs1 the ,arno1 when in flood1 threatened the ancient fortress of the city4 ,accordingly we find that ,michelangelo went to ,pisa on the #eth of ,june1 and that he stayed there over the #acth1 returning to ,florence perhaps upon the #agth of the month4 ,the commissary1 who spent several days in conferring with him and in visiting the banks of the ,arno1 was perturbed in mind because ,michelangelo refused to exchange the inn where he alighted for an apartment in the official residence4 ,this is very characteristic of the artist4 ,we shall soon find him1 at ,ferrara1 refusing to quit his hostelry for the ,duke's palace1 and1 at ,venice1 hiring a remote lodging on the ,giudecca in order to avoid the hospitality of ,s4 ,mark4 ,an important part of ,michelangelo's plan for the fortification of ,florence was to erect bastions covering the hill of ,s4 ,miniato4 ,any one who stands upon the ruined tower of the church there will see at a glance that ,s4 ,miniato is the key to the position for a beleaguering force2 and if the enemy once obtained possession of the hill1 he would become immediately master of the town4 ,it must1 ,i think1 have been at this spot that ,buonarroti was working before he received the appointment of controller-general of the works4 ,yet he found some difficulty in persuading the rulers of the state that his plan was the right one4 ,busini1 using information supplied by ,michelangelo himself at ,rome in #aedi1 speaks as follows3 ,whatever the reason may have been1 ,niccol ,capponi1 while he was ,gonfalonier1 would not allow the hill of ,s4 ,miniato to be fortified1 and ,michelangelo1 who is a man of absolute veracity1 tells me that he had great trouble in convincing the other members of the ,government1 but that he could never convince ,niccol4 ,however1 he began the work1 in the way you know1 with those fascines of tow4 ,but ,niccol made him abandon it1 and sent him to another post2 and when he was elected to the ,nine1 they despatched him twice or thrice outside the city4 ,each time1 on his return1 he found the hill neglected1 whereupon he complained1 feeling this a blot upon his reputation and an insult to his magistracy4 ,eventually1 the works went on1 until1 when the besieging army arrived1 they were tenable4 ,michelangelo had hitherto acquired no practical acquaintance with the art of fortification4 ,that the system of defence by bastions was an ,italian invention 7although ,albert ,drer first reduced it to written theory in his book of #aebg1 suggesting improvements which led up to ,vauban's method7 is a fact acknowledged by military historians4 ,but it does not appear that ,michelangelo did more than carry out defensive operations in the manner familiar to his predecessors4 ,indeed1 we shall see that some critics found reason to blame him for want of science in the construction of his outworks4 ,when1 therefore1 a difference arose between the controller-general of defences and the ,gonfalonier upon this question of strengthening ,s4 ,miniato1 it was natural that the ,war ,office should have thought it prudent to send their chief officer to the greatest authority upon fortification then alive in ,italy4 ,this was the ,duke of ,ferrara4 ,busini must serve as our text in the first instance upon this point4 ,michelangelo says that1 when neither ,niccol ,capponi nor ,baldassare ,carducci would agree to the outworks at ,s4 ,miniato1 he convinced all the leading men except ,niccol of their necessity1 showing that ,florence could not hold out a single day without them4 ,accordingly he began to throw up bastions with fascines of tow2 but the result was far from perfect1 as he himself confessed4 ,upon this1 the ,ten resolved to send him to ,ferrara to inspect that renowned work of defence4 ,thither accordingly he went2 nevertheless1 he believes that ,niccol did this in order to get him out of the way1 and to prevent the construction of the bastion4 ,in proof thereof he adduces the fact that1 upon his return1 he found the whole work interrupted4 ,furnished with letters to the ,duke1 and with special missives from the ,signory and the ,ten to their envoy1 ,galeotto ,giugni1 ,michelangelo left ,florence for ,ferrara after the #bhth of ,july1 and reached it on the and of ,august4 ,he refused1 as ,giugni writes with some regret1 to abandon his inn1 but was personally conducted with great honour by the ,duke all round the walls and fortresses of ,ferrara4 ,on what day he quitted that city1 and whither he went immediately after his departure1 is uncertain4 ,the ,ten wrote to ,giugni on the #hth of ,august1 saying that his presence was urgently required at ,florence1 since the work of fortification was going on apace1 a multitude of men being employed1 and no respect being paid to feast-days and holidays4 ,it would also seem that1 toward the close of the month1 he was expected at ,arezzo1 in order to survey and make suggestions on the defences of the city4 ,these points are not insignificant1 since we possess a ,ricordo by ,michelangelo1 written upon an unfinished letter bearing the date ,venice1 ,september #aj1 which has been taken to imply that he had been resident in ,venice fourteen days--that is1 from the #bhth of ,august4 ,none of his contemporaries or biographers mention a visit to ,venice at the end of ,august #aebi4 ,it has1 therefore1 been conjectured that he went there after leaving ,ferrara1 but that his mission was one of a very secret nature4 ,this seems inconsistent with the impatient desire expressed by the ,war ,office for his return to ,florence after the #hth of ,august4 ,allowing for exchange of letters and rate of travelling1 ,michelangelo could not have reached home much before the #aeth4 ,it is also inconsistent with the fact that he was expected in ,arezzo at the beginning of ,september4 ,i shall have to return later on to the ,ricordo in question1 which has an important bearing on the next and most dramatic episode in his biography4 ,,iii ,michelangelo must certainly have been at ,florence soon after the middle of ,september4 ,one of those strange panics to which he was constitutionally subject1 and which impelled him to act upon a suddenly aroused instinct1 came now to interrupt his work at ,s4 ,miniato1 and sent him forth into outlawry4 ,it was upon the #bast of ,september that he fled from ,florence1 under circumstances which have given considerable difficulty to his biographers4 ,i am obliged to disentangle the motives and to set forth the details of this escapade1 so far as it is possible for criticism to connect them into a coherent narrative4 ,with this object in view1 ,i will begin by translating what ,condivi says upon the subject4 ,michelangelo's sagacity with regard to the importance of ,s4 ,miniato guaranteed the safety of the town1 and proved a source of great damage to the enemy4 ,although he had taken care to secure the position1 he still remained at his post there1 in case of accidents2 and after passing some six months1 rumours began to circulate among the soldiers about expected treason4 ,buonarroti1 then1 noticing these reports1 and being also warned by certain officers who were his friends1 approached the ,signory1 and laid before them what he had heard and seen4 ,he explained the danger hanging over the city1 and told them there was still time to provide against it1 if they would4 ,instead of receiving thanks for this service1 he was abused1 and rebuked as being timorous and too suspicious4 ,the man who made him this answer would have done better had he opened his ears to good advice2 for when the ,medici returned he was beheaded1 whereas he might have kept himself alive4 ,when ,michelangelo perceived how little his words were worth1 and in what certain peril the city stood1 he caused one of the gates to be opened1 by the authority which he possessed1 and went forth with two of his comrades1 and took the road for ,venice4 ,as usual with ,condivi1 this paragraph gives a general and yet substantially accurate account of what really took place4 ,the decisive document1 however1 which throws light upon ,michelangelo's mind in the transaction1 is a letter written by him from ,venice to his friend ,battista della ,palla on the #beth of ,september4 ,palla1 who was an agent for ,francis ,i4 in works of ,italian art1 antiques1 and bric-a-brac1 had long purposed a journey into ,france2 and ,michelangelo1 considering the miserable state of ,italian politics1 agreed to join him4 ,these explanations will suffice to make the import of ,michelangelo's letter clear4 ,battista1 dearest friend1 ,i left ,florence1 as ,i think you know1 meaning to go to ,france4 ,when ,i reached ,venice1 ,i inquired about the road1 and they told me ,i should have to pass through ,german territory1 and that the journey is both perilous and difficult4 ,therefore ,i thought it well to ask you1 at your pleasure1 whether you are still inclined to go1 and to beg you2 and so ,i entreat you1 let me know1 and say where you want me to wait for you1 and we will travel together1 ,i left home without speaking to any of my friends1 and in great confusion4 ,you know that ,i wanted in any case to go to ,france1 and often asked for leave1 but did not get it4 ,nevertheless ,i was quite resolved1 and without any sort of fear1 to see the end of the war out first4 ,but on ,tuesday morning1 ,september #ba1 a certain person came out by the gate at ,s4 ,niccol1 where ,i was attending to the bastions1 and whispered in my ear that1 if ,i meant to save my life1 ,i must not stay at ,florence4 ,he accompanied me home1 dined there1 brought me horses1 and never left my side till he got me outside the city1 declaring that this was my salvation4 ,whether ,god or the devil was the man1 ,i do not know4 ,pray answer the questions in this letter as soon as possible1 because ,i am burning with impatience to set out4 ,if you have changed your mind1 and do not care to go1 still let me know1 so that ,i may provide as best ,i can for my own journey4 ,what appears manifest from this document is that ,michelangelo was decoyed away from ,florence by some one1 who1 acting on his sensitive nervous temperament1 persuaded him that his life was in danger4 ,who the man was we do not know1 but he must have been a person delegated by those who had a direct interest in removing ,buonarroti from the place4 ,if the controller-general of the defences already scented treason in the air1 and was communicating his suspicions to the ,signory1 ,malatesta ,baglioni1 the archtraitor1 who afterwards delivered ,florence over for a price to ,clement1 could not but have wished to frighten him away4 ,from another of ,michelangelo's letters we learn that he carried #cjjj ducats in specie with him on the journey4 ,it is unlikely that he could have disposed so much cash upon his person4 ,he must have had companions4 ,talking with ,michelangelo in #aedi--that is1 twenty years after the event--,busini heard from his lips this account of the flight4 ,i asked ,michelangelo what was the reason of his departure from ,florence4 ,he spoke as follows3 ',i was one of the ,nine when the ,florentine troops mustered within our lines under ,malatesta ,baglioni and ,mario ,orsini and the other generals3 whereupon the ,ten distributed the men along the walls and bastions1 assigning to each captain his own post1 with victuals and provisions2 and among the rest1 they gave eight pieces of artillery to ,malatesta for the defence of part of the bastions at ,s4 ,miniato4 ,he did not1 however1 mount these guns within the bastions1 but below them1 and set no guard4' ,michelangelo1 as architect and magistrate1 having to inspect the lines at ,s4 ,miniato1 asked ,mario ,orsini how it was that ,malatesta treated his artillery so carelessly4 ,the latter answered3 ',you must know that the men of his house are all traitors1 and in time he too will betray this town4' ,these words inspired him with such terror that he was obliged to fly1 impelled by dread lest the city should come to misfortune1 and he together with it4 ,having thus resolved1 he found ,rinaldo ,corsini1 to whom he communicated his thought1 and ,corsini replied lightly3 ',i will go with you4' ,so they mounted horse with a sum of money1 and road to the ,gate of ,justice1 where the guards would not let them pass4 ,while waiting there1 some one sung out3 ',let him by1 for he is of the ,nine1 and it is ,michelangelo4' ,so they went forth1 three on horseback1 he1 ,rinaldo1 and that man of his who never left him4 ,they came to ,castelnuovo 7in the ,garfagnana71 and heard that ,tommaso ,soderini and ,niccol ,capponi were staying there4 ,michelangelo refused to go and see them1 but ,rinaldo went1 and when he came back to ,florence1 as ,i shall relate1 he reported how ,niccol had said to him3 ',o ,rinaldo1 ,i dreamed to-night that ,lorenzo ,zampalochi had been made ,gonfalonier2' alluding to ,lorenzo ,giacomini1 who had a swollen leg1 and had been his adversary in the ,ten4 ,well1 they took the road for ,venice2 but when they came to ,polesella1 ,rinaldo proposed to push on to ,ferrara and have an interview with ,galeotto ,giugni4 ,this he did1 and ,michelangelo awaited him1 for so he promised4 ,messer ,galeotto1 who was spirited and sound of heart1 wrought so with ,rinaldo that he persuaded him to turn back to ,florence4 ,but ,michelangelo pursued his journey to ,venice1 where he took a house1 intending in due season to travel into ,france4 ,varchi follows this report pretty closely1 except that he represents ,rinaldo ,corsini as having strongly urged him to take flight1 affirming that the city in a few hours1 not to say days1 would be in the hands of the ,medici4 ,varchi adds that ,antonio ,mini rode in company with ,michelangelo1 and1 according to his account of the matter1 the three men came together to ,ferrara4 ,there the ,duke offered hospitality to ,michelangelo1 who refused to exchange his inn for the palace1 but laid all the cash he carried with him at the disposition of his ,excellency4 ,segni1 alluding briefly to this flight of ,michelangelo from ,florence1 says that he arrived at ,castelnuovo with ,rinaldo ,corsini1 and that what they communicated to ,niccol ,capponi concerning the treachery of ,malatesta and the state of the city1 so affected the ex-,gonfalonier that he died of a fever after seven days4 ,nardi1 an excellent authority on all that concerns ,florence during the siege1 confirms the account that ,michelangelo left his post together with ,corsini under a panic2 by common agreement1 or through fear of war1 as man's fragility is often wont to do4 ,vasari1 who in his account of this episode seems to have had ,varchi's narrative under his eyes1 adds a trifle of information1 to the effect that ,michelangelo was accompanied upon his flight1 not only by ,antonio ,mini1 but also by his old friend ,piloto4 ,it may be worth adding that while reading in the ,archivio ,buonarroti1 ,i discovered two letters from a friend named ,piero ,paesano addressed to ,michelangelo on ,january #a1 #aecj1 and ,april #ba1 #aecb1 both of which speak of his having fled from ,florence4 ,the earlier plainly says3 ,i heard from ,santi ,quattro 7the ,cardinal1 probably7 that you have left ,florence in order to escape from the annoyance and also from the evil fortune of the war in which the country is engaged4 ,these letters1 which have not been edited1 and the first of which is important1 since it was sent to ,michelangelo in ,florence1 help to prove that ,michelangelo's friends believed he had run away from ,florence4 ,it was necessary to enter into these particulars1 partly in order that the reader may form his own judgment of the motives which prompted ,michelangelo to desert his official post at ,florence1 and partly because we have now to consider the ,ricordo above mentioned1 with the puzzling date1 ,september #aj4 ,this document is a note of expenses incurred during a residence of fourteen days at ,venice4 ,it runs as follows3-- ,honoured ,sir4 ,in ,venice1 this tenth day of ,september4444 ,ten ducats to ,rinaldo ,corsini4 ,five ducats to ,messer ,loredan for the rent of the house4 ,seventeen lire for the stockings of ,antonio 7,mini1 perhaps74 ,for two stools1 a table to eat on1 and a coffer1 half a ducat4 ,eight soldi for straw4 ,forty soldi for the hire of the bed4 ,ten lire to the man 7fante7 who came from ,florence4 ,three ducats to ,bondino for the journey to ,venice with boats4 ,twenty soldi to ,piloto for a pair of shoes4 ,fourteen days' board in ,venice1 twenty lire4 ,it has been argued from the date of the unfinished letter below which these items are jotted down1 that ,michelangelo must have been in ,venice early in ,september1 before his flight from ,florence at the end of that month4 ,but whatever weight we may attach to this single date1 there is no corroborative proof that he travelled twice to ,venice1 and everything in the ,ricordo indicates that it refers to the period of his flight from ,florence4 ,the sum paid to ,corsini comes first1 because it must have been disbursed when that man broke the journey at ,ferrara4 ,antonio ,mini and ,piloto are both mentioned3 a house has been engaged1 and furnished with ,michelangelo's usual frugality1 as though he contemplated a residence of some duration4 ,all this confirms ,busini1 ,varchi1 ,segni1 ,nardi1 and ,vasari in the general outlines of their reports4 ,i am of opinion that1 unassisted by further evidence1 the ,ricordo1 in spite of its date1 will not bear out ,gotti's view that ,michelangelo sought ,venice on a privy mission at the end of ,august #aebi4 ,he was not likely to have been employed as ambassador extraordinary2 the ,signory required his services at home2 and after ,ferrara1 ,venice had little of importance to show the controller-general of defences in the way of earthworks and bastions4 ,,iv ,varchi says that ,michelangelo1 when he reached ,venice1 wishing to avoid visits and ceremonies1 of which he was the greatest enemy1 and in order to live alone1 according to his custom1 far away from company1 retired quietly to the ,giudecca2 but the ,signory1 unable to ignore the advent of so eminent a man1 sent two of their first noblemen to visit him in the name of the ,republic1 and to offer kindly all things which either he or any persons of his train might stand in need of4 ,this public compliment set forth the greatness of his fame as artist1 and showed in what esteem the arts are held by their magnificent and most illustrious lordships4 ,vasari adds that the ,doge1 whom he calls ,gritti1 gave him commission to design a bridge for the ,rialto1 marvellous alike in its construction and its ornament4 ,meanwhile the ,signory of ,florence issued a decree of outlawry against thirteen citizens who had quitted the territory without leave4 ,it was promulgated on the #cjth of ,september1 and threatened them with extreme penalties if they failed to appear before the #hth of ,october4 ,on the #gth of ,october a second decree was published1 confiscating the property of numerous exiles4 ,but this document does not contain the name of ,michelangelo2 and by a third decree1 dated ,november #af1 it appears that the ,government were satisfied with depriving him of his office and stopping his pay4 ,we gather indeed1 from what ,condivi and ,varchi relate1 that they displayed great eagerness to get him back1 and corresponded to this intent with their envoy at ,ferrara4 ,michelangelo's flight from ,florence seemed a matter of sufficient importance to be included in the despatches of the ,french ambassador resident at ,venice4 ,lazare de ,baf1 knowing his master's desire to engage the services of the great sculptor1 and being probably informed of ,buonarroti's own wish to retire to ,france1 wrote several letters in the month of ,october1 telling ,francis that ,michelangelo might be easily persuaded to join his court4 ,we do not know1 however1 whether the ,king acted on this hint4 ,his friends at home took the precaution of securing his effects1 fearing that a decree for their confiscation might be issued4 ,we possess a schedule of wine1 wheat1 and furniture found in his house1 and handed over by the servant ,caterina to his old friend ,francesco ,granacci for safe keeping4 ,they also did their best to persuade ,michelangelo that he ought to take measures for returning under a safe-conduct4 ,galeotto ,giugni wrote upon this subject to the ,war ,office1 under date ,october #ac1 from ,ferrara4 ,he says that ,michelangelo has begged him to intercede in his favour1 and that he is willing to return and lay himself at the feet of their lordships4 ,in answer to this despatch1 news was sent to ,giugni on the #bjth that the ,signory had signed a safe-conduct for ,buonarroti4 ,on the #bbnd ,granacci paid ,sebastiano di ,francesco1 a stone-cutter1 to whom ,michelangelo was much attached1 money for his journey to ,venice4 ,it appears that this man set out upon the #bcrd1 carrying letters from ,giovan ,battista della ,palla1 who had now renounced all intention of retiring to ,france1 and was enthusiastically engaged in1 the defence of ,florence4 ,on the return of the ,medici1 ,palla was imprisoned in the castle of ,pisa1 and paid the penalty of his patriotism by death4 ,a second letter which he wrote to ,michelangelo on this occasion deserves to be translated1 since it proves the high spirit with which the citizens of ,florence were now awaiting the approach of the ,prince of ,orange and his veteran army4 ,yesterday ,i sent you a letter1 together with ten from other friends1 and the safe-conduct granted by the ,signory for the whole month of ,november and though ,i feel sure that it will reach you safely1 ,i take the precaution of enclosing a copy under this cover4 ,i need hardly repeat what ,i wrote at great length in my last1 nor shall ,i have recourse to friends for the same purpose4 ,they all of them1 ,i know1 with one voice1 without the least disagreement or hesitation1 have exhorted you1 immediately upon the receipt of their letters and the safe-conduct1 to return home1 in order to preserve your life1 your country1 your friends1 your honour1 and your property1 and also to enjoy those times so earnestly desired and hoped for by you4 ,if any one had foretold that ,i could listen without the least affright to news of an invading army marching on our walls1 this would have seemed to me impossible4 ,and yet ,i now assure you that ,i am not only quite fearless1 but also full of confidence in a glorious victory4 ,for many days past my soul has been filled with such gladness1 that if ,god1 either for our sins or for some other reason1 according to the mysteries of ,his just judgment1 does not permit that army to be broken in our hands1 my sorrow will be the same as when one loses1 not a good thing hoped for1 but one gained and captured4 ,to such an extent am ,i convinced in my fixed imagination of our success1 and have put it to my capital account4 ,i already foresee our militia system1 established on a permanent basis1 and combined with that of the territory1 carrying our city to the skies4 ,i contemplate a fortification of ,florence1 not temporary1 as it now is1 but with walls and bastions to be built hereafter4 ,the principal and most difficult step has been already taken2 the whole space round the town swept clean1 without regard for churches or for monasteries1 in accordance with the public need4 ,i contemplate in these our fellow-citizens a noble spirit of disdain for all their losses and the bygone luxuries of villa-life2 an admirable unity and fervour for the preservation of liberty2 fear of ,god alone2 confidence in ,him and in the justice of our cause2 innumerable other good things1 certain to bring again the age of gold1 and which ,i hope sincerely you will enjoy in company with all of us who are your friends4 ,for all these reasons1 ,i most earnestly entreat you1 from the depth of my heart1 to come at once and travel through ,lucca1 where ,i will meet you1 and attend you with due form and ceremony until here3 such is my intense desire that our country should not lose you1 nor you her4 ,if1 after your arrival at ,lucca1 you should by some accident fail to find me1 and you should not care to come to ,florence without my company1 write a word1 ,i beg4 ,i will set out at once1 for ,i feel sure that ,i shall get permission4444 ,god1 by ,his goodness1 keep you in good health1 and bring you back to us safe and happy4 ,michelangelo set forth upon his journey soon after the receipt of this letter4 ,he was in ,ferrara on the #ith of ,november1 as appears from a despatch written by ,galeotto ,giugni1 recommending him to the ,government of ,florence4 ,letters patent under the seal of the ,duke secured him free passage through the city of ,modena and the province of ,garfagnana4 ,in spite of these accommodations1 he seems to have met with difficulties on the way1 owing to the disturbed state of the country4 ,his friend ,giovan ,battista ,palla was waiting for him at ,lucca1 without information of his movements1 up to the #ahth of the month4 ,he had left ,florence on the #aath1 and spent the week at ,pisa and ,lucca1 expecting news in vain4 ,then1 with one foot in the stirrup1 as he says1 the license granted by the ,signory having expired1 he sends another missive to ,venice1 urging ,michelangelo not to delay a day longer4 ,as ,i cannot persuade myself that you do not intend to come1 ,i urgently request you to reflect1 if you have not already started1 that the property of those who incurred outlawry with you is being sold1 and if you do not arrive within the term conceded by your safe-conduct--that is1 during this month--the same will happen to yourself without the possibility of any mitigation4 ,if you do come1 as ,i still hope and firmly believe1 speak with my honoured friend ,messer ,filippo ,calandrini here1 to whom ,i have given directions for your attendance from this town without trouble to yourself4 ,god keep you safe from harm1 and grant we see you shortly in our country1 by ,his aid1 victorious4 ,with this letter1 ,palla1 who was certainly a good friend to the wayward artist1 and an amiable man to boot1 disappears out of this history4 ,at some time about the #bjth of ,november1 ,michelangelo returned to ,florence4 ,we do not know how he finished the journey1 and how he was received2 but the sentence of outlawry was commuted1 on the #bcrd1 into exclusion from the ,grand ,council for three years4 ,he set to work immediately at ,s4 ,miniato1 strengthening the bastions1 and turning the church-tower into a station for sharpshooters4 ,florence by this time had lost all her territory except a few strong places1 ,pisa1 ,livorno1 ,arezzo1 ,empoli1 ,volterra4 ,the ,emperor ,charles ,v4 signed her liberties away to ,clement by the peace of ,barcelona 7,june #bj1aebi71 and the ,republic was now destined to be the appanage of his illegitimate daughter in marriage with the bastard ,alessandro de' ,medici4 ,it only remained for the army of the ,prince of ,orange to reduce the city4 ,when ,michelangelo arrived1 the ,imperial troops were leaguered on the heights above the town4 ,the inevitable end of the unequal struggle could be plainly foreseen by those who had not ,palla's enthusiasm to sustain their faith4 ,in spite of ,ferrucci's genius and spirit1 in spite of the good-will of the citizens1 ,florence was bound to fall4 ,while admitting that ,michelangelo abandoned his post in a moment of panic1 we must do him the justice of remembering that he resumed it when all his darkest prognostications were being slowly but surely realised4 ,the worst was that his old enemy1 ,malatesta ,baglioni1 had now opened a regular system of intrigue with ,clement and the ,prince of ,orange1 terminating in the treasonable cession of the city4 ,it was not until ,august #aecj that ,florence finally capitulated4 ,still the months which intervened between that date and ,michelangelo's return from ,venice were but a dying close1 a slow agony interrupted by spasms of ineffectual heroism4 ,in describing the works at ,s4 ,miniato1 ,condivi lays great stress upon ,michelangelo's plan for arming the bell-tower4 ,the incessant cannonade of the enemy had broken it in many places1 and there was a serious risk that it might come crashing down1 to the great injury of the troops within the bastion4 ,he caused a large number of mattresses well stuffed with wool to be brought1 and lowered these by night from the summit of the tower down to its foundations1 protecting those parts which were exposed to fire4 ,inasmuch as the cornice projected1 the mattresses hung free in the air1 at the distance of six cubits from the wall2 so that when the missiles of the enemy arrived1 they did little or no damage1 partly owing to the distance they had travelled1 and partly to the resistance offered by this swinging1 yielding panoply4 ,an anonymous writer1 quoted by ,milanesi1 gives a fairly intelligible account of the system adopted by ,michelangelo4 ,the outer walls of the bastion were composed of unbaked bricks1 the clay of which was mingled with chopped tow4 ,its thickness he filled in with earth2 and1 adds this critic1 of all the buildings which remained1 this alone survived the siege4 ,it was objected that1 in designing these bastions1 he multiplied the flanking lines and embrasures beyond what was either necessary or safe4 ,but1 observes the anonymous writer1 all that his duty as architect demanded was that he should lay down a plan consistent with the nature of the ground1 leaving details to practical engineers and military men4 ,if1 then1 he committed any errors in these matters1 it was not so much his fault as that of the ,government1 who did not provide him with experienced coadjutors4 ,but how can mere merchants understand the art of war1 which needs as much science as any other of the arts1 nay more1 inasmuch as it is obviously more noble and more perilous8 ,the confidence now reposed in him is further demonstrated by a license granted on the #bbnd of ,february #aecj1 empowering him to ascend the cupola of the ,duomo on one special occasion with two companions1 in order to obtain a general survey of the environs of ,florence4 ,michelangelo1 in the midst of these serious duties1 could not have had much time to bestow upon his art4 ,still there is no reason to doubt ,vasari's emphatic statement that he went on working secretly at the ,medicean monuments4 ,to have done so openly while the city was in conflict to the death with ,clement1 would have been dangerous2 and yet every one who understands the artist's temperament must feel that a man like ,buonarroti was likely to seek rest and distraction from painful anxieties in the tranquillising labour of the chisel4 ,it is also certain that1 during the last months of the siege1 he found leisure to paint a picture of ,leda for the ,duke of ,ferrara1 which will be mentioned in its proper place4 ,florence surrendered in the month of ,august #aecj4 ,the terms were drawn up by ,don ,ferrante ,gonzaga1 who commanded the ,imperial forces after the death of ,filiberto1 ,prince of ,orange1 in concert with the ,pope's commissary-general1 ,baccio ,valori4 ,malatesta ,baglioni1 albeit he went about muttering that ,florence was no stable for mules 7alluding to the fact that all the ,medici were bastards71 approved of the articles1 and showed by his conduct that he had long been plotting treason4 ,the act of capitulation was completed on the #abth1 and accepted unwillingly by the ,signory4 ,valori1 supported by ,baglioni's military force1 reigned supreme in the city1 and prepared to reinstate the exiled family of princes4 ,it said that ,marco ,dandolo of ,venice1 when news reached the ,pregadi of the fall of ,florence1 exclaimed aloud3 ,baglioni has put upon his head the cap of the biggest traitor upon record4 ,v ,the city was saved from wreckage by a lucky quarrel between the ,italian and ,spanish troops in the ,imperial camp4 ,but no sooner was ,clement aware that ,florence lay at his mercy1 than he disregarded the articles of capitulation1 and began to act as an autocratic despot4 ,before confiding the government to his kinsmen1 the ,cardinal ,ippolito and ,alessandro ,duke of ,penna1 he made ,valori institute a series of criminal prosecutions against the patriots4 ,battista della ,palla and ,raffaello ,girolami were sent to prison and poisoned4 ,five citizens were tortured and decapitated in one day of ,october4 ,those who had managed to escape from ,florence were sentenced to exile1 outlawry1 and confiscation of goods by hundreds4 ,charles ,v4 had finally to interfere and put a stop to the fury of the ,pope's revenges4 ,how cruel and exasperated the mind of ,clement was1 may be gathered from his treatment of ,fra ,benedetto da ,foiano1 who sustained the spirit of the burghers by his fiery preaching during the privations of the siege4 ,foiano fell into the clutches of ,malatesta ,baglioni1 who immediately sent him down to ,rome4 ,by the ,pope's orders the wretched friar was flung into the worst dungeon in the ,castle of ,s4 ,angelo1 and there slowly starved to death by gradual diminution of his daily dole of bread and water4 ,readers of ,benvenuto ,cellini's ,memoirs will remember the horror with which he speaks of this dungeon and of its dreadful reminiscences1 when it fell to his lot to be imprisoned there4 ,such being the mood of ,clement1 it is not wonderful that ,michelangelo should have trembled for his own life and liberty4 ,as ,varchi says1 ,he had been a member of the ,nine1 had fortified the hill and armed the bell-tower of ,s4 ,miniato4 ,what was more annoying1 he was accused1 though falsely1 of proposing to raze the palace of the ,medici1 where in his boyhood ,lorenzo and ,piero de' ,medici had shown him honour as a guest at their own tables1 and to name the space on which it stood the ,place of ,mules4 ,for this reason he hid himself1 as ,condivi and ,varchi assert1 in the house of a trusty friend4 ,the ,senator ,filippo ,buonarroti1 who diligently collected traditions about his illustrious ancestor1 believed that his real place of retreat was the bell-tower of ,s4 ,nicol1 beyond the ,arno4 ,when ,clement's fury abated1 says ,condivi1 he wrote to ,florence ordering that search should be made for ,michelangelo1 and adding that when he was found1 if he agreed to go on working at the ,medicean monuments1 he should be left at liberty and treated with due courtesy4 ,on hearing news of this1 ,michelangelo came forth from his hiding-place1 and resumed the statues in the sacristy of ,s4 ,lorenzo1 moved thereto more by fear of the ,pope than by love for the ,medici4 ,from correspondence carried on between ,rome and ,florence during ,november and ,december1 we learn that his former pension of fifty crowns a month was renewed1 and that ,giovan ,battista ,figiovanni1 a ,prior of ,s4 ,lorenzo1 was appointed the ,pope's agent and paymaster4 ,an incident of some interest in the art-history of ,florence is connected with this return of the ,medici1 and probably also with ,clement's desire to concentrate ,michelangelo's energies upon the sacristy4 ,so far back as ,may #aj1 #aejh1 ,piero ,soderini wrote to the ,marquis of ,massa-,carrara1 begging him to retain a large block of marble until ,michelangelo could come in person and superintend its rough-hewing for a colossal statue to be placed on the ,piazza4 ,after the death of ,leo1 the stone was assigned to ,baccio ,bandinelli2 but ,michelangelo1 being in favour with the ,government at the time of the expulsion of the ,medici1 obtained the grant of it4 ,his first intention1 in which ,bandinelli followed him1 was to execute a ,hercules trampling upon ,cacus1 which should stand as pendant to his own ,david4 ,by a deliberation of the ,signory1 under date ,august #bb1 #aebh1 we are informed that the marble had been brought to ,florence about three years earlier1 and that ,michelangelo now received instructions1 couched in the highest terms of compliment1 to proceed with a group of two figures until its accomplishment4 ,if ,vasari can be trusted1 ,michelangelo made numerous designs and models for the ,cacus1 but afterwards changed his mind1 and thought that he would extract from the block a ,samson triumphing over two prostrate ,philistines4 ,the evidence for this change of plan is not absolutely conclusive4 ,the deliberation of ,august #bb1 #aebh1 indeed left it open to his discretion whether he should execute a ,hercules and ,cacus1 or any other group of two figures2 and the ,english nation at ,south ,kensington possesses one of his noble little wax models for a ,hercules4 ,we may perhaps1 therefore1 assume that while ,bandinelli adhered to the ,hercules and ,cacus1 ,michelangelo finally decided on a ,samson4 ,at any rate1 the block was restored in #aecj to ,bandinelli1 who produced the misbegotten group which still deforms the ,florentine ,piazza4 ,michelangelo had some reason to be jealous of ,bandinelli1 who exercised considerable influence at the ,medicean court1 and was an unscrupulous enemy both in word and deed4 ,a man more widely and worse hated than ,bandinelli never lived4 ,if any piece of mischief happened which could be fixed upon him with the least plausibility1 he bore the blame4 ,accordingly1 when ,buonarroti's workshop happened to be broken open1 people said that ,bandinelli was the culprit4 ,antonio ,mini left the following record of the event3 ,three months before the siege1 ,michelangelo's studio in ,via ,mozza was burst into with chisels1 about fifty drawings of figures were stolen1 and among them the designs for the ,medicean tombs1 with others of great value2 also four models in wax and clay4 ,the young men who did it left by accident a chisel marked with the letter ,m41 which led to their discovery4 ,when they knew they were detected1 they made off or hid themselves1 and sent to say they would return the stolen articles1 and begged for pardon4 ,now the chisel branded with an ,m4 was traced to ,michelangelo1 the father of ,baccio ,bandinelli1 and no one doubted that he was the burglar4 ,the history of ,michelangelo's ,leda1 which now survives only in doubtful reproductions1 may be introduced by a passage from ,condivi's account of his master's visit to ,ferrara in #aebi4 ,the ,duke received him with great demonstrations of joy1 no less by reason of his eminent fame than because ,don ,ercole1 his son1 was ,captain of the ,signory of ,florence4 ,riding forth with him in person1 there was nothing appertaining to the business of his mission which the ,duke did not bring beneath his notice1 whether fortifications or artillery4 ,beside this1 he opened his own private treasure-room1 displaying all its contents1 and particularly some pictures and portraits of his ancestors1 executed by masters in their time excellent4 ,when the hour approached for ,michelangelo's departure1 the ,duke jestingly said to him3 ',you are my prisoner now4 ,if you want me to let you go free1 ,i require that you shall promise to make me something with your own hand1 according to your will and fancy1 be it sculpture or painting4' ,michelangelo agreed2 and when he arrived at ,florence1 albeit he was overwhelmed with work for the defences1 he began a large piece for a saloon1 representing the congress of the swan with ,leda4 ,the breaking of the egg was also introduced1 from which sprang ,castor and ,pollux1 according to the ancient fable4 ,the ,duke heard of this2 and on the return of the ,medici1 he feared that he might lose so great a treasure in the popular disturbance which ensued4 ,accordingly he despatched one of his gentlemen1 who found ,michelangelo at home1 and viewed the picture4 ,after inspecting it1 the man exclaimed3 ',oh6 this is a mere trifle4' ,michelangelo inquired what his own art was1 being aware that men can only form a proper judgment in the arts they exercise4 ,the other sneered and answered3 ',i am a merchant4' ,perhaps he felt affronted at the question1 and at not being recognised in his quality of nobleman2 he may also have meant to depreciate the industry of the ,florentines1 who for the most part are occupied with trade1 as though to say3 ',you ask me what my art is8 ,is it possible you think a man like me could be a trader8' ,michelangelo1 perceiving his drift1 growled out3 ',you are doing bad business for your lord6 ,take yourself away6' ,having thus dismissed the ducal messenger1 he made a present of the picture1 after a short while1 to one of his serving-men1 who1 having two sisters to marry1 begged for assistance4 ,it was sent to ,france1 and there bought by ,king ,francis1 where it still exists4 ,as a matter of fact1 we know now that ,antonio ,mini1 for a long time ,michelangelo's man of all work1 became part owner of this ,leda1 and took it with him to ,france4 ,a certain ,francesco ,tedaldi acquired pecuniary interest in the picture1 of which one ,benedetto ,bene made a copy at ,lyons in #aecb4 ,the original and the copy were carried by ,mini to ,paris in #aecc1 and deposited in the house of ,giuliano ,buonaccorsi1 whence they were transferred in some obscure way to the custody of ,luigi ,alamanni1 and finally passed into the possession of the ,king4 ,meanwhile1 ,antonio ,mini died1 and ,tedaldi wrote a record of his losses and a confused account of money matters and broker business1 which he sent to ,michelangelo in #aedj4 ,the ,leda remained at ,fontainebleau till the reign of ,louis ,,xiii41 when ,m4 ,desnoyers1 ,minister of ,state1 ordered the picture to be destroyed because of its indecency4 ,pierre ,mariette says that this order was not carried into effect2 for the canvas1 in a sadly mutilated state1 reappeared some seven or eight years before his date of writing1 and was seen by him4 ,in spite of injuries1 he could trace the hand of a great master2 and ,i confess that nothing ,i had seen from the brush of ,michelangelo showed better painting4 ,he adds that it was restored by a second-rate artist and sent to ,england4 ,what became of ,mini's copy is uncertain4 ,we possess a painting in the ,dresden ,gallery1 a ,cartoon in the collection of the ,royal ,academy of ,england1 and a large oil picture1 much injured1 in the vaults of the ,national ,gallery4 ,in addition to these works1 there is a small marble statue in the ,museo ,nazionale at ,florence4 ,all of them represent ,michelangelo's design4 ,if mere indecency could justify ,desnoyers in his attempt to destroy a masterpiece1 this picture deserved its fate4 ,it represented the act of coition between a swan and a woman2 and though we cannot hold ,michelangelo responsible for the repulsive expression on the face of ,leda1 which relegates the marble of the ,bargello to a place among pornographic works of art1 there is no reason to suppose that the general scheme of his conception was abandoned in the copies made of it4 ,michelangelo1 being a true artist1 anxious only for the presentation of his subject1 seems to have remained indifferent to its moral quality4 ,whether it was a crucifixion1 or a congress of the swan with ,leda1 or a rape of ,ganymede1 or the murder of ,holofernes in his tent1 or the birth of ,eve1 he sought to seize the central point in the situation1 and to accentuate its significance by the inexhaustible means at his command for giving plastic form to an idea4 ,those1 however1 who have paid attention to his work will discover that he always found emotional quality corresponding to the nature of the subject4 ,his ways of handling religious and mythological motives differ in sentiment1 and both are distinguished from his treatment of dramatic episodes4 ,the man's mind made itself a mirror to reflect the vision gloating over it2 he cared not what that vision was1 so long as he could render it in lines of plastic harmony1 and express the utmost of the feeling which the theme contained4 ,among the many statues left unfinished by ,michelangelo is one belonging to this period of his life4 ,in order to ingratiate himself with ,baccio ,valori1 says ,vasari1 he began a statue of three cubits in marble4 ,it was an ,apollo drawing a shaft from his quiver4 ,this he nearly finished4 ,it stands now in the chamber of the ,prince of ,florence2 a thing of rarest beauty1 though not quite completed4 ,this noble piece of sculpture illustrates the certainty and freedom of the master's hand4 ,though the last touches of the chisel are lacking1 every limb palpitates and undulates with life4 ,the marble seems to be growing into flesh beneath the hatched lines left upon its surface4 ,the pose of the young god1 full of strength and sinewy1 is no less admirable for audacity than for ease and freedom4 ,whether ,vasari was right in his explanation of the action of this figure may be considered more than doubtful4 ,were we not accustomed to call it an ,apollo1 we should rather be inclined to class it with the ,slaves of the ,louvre1 to whom in feeling and design it bears a remarkable resemblance4 ,indeed1 it might be conjectured with some probability that1 despairing of bringing his great design for the tomb of ,julius to a conclusion1 he utilised one of the projected captives for his present to the all-powerful vizier of the ,medicean tyrants4 ,it ought1 in conclusion1 to be added1 that there was nothing servile in ,michelangelo's desire to make ,valori his friend4 ,he had accepted the political situation2 and we have good reason1 from letters written at a later date by ,valori from ,rome1 to believe that this man took a sincere interest in the great artist4 ,moreover1 ,varchi1 who is singularly severe in his judgment on the agents of the ,medici1 expressly states that ,baccio ,valori was less cruel than the other ,palleschi1 doing many and notable services to some persons out of kindly feeling1 and to others for money 7since he had little and spent much72 and this he was well able to perform1 seeing he was then the lord of ,florence1 and the first citizens of the land paid court to him and swelled his train4 ,,vi ,during the siege ,lodovico ,buonarroti passed his time at ,pisa4 ,his little grandson1 ,lionardo1 the sole male heir of the family1 was with him4 ,born ,september #be1 #aeai1 the boy was now exactly eleven years old1 and by his father's death in #aebh he had been two years an orphan4 ,lionardo was ailing1 and the old man wearied to return4 ,his two sons1 ,gismondo and ,giansimone1 had promised to fetch him home when the country should be safe for travelling4 ,but they delayed2 and at last1 upon the #cjth of ,september1 ,lodovico wrote as follows to ,michelangelo3 ,some time since ,i directed a letter to ,gismondo1 from whom you have probably learned that ,i am staying here1 and1 indeed1 too long2 for the flight of ,buonarroto's pure soul to heaven1 and my own need and earnest desire to come home1 and ,nardo's state of health1 all makes me restless4 ,the boy has been for some days out of health and pining1 and ,i am anxious about him4 ,it is probable that some means were found for escorting them both safely to ,settignano4 ,we hear no more about ,lodovico till the period of his death1 the date of which has not been ascertained with certainty4 ,from the autumn of #aecj on to the end of #aecc ,michelangelo worked at the ,medicean monuments4 ,his letters are singularly scanty during all this period1 but we possess sufficient information from other sources to enable us to reconstruct a portion of his life4 ,what may be called the chronic malady of his existence1 that never-ending worry with the tomb of ,julius1 assumed an acute form again in the spring of #aeca4 ,the correspondence with ,sebastiano del ,piombo1 which had been interrupted since #aebe1 now becomes plentiful1 and enables us to follow some of the steps which led to the new and solemn contract of ,may #aecb4 ,it is possible that ,michelangelo thought he ought to go to ,rome in the beginning of the year4 ,if we are right in ascribing a letter written by ,benvenuto della ,volpaia from ,rome upon the #ahth of ,january to the year #aeca1 and not to #aecb1 he must have already decided on this step4 ,the document is curious in several respects4 ,yours of the #acth informs me that you want a room4 ,i shall be delighted if ,i can be of service to you in this matter2 indeed1 it is nothing in respect to what ,i should like to do for you4 ,i can offer you a chamber or two without the least inconvenience2 and you could not confer on me a greater pleasure than by taking up your abode with me in either of the two places which ,i will now describe4 ,his ,holiness has placed me in the ,belvedere1 and made me guardian there4 ,to-morrow my things will be carried thither1 for a permanent establishment2 and ,i can place at your disposal a room with a bed and everything you want4 ,you can even enter by the gate outside the city1 which opens into the spiral staircase1 and reach your apartment and mine without passing through ,rome4 ,from here ,i can let you into the palace1 for ,i keep a key at your service2 and what is better1 the ,pope comes every day to visit us4 ,if you decide on the ,belvedere1 you must let me know the day of your departure1 and about when you will arrive4 ,in that case ,i will take up my post at the spiral staircase of ,bramante1 where you will be able to see me4 ,if you wish1 nobody but my brother and ,mona ,lisabetta and ,i shall know that you are here1 and you shall do just as you please2 and1 in short1 ,i beg you earnestly to choose this plan4 ,otherwise1 come to the ,borgo ,nuovo1 to the houses which ,volterra built1 the fifth house toward ,s4 ,angelo4 ,i have rented it to live there1 and my brother ,fruosino is also going to live and keep shop in it4 ,there you will have a room or two1 if you like1 at your disposal4 ,please yourself1 and give the letter to ,tommaso di ,stefano ,miniatore1 who will address it to ,messer ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 and ,i shall have it quickly4 ,nothing came of these proposals4 ,but that ,michelangelo did not abandon the idea of going to ,rome appears from a letter of ,sebastiano's written on the #bdth of ,february4 ,it was the first which passed between the friends since the terrible events of #aebg and #aecj4 ,for once1 the jollity of the epicurean friar has deserted him4 ,he writes as though those awful months of the sack of ,rome were still present to his memory4 ,after all those trials1 hardships1 and perils1 ,god ,almighty has left us alive and in health1 by ,his mercy and piteous kindness4 ,a thing1 in sooth1 miraculous1 when ,i reflect upon it2 wherefore ,his ,majesty be ever held in gratitude4444 ,now1 gossip mine1 since we have passed through fire and water1 and have experienced things we never dreamed of1 let us thank ,god for all2 and the little remnant left to us of life1 may we at least employ it in such peace as can be had4 ,for of a truth1 what fortune does or does not do is of slight importance1 seeing how scurvy and how dolorous she is4 ,i am brought to this1 that if the universe should crumble round me1 ,i should not care1 but laugh at all4 ,menighella will inform you what my life is1 how ,i am4 ,i do not yet seem to myself to be the same ,bastiano ,i was before the ,sack4 ,i cannot yet get back into my former frame of mind4 ,in a postscript to this letter1 eloquent by its very naivete1 ,sebastiano says that he sees no reason for ,michelangelo's coming to ,rome1 except it be to look after his house1 which is going to ruin1 and the workshop tumbling to pieces4 ,in another letter1 of ,april #bi1 ,sebastiano repeats that there is no need for ,michelangelo to come to ,rome1 if it be only to put himself right with the ,pope4 ,clement is sincerely his friend1 and has forgiven the part he played during the siege of ,florence4 ,he then informs his gossip that1 having been lately at ,pesaro1 he met the painter ,girolamo ,genga1 who promised to be serviceable in the matter of the tomb of ,julius4 ,the ,duke of ,urbino1 according to this man's account1 was very eager to see it finished4 ,i replied that the work was going forward1 but that #hjjj ducats were needed for its completion1 and we did not know where to get this money4 ,he said that the ,duke would provide1 but his ,lordship was afraid of losing both the ducats and the work1 and was inclined to be angry4 ,after a good deal of talking1 he asked whether it would not be possible to execute the tomb upon a reduced scale1 so as to satisfy both parties4 ,i answered that you ought to be consulted4 ,we have reason to infer from this that the plan which was finally adopted1 of making a mural monument with only a few figures from the hand of ,michelangelo1 had already been suggested4 ,in his next letter1 ,sebastiano communicates the fact that he has been appointed to the office of ,piombatore2 and if you could see me in my quality of friar1 ,i am sure you would laugh4 ,i am the finest friar loon in ,rome4 ,the ,duke of ,urbino's agent1 ,hieronimo ,staccoli1 now appears for the first time upon the stage4 ,it was through his negotiations that the former contracts for the tomb of ,julius were finally annulled and a new design adopted4 ,michelangelo offered1 with the view of terminating all disputes1 to complete the monument on a reduced scale at his own cost1 and furthermore to disburse the sum of #bjjj ducats in discharge of any claims the ,della ,rovere might have against him4 ,this seemed too liberal1 and when ,clement was informed of the project1 he promised to make better terms4 ,indeed1 during the course of these negotiations the ,pope displayed the greatest interest in ,michelangelo's affairs4 ,staccoli1 on the ,duke's part1 raised objections2 and ,sebastiano had to remind him that1 unless some concessions were made1 the scheme of the tomb might fall through3 for it does not rain ,michelangelos1 and men could hardly be found to preserve the work1 far less to finish it4 ,in course of time the ,duke's ambassador at ,rome1 ,giovan ,maria della ,porta1 intervened1 and throughout the whole business ,clement was consulted upon every detail4 ,sebastiano kept up his correspondence through the summer of #aeca4 ,meanwhile the suspense and anxiety were telling seriously on ,michelangelo's health4 ,already in ,june news must have reached ,rome that his health was breaking down2 for ,clement sent word recommending him to work less1 and to relax his spirits by exercise4 ,toward the autumn he became alarmingly ill4 ,we have a letter from ,paolo ,mini1 the uncle of his servant ,antonio1 written to ,baccio ,valori on the #bith of ,september4 ,after describing the beauty of two statues for the ,medicean tombs1 ,mini says he fears that ,michelangelo will not live long1 unless some measures are taken for his benefit4 ,he works very hard1 eats little and poorly1 and sleeps less4 ,in fact1 he is afflicted with two kinds of disorder1 the one in his head1 the other in his heart4 ,neither is incurable1 since he has a robust constitution2 but for the good of his head1 he ought to be restrained by our ,lord the ,pope from working through the winter in the sacristy1 the air of which is bad for him2 and for his heart1 the best remedy would be if his ,holiness could accommodate matters with the ,duke of ,urbino4 ,in a second letter1 of ,october #h1 ,mini insists again upon the necessity of freeing ,michelangelo's mind from his anxieties4 ,the upshot was that ,clement1 on the #bast of ,november1 addressed a brief to his sculptor1 whereby ,buonarroti was ordered1 under pain of excommunication1 to lay aside all work except what was strictly necessary for the ,medicean monuments1 and to take better care of his health4 ,on the #bfth of the same month ,benvenuto della ,volpaia wrote1 repeating what the ,pope had written in his brief1 and adding that his ,holiness desired him to select some workshop more convenient for his health than the cold and cheerless sacristy4 ,in spite of ,clement's orders that ,michelangelo should confine himself strictly to working on the ,medicean monuments1 he continued to be solicited with various commissions4 ,thus the ,cardinal ,cybo wrote in ,december begging him to furnish a design for a tomb which he intended to erect4 ,whether ,michelangelo consented is not known4 ,early in ,december ,sebastiano resumed his communications on the subject of the tomb of ,julius1 saying that ,michelangelo must not expect to satisfy the ,duke without executing the work1 in part at least1 himself4 ,there is no one but yourself that harms you3 ,i mean1 your eminent fame and the greatness of your works4 ,i do not say this to flatter you4 ,therefore1 ,i am of opinion that1 without some shadow of yourself1 we shall never induce those parties to do what we want4 ,it seems to me that you might easily make designs and models1 and afterwards assign the completion to any master whom you choose4 ,but the shadow of yourself there must be4 ,if you take the matter in this way1 it will be a trifle2 you will do nothing1 and seem to do all2 but remember that the work must be carried out under your shadow4 ,a series of despatches1 forwarded between ,december #d1 #aeca1 and ,april #bi1 #aecb1 by ,giovan ,maria della ,porta to the ,duke of ,urbino1 confirm the particulars furnished by the letters which ,sebastiano still continued to write from ,rome4 ,at the end of #aeca ,michelangelo expressed his anxiety to visit ,rome1 now that the negotiations with the ,duke were nearly complete4 ,sebastiano1 hearing this1 replies3 ,you will effect more in half an hour than ,i can do in a whole year4 ,i believe that you will arrange everything after two words with his ,holiness2 for our ,lord is anxious to meet your wishes4 ,he wanted to be present at the drawing up and signing of the contract4 ,clement1 however1 although he told ,sebastiano that he should be glad to see him1 hesitated to send the necessary permission1 and it was not until the month of ,april #aecb that he set out4 ,about the #fth1 as appears from the indorsement of a letter received in his absence1 he must have reached ,rome4 ,the new contract was not ready for signature before the #bith1 and on that date ,michelangelo left for ,florence1 having1 as he says1 been sent off by the ,pope in a hurry on the very day appointed for its execution4 ,in his absence it was duly signed and witnessed before ,clement2 the ,cardinals ,gonzaga and da ,monte and the ,lady ,felice della ,rovere attesting1 while ,giovan ,maria della ,porta and ,girolamo ,staccoli acted for the ,duke of ,urbino4 ,when ,michelangelo returned and saw the instrument1 he found that several clauses prejudicial to his interests had been inserted by the notary4 ,i discovered more than #ajjj ducats charged unjustly to my debit1 also the house in which ,i live1 and certain other hooks and crooks to ruin me4 ,the ,pope would certainly not have tolerated this knavery1 as ,fra ,sebastiano can bear witness1 since he wished me to complain to ,clement and have the notary hanged4 ,i swear ,i never received the moneys which ,giovan ,maria della ,porta wrote against me1 and caused to be engrossed upon the contract4 ,it is difficult to understand why ,michelangelo should not have immediately taken measures to rectify these errors4 ,he seems to have been well aware that he was bound to refund #bjjj ducats1 since the only letter from his pen belonging to the year #aecb is one dated ,may1 and addressed to ,andrea ,quarantesi in ,pisa4 ,in this document he consults ,quarantesi about the possibility of raising that sum1 with #ajjj ducats in addition4 ,it was in my mind1 in order that ,i might not be left naked1 to sell houses and possessions1 and to let the lira go for ten soldi4 ,as the contract was never carried out1 the fraudulent passages inserted in the deed did not prove of practical importance4 ,delia ,porta1 on his part1 wrote in high spirits to his master3 ,yesterday we executed the new contract with ,michelangelo1 for the ratification of which by your ,lordship we have fixed a limit of two months4 ,it is of a nature to satisfy all ,rome1 and reflects great credit on your ,lordship for the trouble you have taken in concluding it4 ,michelangelo1 who shows a very proper respect for your ,lordship1 has promised to make and send you a design4 ,among other items1 ,i have bound him to furnish six statues by his own hand1 which will be a world in themselves1 because they are sure to be incomparable4 ,the rest he may have finished by some sculptor at his own choice1 provided the work is done under his direction4 ,the ,pope allows him to come twice a year to ,rome1 for periods of two months each1 in order to push the work forward4 ,and he is to execute the whole at his own costs4 ,he proceeds to say1 that since the tomb cannot be put up in ,s4 ,peter's1 ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli has been selected as the most suitable church4 ,it appears that the ,duke's ratification was sent upon the #eth of ,june and placed in the hands of ,clement1 so that ,michelangelo probably did not see it for some months4 ,della ,porta1 writing to the ,duke again upon the #aith of ,june1 says that ,clement promised to allow ,michelangelo to come to ,rome in the winter1 and to reside there working at the tomb4 ,but we have no direct information concerning his doings after the return to ,florence at the end of ,april #aecb4 ,it will be worth while to introduce ,condivi's account of these transactions relating to the tomb of ,julius1 since it throws some light upon the sculptor's private feelings and motives1 as well as upon the falsification of the contract as finally engrossed4 ,when ,michelangelo had been called to ,rome by ,pope ,clement1 he began to be harassed by the agents of the ,duke of ,urbino about the sepulchre of ,julius4 ,clement1 who wished to employ him in ,florence1 did all he could to set him free1 and gave him for his attorney in this matter ,messer ,tommaso da ,prato1 who was afterwards datary4 ,michelangelo1 however1 knowing the devil disposition of ,duke ,alessandro toward him1 and being in great dread on this account1 also because he bore love and reverence to the memory of ,pope ,julius and to the illustrious house of ,della ,rovere1 strained every nerve to remain in ,rome and busy himself about the tomb4 ,what made him more anxious was that every one accused him of having received from ,pope ,julius at least #af1jjj crowns1 and of having spent them on himself without fulfilling his engagements4 ,being a man sensitive about his reputation1 he could not bear the dishonour of such reports1 and wanted the whole matter to be cleared up2 nor1 although he was now old1 did he shrink from the very onerous task of completing what he had begun so long ago4 ,consequently they came to strife together1 and his antagonists were unable to prove payments to anything like the amount which had first been noised abroad2 indeed1 on the contrary1 more than two thirds of the whole sum first stipulated by the two ,cardinals was wanting4 ,clement then thinking he had found an excellent opportunity for setting him at liberty and making use of his whole energies1 called ,michelangelo to him1 and said3 ',come1 now1 confess that you want to make this tomb1 but wish to know who will pay you the balance4' ,michelangelo1 knowing well that the ,pope was anxious to employ him on his own work1 answered3 ',supposing some one is found to pay me4' ,to which ,pope ,clement3 ',you are a great fool if you let yourself believe that any one will come forward to offer you a farthing4' ,accordingly1 his attorney1 ,messer ,tommaso1 and the agents of the ,duke1 after some negotiations1 came to an agreement that a tomb should at least be made for the amount he had received4 ,michelangelo1 thinking the matter had arrived at a good conclusion1 consented with alacrity4 ,he was much influenced by the elder ,cardinal di ,monte1 who owed his advancement to ,julius ,,ii41 and was uncle of ,julius ,,iii41 our present ,pope by grace of ,god4 ,the arrangement was as follows3 ,that he should make a tomb of one faade only2 should utilise those marbles which he had already blocked out for the quadrangular monument1 adapting them as well as circumstances allowed2 and finally1 that he should be bound to furnish six statues by his own hand4 ,in spite of this arrangement1 ,pope ,clement was allowed to employ ,michelangelo in ,florence or where he liked during four months of the year1 that being required by his ,holiness for his undertakings at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,such then was the contract made between the ,duke and ,michelangelo4 ,but here it has to be observed1 that after all accounts had been made up1 ,michelangelo secretly agreed with the agents of his ,excellency that it should be reported that he had received some thousands of crowns above what had been paid to him2 the object being to make his obligation to the ,duke of ,urbino seem more considerable1 and to discourage ,pope ,clement from sending him to ,florence1 whither he was extremely unwilling to go4 ,this acknowledgment was not only bruited about in words1 but1 without his knowledge or consent1 was also inserted into the deed2 not when this was drawn up1 but when it was engrossed2 a falsification which caused ,michelangelo the utmost vexation4 ,the ambassador1 however1 persuaded him that this would do him no real harm3 it did not signify1 he said1 whether the contract specified a thousand or twenty thousand crowns1 seeing they were agreed that the tomb should be reduced to suit the sums actually received2 adding1 that nobody was concerned in the matter except himself1 and that ,michelangelo might feel safe with him on account of the understanding between them4 ,upon this ,michelangelo grew easy in his mind1 partly because he thought he might have confidence1 and partly because he wished the ,pope to receive the impression ,i have described above4 ,in this way the thing was settled for the time1 but it did not end there2 for when he had worked his four months in ,florence and came back to ,rome1 the ,pope set him to other tasks1 and ordered him to paint the wall above the altar in the ,sistine ,chapel4 ,he was a man of excellent judgment in such matters1 and had meditated many different subjects for this fresco4 ,at last he fixed upon the ,last ,judgment1 considering that the variety and greatness of the theme would enable the illustrious artist to exhibit his powers in their full extent4 ,michelangelo1 remembering the obligation he was under to the ,duke of ,urbino1 did all he could to evade this new engagement2 but when this proved impossible1 he began to procrastinate1 and1 pretending to be fully occupied with the cartoons for his huge picture1 he worked in secret at the statues intended for the monument4 ,,vii ,michelangelo's position at ,florence was insecure and painful1 owing to the undisguised animosity of the ,duke ,alessandro4 ,this man ruled like a tyrant of the worst sort1 scandalising good citizens by his brutal immoralities1 and terrorising them by his cruelties4 ,he remained1 says ,condivi1 in continual alarm2 because the ,duke1 a young man1 as is known to every one1 of ferocious and revengeful temper1 hated him exceedingly4 ,there is no doubt that1 but for the ,pope's protection1 he would have been removed from this world4 ,what added to ,alessandro's enmity was that when he was planning the fortress which he afterwards erected1 he sent ,messer ,vitelli for ,michelangelo1 ordering him to ride with them1 and to select a proper position for the building4 ,michelangelo refused1 saying that he had received no commission from the ,pope4 ,the ,duke waxed very wroth2 and so1 through this new grievance added to old grudges and the notorious nature of the ,duke1 ,michelangelo not unreasonably lived in fear4 ,it was certainly by ,god's aid that he happened to be away from ,florence when ,clement died4 ,michelangelo was bound under solemn obligations to execute no work but what the ,pope ordered for himself or permitted by the contract with the heirs of ,julius4 ,therefore he acted in accordance with duty when he refused to advise the tyrant in this scheme for keeping the city under permanent subjection4 ,the man who had fortified ,florence against the troops of ,clement could not assist another bastard ,medici to build a strong place for her ruin4 ,it may be to this period of his life that we owe the following madigral1 written upon the loss of ,florentine liberty and the bad conscience of the despot3-- ,lady1 for joy of lovers numberless ,thou wast created fair as angels are4 ,sure ,god hath fallen asleep in heaven afar ,when one man calls the bliss of many his6 ,give back to streaming eyes ,the daylight of thy face1 that seems to shun ,those who must live defrauded of their bliss6 ,vex not your pure desire with tears and sighs3 ,for he who robs you of my light hath none4 ,dwelling in fear1 sin hath no happiness2 ,since1 amid those who love1 their joy is less1 ,whose great desire great plenty still curtails1 ,than theirs who1 poor1 have hope that never fails4 ,during the siege ,michelangelo had been forced to lend the ,signory a sum of about #aejj ducats4 ,in the summer of #aecc he corresponded with ,sebastiano about means for recovering this loan4 ,on the #afth of ,august ,sebastiano writes that he has referred the matter to the ,pope4 ,i repeat1 what ,i have already written1 that ,i presented your memorial to his ,holiness4 ,it was about eight in the evening1 and the ,florentine ambassador was present4 ,the ,pope then ordered the ambassador to write immediately to the ,duke2 and this he did with such vehemence and passion as ,i do not think he has displayed on four other occasions concerning the affairs of ,florence4 ,his rage and fury were tremendous1 and the words he used to the ambassador would stupefy you1 could you hear them4 ,indeed1 they are not fit to be written down1 and ,i must reserve them for viva voce4 ,i burn to have half an hour's conversation with you1 for now ,i know our good and holy master to the ground4 ,enough1 ,i think you must have already seen something of the sort4 ,in brief1 he has resolved that you are to be repaid the #djj ducats of the guardianship and the #ejj ducats lent to the old ,government4 ,it may be readily imagined that this restitution of a debt incurred by ,florence when she was fighting for her liberties1 to which act of justice her victorious tyrant was compelled by his ,papal kinsman1 did not soften ,alessandro's bad feeling for the creditor4 ,several of ,sebastiano's letters during the summer and autumn of #aecc refer to an edition of some madrigals by ,michelangelo1 which had been set to music by ,bartolommeo ,tromboncino1 ,giacomo ,archadelt1 and ,costanzo ,festa4 ,we have every reason to suppose that the period we have now reached was the richest in poetical compositions4 ,it was also in #aecb or #aecc that he formed the most passionate attachment of which we have any knowledge in his life2 for he became acquainted about this time with ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,a few years later he was destined to meet with ,vittoria ,colonna4 ,the details of these two celebrated friendships will be discussed in another chapter4 ,clement ,,vii4 journeyed from ,rome in ,september1 intending to take ship at ,leghorn for ,nice and afterwards ,marseilles1 where his young cousin1 ,caterina de' ,medici1 was married to the ,dauphin4 ,he had to pass through ,s4 ,miniato al ,tedesco1 and thither ,michelangelo went to wait upon him on the #bbnd4 ,this was the last1 and not the least imposing1 public act of the old ,pope1 who1 six years after his imprisonment and outrage in the ,castle of ,s4 ,angelo1 was now wedding a daughter of his plebeian family to the heir of the ,french crown4 ,what passed between ,michelangelo and his master on this occasion is not certain4 ,the years #aecb-aecd form a period of considerable chronological perplexity in ,michelangelo's life4 ,this is in great measure due to the fact that he was now residing regularly part of the year in ,rome and part in ,florence4 ,we have good reason to believe that he went to ,rome in ,september #aecb1 and stayed there through the winter4 ,it is probable that he then formed the friendship with ,cavalieri1 which played so important a part in his personal history4 ,a brisk correspondence carried on between him and his two friends1 ,bartolommeo ,angelini and ,sebastiano del ,piombo1 shows that he resided at ,florence during the summer and early autumn of #aecc4 ,from a letter addressed to ,figiovanni on the #aeth of ,october1 we learn that he was then impatient to leave ,florence for ,rome4 ,but a ,ricordo1 bearing date ,october #bi1 #aecc1 renders it almost certain that he had not then started4 ,angelini's letters1 which had been so frequent1 stop suddenly in that month4 ,this renders it almost certain that ,michelangelo must have soon returned to ,rome4 ,strangely enough there are no letters or ,ricordi in his handwriting which bear the date #aecd4 ,when we come to deal with this year1 #aecd1 we learn from ,michelangelo's own statement to ,vasari that he was in ,florence during the summer1 and that he reached ,rome two days before the death of ,clement ,,vii41 i4e41 upon ,september #bc4 ,condivi observes that it was lucky for him that the ,pope did not die while he was still at ,florence1 else he would certainly have been exposed to great peril1 and probably been murdered or imprisoned by ,duke ,alessandro4 ,nevertheless1 ,michelangelo was again in ,florence toward the close of #aecd4 ,an undated letter to a certain ,febo 7di ,poggio7 confirms this supposition4 ,it may probably be referred to the month of ,december4 ,in it he says that he means to leave ,florence next day for ,pisa and ,rome1 and that he shall never return4 ,febo's answer1 addressed to ,rome1 is dated ,january #ad1 #aecd1 which1 according to ,florentine reckoning1 means #aece4 ,we may take it1 then1 as sufficiently well ascertained that ,michelangelo departed from ,florence before the end of #aecd1 and that he never returned during the remainder of his life4 ,there is left1 however1 another point of importance referring to this period1 which cannot be satisfactorily cleared up4 ,we do not know the exact date of his father1 ,lodovico's1 death4 ,it must have happened either in #aecc or in #aecd4 ,in spite of careful researches1 no record of the event has yet been discovered1 either at ,settignano or in the public offices of ,florence4 ,the documents of the ,buonarroti family yield no direct information on the subject4 ,we learn1 however1 from the ,libri delle ,et1 preserved at the ,archivio di ,stato1 that ,lodovico di ,lionardo di ,buonarrota ,simoni was born upon the #aath of ,june #addd4 ,now ,michelangelo1 in his poem on ,lodovico's death1 says very decidedly that his father was ninety when he breathed his last4 ,if we take this literally1 it must be inferred that he died after the middle of ,june #aecd4 ,there are many reasons for supposing that ,michelangelo was in ,florence when this happened4 ,the chief of these is that no correspondence passed between the ,buonarroti brothers on the occasion1 while ,michelangelo's minutes regarding the expenses of his father's burial seem to indicate that he was personally responsible for their disbursement4 ,i may finally remark that the schedule of property belonging to ,michelangelo1 recorded under the year #aecd in the archives of the ,decima at ,florence1 makes no reference at all to ,lodovico4 ,we conclude from it that1 at the time of its redaction1 ,michelangelo must have succeeded to his father's estate4 ,the death of ,lodovico and ,buonarroto1 happening within a space of little more than five years1 profoundly affected ,michelangelo's mind1 and left an indelible mark of sadness on his life4 ,one of his best poems1 a capitolo1 or piece of verse in terza rima stanzas1 was written on the occasion of his father's decease4 ,in it he says that ,lodovico had reached the age of ninety4 ,if this statement be literally accurate1 the old man must have died in #aecd1 since he was born upon the #aath of ,june #addd4 ,but up to the present time1 as ,i have observed above1 the exact date of his death has not been discovered4 ,one passage of singular and solemn beauty may be translated from the original3-- ,thou'rt dead of dying1 and art made divine1 ,nor fearest now to change or life or will2 ,scarce without envy can ,i call this thine4 ,fortune and time beyond your temple-sill ,dare not advance1 by whom is dealt for us ,a doubtful gladness1 and too certain ill4 ,cloud is there none to dim you glorious3 ,the hours distinct compel you not to fade3 ,nor chance nor fate o'er you are tyrannous4 ,your splendour with the night sinks not in shade1 ,nor grows with day1 howe'er that sun ride high ,which on our mortal hearts life's heat hath rayed4 ,thus from thy dying ,i now learn to die1 ,dear father mine6 ,in thought ,i see thy place1 ,where earth but rarely lets men climb the sky4 ,not1 as some deem1 is death the worst disgrace ,for one whose last day brings him to the first1 ,the next eternal throne to ,god's by grace4 ,there by ,god's grace ,i trust that thou art nursed1 ,and hope to find thee1 ,if but my cold heart ,high reason draw from earthly slime accursed4 ,,chapter ,x ,i ,the collegiate church of ,s4 ,lorenzo at ,florence had long been associated with the ,medicean family1 who were its most distinguished benefactors1 ,giovanni d',averardo de' ,medici1 together with the heads of six other ,florentine houses1 caused it to be rebuilt at the beginning of the fifteenth century4 ,he took upon himself the entire costs of the sacristy and one chapel2 it was also owing to his suggestion that ,filippo ,brunelleschi1 in the year #adba1 designed the church and cloister as they now appear4 ,when he died1 ,giovanni was buried in its precincts1 while his son ,cosimo de' ,medici1 the father of his country1 continued these benevolences1 and bestowed a capital of #dj1jjj golden florins on the ,chapter4 ,he too was buried in the church1 a simple monument in the sacristy being erected to his memory4 ,lorenzo the ,magnificent followed in due course1 and found his last resting-place at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,we have seen in a previous chapter how and when ,leo ,x4 conceived the idea of adding a chapel which should serve as mausoleum for several members of the ,medicean family at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 and how ,clement determined to lodge the famous ,medicean library in a hall erected over the west side of the cloister4 ,both of these undertakings1 as well as the construction of a faade for the front of the church1 were assigned to ,michelangelo4 ,the ground plan of the monumental chapel corresponds to ,brunelleschi's sacristy1 and is generally known as the ,sagrestia ,nuova4 ,internally ,buonarroti altered its decorative panellings1 and elevated the vaulting of the roof into a more ambitious cupola4 ,this portion of the edifice was executed in the rough during his residence at ,florence4 ,the faade was never begun in earnest1 and remains unfinished4 ,the library was constructed according to his designs1 and may be taken1 on the whole1 as a genuine specimen of his style in architecture4 ,the books which ,clement lodged there were the priceless manuscripts brought together by ,cosimo de' ,medici in the first enthusiasm of the ,revival1 at that critical moment when the decay of the ,eastern ,empire transferred the wrecks of ,greek literature from ,constantinople to ,italy4 ,cosimo built a room to hold them in the ,convent of ,s4 ,marco1 which ,flavio ,biondo styled the first library opened for the use of scholars4 ,lorenzo the ,magnificent enriched the collection with treasures acquired during his lifetime1 buying autographs wherever it was possible to find them1 and causing copies to be made4 ,in the year #aejh the friars of ,s4 ,marco sold this inestimable store of literary documents1 in order to discharge the debts contracted by them during their ill-considered interference in the state affairs of the ,republic4 ,it was purchased for the sum of #bfeb ducats by the ,cardinal ,giovanni de' ,medici1 a second son of ,lorenzo the ,magnificent1 and afterwards ,pope ,leo ,x4 ,he transferred them to his ,roman villa1 where the collection was still further enlarged by all the rarities which a prince passionate for literature and reckless in expenditure could there assemble4 ,leo's cousin and executor1 ,giulio de' ,medici1 ,pope ,clement ,,vii41 fulfilled his last wishes by transferring them to ,florence1 and providing the stately receptacle in which they still repose4 ,the task assigned to ,michelangelo1 when he planned the library1 was not so simple as that of the new sacristy4 ,some correspondence took place before the west side of the cloister was finally decided on4 ,what is awkward in the approach to the great staircase must be ascribed to the difficulty of fitting this building into the old edifice2 and probably1 if ,michelangelo had carried out the whole work1 a worthier entrance from the piazza into the loggia1 and from the loggia into the vestibule1 might have been devised4 ,,ii ,vasari1 in a well-known passage of his ,life of ,michelangelo1 reports the general opinion of his age regarding the novelties introduced by ,buonarroti into ,italian architecture4 ,the art of building was in a state of transition4 ,indeed1 it cannot be maintained that the ,italians1 after they abandoned the traditions of the ,romanesque manner1 advanced with certitude on any line of progress in this art4 ,their work1 beautiful as it often is1 ingenious as it almost always is1 marked invariably by the individuality of the district and the builder1 seems to be tentative1 experimental4 ,the principles of the ,pointed ,gothic style were never seized or understood by ,italian architects4 ,even such cathedrals as those of ,orvieto and ,siena are splendid monuments of incapacity1 when compared with the ,romanesque churches of ,pisa1 ,s4 ,miniato1 ,s4 ,zenone at ,verona1 the ,cathedral of ,parma4 ,the return from ,teutonic to ,roman standards of taste1 which marked the advent of humanism1 introduced a hybrid manner4 ,this1 in its first commencement1 was extremely charming4 ,the buildings of ,leo ,battista ,alberti1 of ,brunelleschi1 and of ,bramante are distinguished by an exquisite purity and grace combined with picturesqueness4 ,no edifice in any style is more stately1 and at the same time more musical in linear proportions1 than the ,church of ,s4 ,andrea at ,mantua4 ,the ,cappella dei ,pazzi and the ,church of ,s4 ,spirito at ,florence are gems of clear-cut and harmonious dignity4 ,the courtyard of the ,cancelleria at ,rome1 the ,duomo at ,todi1 show with what supreme ability the great architect of ,casteldurante blended sublimity with suavity1 largeness and breadth with navet and delicately studied detail4 ,but these first endeavours of the ,romantic spirit to assimilate the ,classic mannerism--essays no less interesting than those of ,boiardo in poetry1 of ,botticelli in painting1 of ,donatello and ,omodei in sculpture--all of them alike1 whether buildings1 poems1 paintings1 or statues1 displaying the genius of the ,italic race1 renascent1 recalcitrant against the ,gothic style1 while still to some extent swayed by its influence 7at one and the same time both ,christian and chivalrous1 ,pagan and precociously cynical2 yet charmingly fresh1 unspoiled by dogma1 uncontaminated by pedantry7--these first endeavours of the ,romantic spirit to assimilate the ,classic mannerism could not create a new style representative of the national life4 ,they had the fault inherent in all hybrids1 however fanciful and graceful4 ,they were sterile and unprocreative4 ,the warring elements1 so deftly and beautifully blent in them1 began at once to fall asunder4 ,the ,san ,galli attempted to follow classical precedent with stricter severity4 ,some buildings of their school may still be reckoned among the purest which remain to prove the sincerity of the ,revival of ,learning4 ,the ,sansovini exaggerated the navet of the earlier ,renaissance manner1 and pushed its picturesqueness over into florid luxuriance or decorative detail4 ,meanwhile1 humanists and scholars worked slowly but steadily upon the text of ,vitruvius1 impressing the paramount importance of his theoretical writings upon practical builders4 ,neither students nor architects reflected that they could not understand ,vitruvius2 that1 if they could understand him1 it was by no means certain he was right2 and that1 if he was right for his own age1 he would not be right for the sixteenth century after ,christ4 ,it was just at this moment1 when ,vitruvius began to dominate the ,italian imagination1 that ,michelangelo was called upon to build4 ,the genial adaptation of classical elements to modern sympathies and uses1 which had been practised by ,alberti1 ,brunelleschi1 ,bramante1 yielded now to painful efforts after the appropriation of pedantic principles4 ,instead of working upon antique monuments with their senses and emotions1 men approached them through the medium of scholastic erudition4 ,instead of seeing and feeling for themselves1 they sought by dissection to confirm the written precepts of a defunct ,roman writer4 ,this diversion of a great art from its natural line of development supplies a striking instance of the fascination which authority exercises at certain periods of culture4 ,rather than trust their feeling for what was beautiful and useful1 convenient and attractive1 the ,italians of the ,renaissance surrendered themselves to learning4 ,led by the spirit of scholarship1 they thought it their duty to master the text of ,vitruvius1 to verify his principles by the analysis of surviving antique edifices1 and1 having formed their own conception of his theory1 to apply this1 as well as they were able1 to the requirements of contemporary life4 ,two exits from the false situation existed3 one was the picturesqueness of the ,barocco style2 the other was the specious vapid purity of the ,palladian4 ,michelangelo1 who was essentially the genius of this transition1 can neither be ascribed to the ,barocco architects1 although he called them into being1 nor yet can he be said to have arrived at the ,palladian solution4 ,he held both types within himself in embryo1 arriving at a moment of profound and complicated difficulty for the practical architect2 without technical education1 but gifted with supreme genius1 bringing the imperious instincts of a sublime creative amateur into every task appointed him4 ,we need not wonder if a man of his calibre left the powerful impress of his personality upon an art in chaos1 luring lesser craftsmen into the ,barocco mannerism1 while he provoked reaction in the stronger1 who felt more scientifically what was needed to secure firm standing-ground4 ,bernini and the superb fountain of ,trevi derive from ,michelangelo on one side2 ,vignola's cold classic profiles and ,palladio's resuscitation of old ,rome in the ,palazzo della ,ragione at ,vicenza emerge upon the other4 ,it remained ,buonarroti's greatest-glory that1 lessoned by experience and inspired for high creation by the vastness of the undertaking1 he imagined a world's wonder in the cupola of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,,iii ,writing in the mid-stream of this architectural regurgitation1 ,vasari explains what contemporaries thought about ,michelangelo's innovations4 ,he wished to build the new sacristy upon the same lines as the older one by ,brunelleschi1 but at the same time to clothe the edifice with a different style of decoration4 ,accordingly1 he invented for the interior a composite adornment1 of the newest and most varied manner which antique and modern masters joined together could have used4 ,the novelty of his style consisted in those lovely cornices1 capitals1 basements1 doors1 niches1 and sepulchres which transcended all that earlier builders1 working by measurements1 distribution of parts1 and rule1 had previously effected1 following ,vitruvius and the ancient relics4 ,such men were afraid to supplement tradition with original invention4 ,the license he introduced gave great courage to those who studied his method1 and emboldened them to follow on his path4 ,since that time1 new freaks of fancy have been seen1 resembling the style of arabesque and grotesque more than was consistent with tradition4 ,for this emancipation of the art1 all craftsmen owe him an infinite and everduring debt of gratitude1 since he at one blow broke down the bands and chains which barred the path they trod in common4 ,if ,i am right in thus interpreting an unusually incoherent passage of ,vasari's criticism1 no words could express more clearly the advent of ,barocco mannerism4 ,but ,vasari proceeds to explain his meaning with still greater precision4 ,afterwards he made a plainer demonstration of his intention in the library of ,s4 ,lorenzo1 by the splendid distribution of the windows1 the arrangement of the upper chamber1 and the marvellous entrance-hall into that enclosed building4 ,the grace and charm of art were never seen more perfectly displayed in the whole and in the parts of any edifice than here4 ,i may refer in particular to the corbels1 the recesses for statues1 and the cornices4 ,the staircase1 too1 deserves attention for its convenience1 with the eccentric breakage of its flights of steps2 the whole construction being so altered from the common usage of other architects as to excite astonishment in all who see it4 ,what emerges with distinctness from ,vasari's account of ,michelangelo's work at ,s4 ,lorenzo is that a practical ,italian architect1 who had been engaged on buildings of importance since this work was carried out1 believed it to have infused freedom and new vigour into architecture4 ,that freedom and new vigour we now know to have implied the ,barocco style4 ,,iv ,in estimating ,michelangelo's work at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 we must not forget that at this period of his life he contemplated statuary1 bronze bas-relief1 and painting1 as essential adjuncts to architecture4 ,the scheme is1 therefore1 not so much constructive as decorative1 and a great many of its most offensive qualities may be ascribed to the fact that the purposes for which it was designed have been omitted4 ,we know that the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo was intended to abound in bronze and marble carvings4 ,beside the ,medicean tombs1 the sacristy ought to have contained a vast amount of sculpture1 and its dome was actually painted in fresco by ,giovanni da ,udine under ,michelangelo's own eyes4 ,it appears that his imagination still obeyed those leading principles which he applied in the rough sketch for the first sepulchre of ,julius4 ,the vestibule and staircase of the library cannot therefore be judged fairly now2 for if they had been finished according to their maker's plan1 the faults of their construction would have been compensated by multitudes of plastic shapes4 ,m4 ,charles ,gamier1 in ,l',o,euvre et la ,vie1 speaking with the authority of a practical architect1 says3 ,michelangelo was not1 properly speaking1 an architect4 ,he made architecture1 which is quite a different thing2 and most often it was the architecture of a painter and sculptor1 which points to colour1 breadth1 imagination1 but also to insufficient studies and incomplete education4 ,the thought may be great and strong1 but the execution of it is always feeble and nave4444 ,he had not learned the language of the art4 ,he has all the qualities of imagination1 invention1 will1 which form a great composer2 but he does not know the grammar1 and can hardly write4444 ,in seeking the great1 he has too often found the tumid2 seeking the original1 he has fallen upon the strange1 and also on bad taste4 ,there is much that is true in this critique1 severe though it may seem to be4 ,the fact is that ,michelangelo aimed at picturesque effect in his buildings2 not1 as previous architects had done1 by a lavish use of loosely decorative details1 but by the piling up and massing together of otherwise dry orders1 cornices1 pilasters1 windows1 all of which1 in his conception1 were to serve as framework and pedestals for statuary4 ,he also strove to secure originality and to stimulate astonishment by bizarre modulations of accepted classic forms1 by breaking the lines of architraves1 combining angularities with curves1 adopting a violently accented rhythm and a tortured multiplicity of parts1 wherever this was possible4 ,v ,in this new style1 so much belauded by ,vasari1 the superficial design is often rich and grandiose1 making a strong pictorial appeal to the imagination4 ,meanwhile1 the organic laws of structure have been sacrificed2 and that chaste beauty which emerges from a perfectly harmonious distribution of parts1 embellished by surface decoration only when the limbs and members of the building demand emphasis1 may be sought for everywhere in vain4 ,the substratum is a box1 a barn1 an inverted bottle2 built up of rubble1 brick1 and concrete2 clothed with learned details1 which have been borrowed from the pseudo-science of the humanist4 ,there is nothing here of divine ,greek candour1 of dominant ,roman vigour1 of ,gothic vitality1 of fanciful invention governed by a sincere sense of truth4 ,nothing remains of the shy graces1 the melodious simplicities1 the pure seeking after musical proportion1 which marked the happier ,italian effort of the early ,renaissance1 through ,brunelleschi and ,alberti1 ,bramante1 ,giuliano da ,sangallo1 and ,peruzzi4 ,architecture1 in the highest sense of that word1 has disappeared4 ,a scenic scheme of panelling for empty walls has superseded the conscientious striving to construct a living and intelligible whole4 ,the fault inherent in ,italian building after the close of the ,lombard period1 reaches its climax here4 ,that fault was connected with the inability of the ,italians to assimilate the true spirit of the ,gothic style1 while they attempted its imitation in practice4 ,the fabrication of imposing and lovely faades at ,orvieto1 at ,siena1 at ,cremona1 and at ,crema1 glorious screens which masked the poverty of the edifice1 and corresponded in no point to the organism of the structure1 taught them to overrate mere surface-beauty4 ,their wonderful creativeness in all the arts which can be subordinated to architectural effect seduced them further4 ,nothing1 for instance1 taken by itself alone1 can be more satisfactory than the faade of the ,certosa at ,pavia2 but it is not1 like the front of ,chartres or ,rheims or ,amiens1 a natural introduction to the inner sanctuary4 ,at the end of the ,gothic period architecture had thus come to be conceived as the art of covering shapeless structures with a wealth of arabesques in marble1 fresco1 bronze1 mosaic4 ,the revival of learning and a renewed interest in the antique withdrew the ,italians for a short period from this false position4 ,with more or less of merit1 successive builders1 including those ,i have above mentioned1 worked in a pure style3 pure because it obeyed the laws of its own music1 because it was intelligible and self-consistent1 aiming at construction as the main end1 subordinating decoration of richer luxuriance or of sterner severity to the prime purpose of the total scheme4 ,but this style was too much the plaything of particular minds to create a permanent tradition4 ,it varied in the several provinces of ,italy1 and mingled personal caprice with the effort to assume a classic garb4 ,meanwhile the study of ,vitruvius advanced1 and that pedantry which infected all the learned movements of the ,renaissance struck deep and venomous roots into the art of building4 ,michelangelo arrived at the moment ,i am attempting to indicate4 ,he protested that architecture was not his trade4 ,over and over again he repeated this to his ,medicean patrons2 but they compelled him to build1 and he applied himself with the predilections and prepossessions of a plastic artist to the task4 ,the result was a retrogression from the point reached by his immediate predecessors to the vicious system followed by the pseudo-,gothic architects in ,italy4 ,that is to say1 he treated the structure as an inert mass1 to be made as substantial as possible1 and then to be covered with details agreeable to the eye4 ,at the beginning of his career he had a defective sense of the harmonic ratios upon which a really musical building may be constructed out of mere bricks and mortar--such1 for example1 as the ,church of ,s4 ,giustina at ,padua4 ,he was overweighted with ill-assimilated erudition2 and all the less desirable licenses of ,brunelleschi's school1 especially in the abuse of square recesses1 he adopted without hesitation4 ,it never seems to have occurred to him that doors which were intended for ingress and egress1 windows which were meant to give light1 and attics which had a value as the means of illumination from above1 could not with any propriety be applied to the covering of blank dead spaces in the interiors of buildings4 ,the vestibule of the ,laurentian ,library illustrates his method of procedure4 ,it is a rectangular box of about a cube and two thirds1 set length-way up4 ,the outside of the building1 left unfinished1 exhibits a mere blank space of bricks4 ,the interior might be compared to a temple in the grotesque-classic style turned outside in3 colossal orders1 meaningless consoles1 heavy windows1 square recesses1 numerous doors--the windows1 doors1 and attics having no right to be there1 since they lead to nothing1 lend view to nothing1 clamour for bronze and sculpture to explain their existence as niches and receptacles for statuary4 ,it is nevertheless indubitably true that these incongruous and misplaced elements1 crowded together1 leave a strong impression of picturesque force upon the mind4 ,from certain points and angles1 the effect of the whole1 considered as a piece of deception and insincerity1 is magnificent4 ,it would be even finer than it is1 were not the ,florentine pietra serena of the stonework so repellent in its ashen dulness1 the plaster so white1 and the false architectural system so painfully defrauded of the plastic forms for which it was intended to subserve as setting4 ,we have here no masterpiece of sound constructive science1 but a freak of inventive fancy using studied details for the production of a pictorial effect4 ,the details employed to compose this curious illusion are painfully dry and sterile2 partly owing to the scholastic enthusiasm for ,vitruvius1 partly to the decline of mediaeval delight in naturalistic decoration1 but1 what seems to me still more apparent1 through ,michelangelo's own passionate preoccupation with the human figure4 ,he could not tolerate any type of art which did not concede a predominant position to the form of man4 ,accordingly1 his work in architecture at this period seems waiting for plastic illustration1 demanding sculpture and fresco for its illumination and justification4 ,it is easy1 one would think1 to make an appeal to the eye by means of colossal orders1 bold cornices1 enormous consoles1 deeply indented niches4 ,how much more easy to construct a box1 and then say1 ,come1 let us cover its inside with an incongruous and inappropriate but imposing parade of learning1 than to lift some light and genial thing of beauty aloft into the air1 as did the modest builder of the staircase to the hall at ,christ ,church1 ,oxford6 ,the eye of the vulgar is entranced1 the eye of the artist bewildered4 ,that the imagination which inspired that decorative scheme was powerful1 original1 and noble1 will not be denied2 but this does not save us from the desolating conviction that the scheme itself is a specious and pretentious mask1 devised to hide a hideous waste of bricks and mortar4 ,michelangelo's imagination1 displayed in this distressing piece of work1 was indeed so masterful that1 as ,vasari says1 a new delightful style in architecture seemed to be revealed by it4 ,a new way of clothing surfaces1 falsifying faades1 and dealing picturesquely with the lifeless element of ,vitruvian tradition had been demonstrated by the genius of one who was a mighty amateur in building4 ,in other words1 the ,barocco manner had begun2 the path was opened to prank1 caprice1 and license4 ,it required the finer tact and taste of a ,palladio to rectify the false line here initiated1 and to bring the world back to a sense of seriousness in its effort to deal constructively and rationally with the pseudo-classic mannerism4 ,the qualities of wilfulness and amateurishness and seeking after picturesque effect1 upon which ,i am now insisting1 spoiled ,michelangelo's work as architect1 until he was forced by circumstance1 and after long practical experience1 to confront a problem of pure mathematical construction4 ,in the cupola of ,s4 ,peter's he rose to the stern requirements of his task4 ,there we find no evasion of the builder's duty by mere surface-decoration1 no subordination of the edifice to plastic or pictorial uses4 ,such side-issues were excluded by the very nature of the theme4 ,an immortal poem resulted1 an arial lyric of melodious curves and solemn harmonies1 a thought combining grace and audacity translated into stone uplifted to the skies4 ,after being cabined in the vestibule to the ,laurentian ,library1 our soul escapes with gladness to those airy spaces of the dome1 that great cloud on the verge of the ,campagna1 and feels thankful that we can take our leave of ,michelangelo as architect elsewhere4 ,,vi ,while seeking to characterise what proved pernicious to contemporaries in ,michelangelo's work as architect1 ,i have been led to concentrate attention upon the ,library at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,this was logical2 for1 as we have seen1 ,vasari regarded that building as the supreme manifestation of his manner4 ,vasari never saw the cupola of ,s4 ,peter's in all its glory1 and it may be doubted whether he was capable of learning much from it4 ,the sacristy demands separate consideration4 ,it was an earlier work1 produced under more favourable conditions of place and space1 and is in every way a purer specimen of the master's style4 ,as ,vasari observed1 the ,laurentian ,library indicated a large advance upon the sacristy in the development of ,michelangelo's new manner4 ,at this point it may not unprofitably be remarked1 that none of the problems offered for solution at ,s4 ,lorenzo were in the strictest sense of that word architectural4 ,the faade presented a problem of pure panelling4 ,the ground-plan of the sacristy was fixed in correspondence with ,brunelleschi's2 and here again the problem resolved itself chiefly into panelling4 ,a builder of genius1 working on the library1 might indeed have displayed his science and his taste by some beautiful invention adapted to the awkward locality2 as ,baldassare ,peruzzi1 in the ,palazzo ,massimo at ,rome1 converted the defects of the site into graces by the exquisite turn he gave to the curved portion of the edifice4 ,still1 when the scheme was settled1 even the library became more a matter of panelling and internal fittings than of structural design4 ,nowhere at ,s4 ,lorenzo can we affirm that ,michelangelo enjoyed1 the opportunity of showing what he could achieve in the production of a building independent in itself and planned throughout with a free hand4 ,had he been a born architect1 he would probably have insisted upon constructing the ,medicean mausoleum after his own conception instead of repeating ,brunelleschi's ground-plan1 and he would almost certainly have discovered a more genial solution for the difficulties of the library4 ,but he protested firmly against being considered an architect by inclination or by education4 ,therefore he accepted the most obvious conditions of each task1 and devoted himself to schemes of surface decoration4 ,the interior of the sacristy is planned with a noble sense of unity4 ,for the purpose of illuminating a gallery of statues1 the lighting may be praised without reserve2 and there is no doubt whatever that ,michelangelo intended every tabernacle to be filled with figures1 and all the whitewashed spaces of the walls to be encrusted with bas-reliefs in stucco or painted in fresco4 ,the recesses or niches1 taking the form of windows1 are graduated in three degrees of depth to suit three scales of sculptural importance4 ,the sepulchres of the ,dukes had to emerge into prominence2 the statues subordinate to these main masses occupied shallower recesses2 the shallowest of all1 reserved for minor statuary1 are adorned above with garlands1 which suggest the flatness of the figures to be introduced4 ,architecturally speaking1 the building is complete2 but it sadly wants the plastic decoration for which it was designed1 together with many finishing touches of importance4 ,it is clear1 for instance1 that the square pedestals above the double pilasters flanking each of the two ,dukes were meant to carry statuettes or candelabra1 which would have connected the marble panelling with the cornices and stucchi and frescoed semicircles of the upper region4 ,our eyes are everywhere defrauded of the effect calculated by ,michelangelo when he planned this chapel4 ,yet the total impression remains harmonious4 ,proportion has been observed in all the parts1 especially in the relation of the larger to the smaller orders1 and in the balance of the doors and windows4 ,merely decorative carvings are used with parsimony1 and designed in a pure style1 although they exhibit originality of invention4 ,the alternation of white marble surfaces and mouldings with pietra serena pilasters1 cornices1 and arches1 defines the structural design1 and gives a grave but agreeable sense of variety4 ,finally1 the recess behind the altar adds lightness and space to what would otherwise have been a box4 ,what ,i have already observed when speaking of the vestibule to the library must be repeated here3 the whole scheme is that of an exterior turned outside in1 and its justification lies in the fact that it demanded statuary and colour for its completion4 ,still the bold projecting cornices1 the deeper and shallower niches resembling windows1 have the merit of securing broken lights and shadows under the strong vertical illumination1 all of which are eminently picturesque4 ,no doubt remains now that tradition is accurate in identifying the helmeted ,duke with ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 and the more graceful seated hero opposite with ,giuliano4 ,the recumbent figures on the void sepulchres beneath them are with equal truth designated as ,night and ,day1 ,morning and ,evening4 ,but ,michelangelo condescended to no realistic portraiture in the statues of the ,dukes1 and he also meant undoubtedly to treat the phases of time which rule man's daily life upon the planet as symbols for far-reaching thoughts connected with our destiny4 ,these monumental figures are not men1 not women1 but vague and potent allegories of our mortal fate4 ,they remain as he left them1 except that parts of ,giuliano's statue1 especially the hands1 seem to have been worked over by an assistant4 ,the same is true of the ,madonna1 which will ever be regarded1 in her imperfectly finished state1 as one of the finest of his sculptural conceptions4 ,to ,montelupo belongs the execution of ,s4 ,damiano1 and to ,montorsoli that of ,s4 ,cosimo4 ,vasari says that ,tribolo was commissioned by ,michelangelo to carve statues of ,earth weeping for the loss of ,giuliano1 and ,heaven rejoicing over his spirit4 ,the death of ,pope ,clement1 however1 put a stop to these subordinate works1 which1 had they been accomplished1 might perhaps have shown us how ,buonarroti intended to fill the empty niches on each side of the ,dukes4 ,when ,michelangelo left ,florence for good at the end of #aecd1 his statues had not been placed2 but we have reason to think that the ,dukes and the four allegorical figures were erected in his lifetime4 ,there is something singular in the maladjustment of the recumbent men and women to the curves of the sarcophagi1 and in the contrast between the roughness of their bases and the smooth polish of the chests they rest on4 ,these discrepancies do not1 however1 offend the eye1 and they may even have been deliberately adopted from a keen sense of what the ,greeks called asymmetreia as an adjunct to effect4 ,it is more difficult to understand what he proposed to do with the ,madonna and her two attendant saints4 ,placed as they now are upon a simple ledge1 they strike one as being too near the eye1 and out of harmony with the architectural tone of the building4 ,it is also noticeable that the saints are more than a head taller than the ,dukes1 while the ,madonna overtops the saints by more than another head4 ,we are here in a region of pure conjecture2 and if ,i hazard an opinion1 it is only thrown out as a possible solution of a now impenetrable problem4 ,i think1 then1 that ,michelangelo may have meant to pose these three figures where they are1 facing the altar2 to raise the ,madonna upon a slightly projecting bracket above the level of ,,ss4 ,damiano and ,cosimo1 and to paint the wall behind them with a fresco of the ,crucifixion4 ,that he had no intention of panelling that empty space with marble may be taken for granted1 considering the high finish which has been given to every part of this description of work in the chapel4 ,treated as ,i have suggested1 the statue of the ,madonna1 with the patron saints of the ,house of ,medici1 overshadowed by a picture of ,christ's sacrifice1 would have confronted the mystery of the ,mass during every celebration at the altar4 ,there are many designs for the ,crucifixion1 made by ,michelangelo in later life1 so lofty as almost to suggest a group of figures in the foreground1 cutting the middle distance4 ,at the close of ,michelangelo's life the sacristy was still unfinished4 ,it contained the objects ,i have described--the marble panelling1 the altar with its candelabra1 the statues of the ,dukes and their attendant figures1 the ,madonna and two ,medicean patron saints--in fact1 all that we find there now1 with the addition of ,giovanni da ,udine's frescoes in the cupola1 the relics of which have since been buried under cold ,florentine whitewash4 ,all the views ,i have advanced in the foregoing paragraphs as to the point at which ,michelangelo abandoned this chapel1 and his probable designs for its completion1 are in the last resort based upon an important document penned at the instance of the ,duke of ,florence by ,vasari to ,buonarroti1 not long before the old man's death in ,rome4 ,this epistle has so weighty a bearing upon the matter in hand that ,i shall here translate it4 ,careful study of its fluent periods will convince an unprejudiced mind that the sacristy1 as we now see it1 is even less representative of its maker's design than it was when ,vasari wrote4 ,the frescoes of ,giovanni da ,udine are gone4 ,it will also show that the original project involved a wealth of figurative decoration1 statuary1 painting1 stucco1 which never arrived at realisation4 ,,vii ,vasari1 writing in the spring of #aefb1 informs ,michelangelo concerning the ,academy of ,design founded by ,duke ,cosimo de' ,medici1 and of the ,duke's earnest desire that he should return to ,florence in order that the sacristy at ,s4 ,lorenzo may be finished4 ,your reasons for not coming are accepted as sufficient4 ,he is therefore considering --forasmuch as the place is being used now for religious services by day and night1 according to the intention of ,pope ,clement--he is considering1 ,i say1 a plan for erecting the statues which are missing in the niches above the sepulchres and the tabernacles above the doors4 ,the ,duke then wishes that all the eminent sculptors of this academy1 in competition man with man1 should each of them make one statue1 and that the painters in like manner should exercise their art upon the chapel4 ,designs are to be prepared for the arches according to your own project1 including works of painting and of stucco2 the other ornaments and the pavement are to be provided2 in short1 he intends that the new academicians shall complete the whole imperfect scheme1 in order that the world may see that1 while so many men of genius still exist among us1 the noblest work which was ever yet conceived on earth has not been left unfinished4 ,he has commissioned me to write to you and unfold his views1 begging you at the same time to favour him by communicating to himself or to me what your intentions were1 or those of the late ,pope ,clement1 with regard to the name and title of the chapel2 moreover1 to inform us what designs you made for the four tabernacles on each side of the ,dukes ,lorenzo and ,giuliano2 also what you projected for the eight statues above the doors and in the tabernacles of the corners2 and1 finally1 what your idea was of the paintings to adorn the flat walls and the semicircular spaces of the chapel4 ,he is particularly anxious that you should be assured of his determination to alter nothing you have already done or planned1 but1 on the contrary1 to carry out the whole work according to your own conception4 ,the academicians too are unanimous in their hearty desire to abide by this decision4 ,i am furthermore instructed to tell you1 that if you possess sketches1 working cartoons1 or drawings made for this purpose1 the same would be of the greatest service in the execution of his project2 and he promises to be a good and faithful administrator1 so that honour may ensue4 ,in case you do not feel inclined to do all this1 through the burden of old age or for any other reason1 he begs you at least to communicate with some one who shall write upon the subject2 seeing that he would be greatly grieved1 as indeed would the whole of our academy1 to have no ray of light from your own mind1 and possibly to add things to your masterpiece which were not according to your designs and wishes4 ,we all of us look forward to being comforted by you1 if not with actual work1 at least with words4 ,his ,excellency founds this hope upon your former willingness to complete the edifice by allotting statues to ,tribolo1 ,montelupo1 and the ,friar 7,giovanni ,angelo ,montorsoli74 ,the last named of these masters is here1 eagerly desirous to have the opportunity of doing you honour4 ,so are ,francesco ,sangallo1 ,giovanni ,bologna1 ,benvenuto ,cellini1 ,ammanato1 ,rossi and ,vincenzio ,danti of ,perugia1 not to mention other sculptors of note4 ,the painters1 headed by ,bronzino1 include many talented young men1 skilled in design1 and colourists1 quite capable of establishing an honourable reputation4 ,of myself ,i need not speak4 ,you know well that in devotion1 attachment1 love1 and loyalty 7and let me say this with prejudice to no one7 ,i surpass the rest of your admirers by far4 ,therefore1 ,i entreat you1 of your goodness1 to console his ,excellency1 and all these men of parts1 and our city1 as well as to show this particular favour to myself1 who have been selected by the ,duke to write to you1 under the impression that1 being your familiar and loving friend1 ,i might obtain from you some assistance of sterling utility for the undertaking4 ,his ,excellency is prepared to spend both substance and labour on the task1 in order to honour you4 ,pray then1 albeit age is irksome1 endeavour to aid him by unfolding your views2 for1 in doing so1 you will confer benefits on countless persons1 and will be the cause of raising all these men of parts to higher excellence1 each one of whom has learned what he already knows in the sacristy1 or rather let me say our school4 ,this eloquent despatch informs us very clearly that the walls of the sacristy1 above the tall ,corinthian order which1 encloses the part devoted to sculpture1 were intended to be covered with stucco and fresco paintings1 completing the polychromatic decoration begun by ,giovanni da ,udine in the cupola4 ,twelve statues had been designed for the niches in the marble panelling2 and one word used by ,vasari1 facciate1 leaves the impression that the blank walls round and opposite the altar were also to be adorned with pictures4 ,we remain uncertain how ,michelangelo originally meant to dispose of the colossal ,madonna with ,,ss4 ,damian and ,cosimo4 ,unhappily1 nothing came of the ,duke's project4 ,michelangelo was either unable or unwilling--probably unable--to furnish the necessary plans and drawings4 ,in the eighth chapter of this book ,i have discussed the hesitations with regard to the interior of the sacristy which are revealed by some of his extant designs for it4 ,we also know that he was not in the habit of preparing accurate working cartoons for the whole of a large scheme1 but that he proceeded from point to point1 trusting to slight sketches and personal supervision of the work4 ,thus1 when ,vasari wrote to him from ,rome about the staircase of the library1 he expressed a perfect readiness to help1 but could only remember its construction in a kind of dream4 ,we may safely assume1 then1 that he had not sufficient material to communicate2 plans definite enough in general scope and detailed incident to give a true conception of his whole idea were lacking4 ,,viii ,passing to aesthetical considerations1 ,i am forced to resume here what ,i published many years ago about the ,sacristy of ,s4 ,lorenzo1 as it now exists4 ,repeated visits to that shrine have only renewed former impressions1 which will not bear to be reproduced in other language1 and would lose some of their freshness by the stylistic effort4 ,no other course remains then but to quote from my own writings1 indorsing them with such weight as my signature may have acquired since they were first given to the world4 ,the sacristy may be looked on either as the masterpiece of a sculptor who required fit setting for his statues1 or of an architect who designed statues to enhance the structure he had planned4 ,both arts are used with equal ease1 nor has the genius of ,michelangelo dealt more masterfully with the human frame than with the forms of ,roman architecture in this chapel4 ,he seems to have paid no heed to classic precedent1 and to have taken no pains to adapt the parts to the structural purpose of the building4 ,it was enough for him to create a wholly novel framework for the modern miracle of sculpture it enshrines1 attending to such rules of composition as determine light and shade1 and seeking by the relief of mouldings and pilasters to enhance the terrible and massive forms that brood above the ,medicean tombs4 ,the result is a product of picturesque and plastic art as true to the ,michelangelesque spirit as the ,temple of the ,wingless ,victory to that of ,pheidias4 ,but where ,michelangelo achieved a triumph of boldness1 lesser natures were betrayed into bizarrerie2 and this chapel of the ,medici1 in spite of its grandiose simplicity1 proved a stumbling-block to subsequent architects by encouraging them to despise propriety and violate the laws of structure4 ,we may assume then that the colossal statues of ,giuliano and ,lorenzo were studied with a view to their light and shadow as much as to their form2 and this is a fact to be remembered by those who visit the chapel where ,buonarroti laboured both as architect and sculptor4 ,of the two ,medici1 it is not fanciful to say that the ,duke of ,urbino is the most immovable of spectral shapes eternalised in marble2 while the ,duke of ,nemours1 more graceful and elegant1 seems intended to present a contrast to this terrible thought-burdened form4 ,the allegorical figures1 stretched on segments of ellipses beneath the pedestals of the two ,dukes1 indicate phases of darkness and of light1 of death and life4 ,they are two women and two men2 tradition names them ,night and ,day1 ,twilight and ,dawning4 ,thus in the statues themselves and in their attendant genii we have a series of abstractions1 symbolising the sleep and waking of existence1 action and thought1 the gloom of death1 the lustre of life1 and the intermediate states of sadness and of hope that form the borderland of both4 ,life is a dream between two slumbers2 sleep is death's twin-brother2 night is the shadow of death2 death is the gate of life3--such is the mysterious mythology wrought by the sculptor of the modern world in marble4 ,all these figures1 by the intensity of their expression1 the vagueness of their symbolism1 force us to think and question4 ,what1 for example1 occupies ,lorenzo's brain8 ,bending forward1 leaning his chin upon his wrist1 placing the other hand upon his knee1 on what does he for ever ponder8 ,the sight1 as ,rogers said well1 'fascinates and is intolerable4' ,michelangelo has shot the beaver of the helmet forward on his forehead1 and bowed his head1 so as to clothe the face in darkness4 ,but behind the gloom there lurks no fleshless skull1 as ,rogers fancied4 ,the whole frame of the powerful man is instinct with some imperious thought4 ,has he outlived his life and fallen upon everlasting contemplation8 ,is he brooding1 injured and indignant1 over his own doom and the extinction of his race8 ,is he condemned to witness in immortal immobility the woes of ,italy he helped to cause8 ,or has the sculptor symbolised in him the burden of that personality we carry with us in this life1 and bear for ever when we wake into another world8 ,beneath this incarnation of oppressive thought there lie1 full length and naked1 the figures of ,dawn and ,twilight1 ,morn and ,evening4 ,so at least they are commonly called1 and these names are not inappropriate2 for the breaking of the day and the approach of night are metaphors for many transient conditions of the soul4 ,it is only as allegories in a large sense1 comprehending both the physical and intellectual order1 and capable of various interpretation1 that any of these statues can be understood4 ,even the ,dukes do not pretend to be portraits1 and hence in part perhaps the uncertainty that has gathered round them4 ,very tranquil and noble is ,twilight3 a giant in repose1 he meditates1 leaning upon his elbow1 looking down4 ,but ,dawn starts from her couch1 as though some painful summons had reached her1 sunk in dreamless sleep1 and called her forth to suffer4 ,her waking to consciousness is like that of one who has been drowned1 and who finds the return to life agony4 ,before her eyes1 seen even through the mists of slumber1 are the ruin and the shame of ,italy4 ,opposite lies ,night1 so sorrowful1 so utterly absorbed in darkness and the shade of death1 that to shake off that everlasting lethargy seems impossible4 ,yet she is not dead4 ,if we raise our voices1 she too will stretch her limbs1 and1 like her sister1 shudder into sensibility with sighs4 ,only we must not wake her2 for he who fashioned her has told us that her sleep of stone is great good fortune4 ,both of these women are large and brawny1 unlike the ,fates of ,pheidias1 in their muscular maturity4 ,the burden of ,michelangelo's thought was too tremendous to be borne by virginal and graceful beings4 ,he had to make women no less capable of suffering1 no less world-wearied1 than his country4 ,standing before these statues1 we do not cry1 ,how beautiful6 ,we murmur1 ,how terrible1 how grand6 ,yet1 after long gazing1 we find them gifted with beauty beyond grace4 ,in each of them there is a palpitating thought1 torn from the artist's soul and crystallised in marble4 ,it has been said that architecture is petrified music4 ,in the ,sacristy of ,s4 ,lorenzo we feel impelled to remember phrases of ,beethoven4 ,each of these statues becomes for us a passion1 fit for musical expression1 but turned like ,niobe to stone4 ,they have the intellectual vagueness1 the emotional certainty1 that belong to the motives of a symphony4 ,in their allegories1 left without a key1 sculpture has passed beyond her old domain of placid concrete form4 ,the anguish of intolerable emotion1 the quickening of the consciousness to a sense of suffering1 the acceptance of the inevitable1 the strife of the soul with destiny1 the burden and the passion of mankind3--that is what they contain in their cold chisel-tortured marble4 ,it is open to critics of the school of ,lessing to object that here is the suicide of sculpture4 ,it is easy to remark that those strained postures and writhen limbs may have perverted the taste of lesser craftsmen4 ,yet if ,michelangelo was called to carve ,medicean statues after the sack of ,rome and the fall of ,florence--if he was obliged in sober sadness to make sculpture a fit language for his sorrow-laden heart--how could he have wrought more truthfully than this8 ,to imitate him without sharing his emotion or comprehending his thoughts1 as the soulless artists of the decadence attempted1 was without all doubt a grievous error4 ,surely also we may regret1 not without reason1 that in the evil days upon which he had fallen1 the fair antique ,heiterkeit and ,allgemeinheit were beyond his reach4 ,that this regret is not wholly sentimental may be proved1 ,i think1 by an exchange of verses1 which we owe to ,vasari's literary sagacity4 ,he tells us that when the statue of the ,night was opened to the public view1 it drew forth the following quatrain from an author unknown to himself by name3-- ,the ,night thou seest here1 posed gracefully ,in act of slumber1 was by an ,angel wrought ,out of this stone2 sleeping1 with life she's fraught3 ,wake her1 incredulous wight2 she'll speak to thee4 ,michelangelo would have none of these academical conceits and compliments4 ,he replied in four verses1 which show well enough what thoughts were in his brain when he composed the nightmare-burdened1 heavy-sleeping women3 ,dear is my sleep1 but more to be mere stone1 ,so long as ruin and dishonour reign3 ,to hear naught1 to feel naught1 is my great gain2 ,then wake me not2 speak in an undertone4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,i ,after the death of ,clement ,,vii41 ,michelangelo never returned to reside for any length of time at ,florence4 ,the rest of his life was spent in ,rome1 and he fell almost immediately under the kind but somewhat arbitrary patronage of ,alessandro ,farnese1 who succeeded to the ,papal chair in ,october #aecd1 with the title of ,paul ,,iii4 ,one of the last acts of ,clement's life had been to superintend the second contract with the heirs of ,julius1 by which ,michelangelo undertook to finish the tomb upon a reduced scale within the space of three years4 ,he was allowed to come to ,rome and work there during four months annually4 ,paul1 however1 asserted his authority by upsetting these arrangements and virtually cancelling the contract4 ,in the meanwhile1 writes ,condivi1 ,pope ,clement died1 and ,paul ,,iii4 sent for him1 and requested him to enter his service4 ,michelangelo saw at once that he would be interrupted in his work upon the ,tomb of ,julius4 ,so he told ,paul that he was not his own master1 being bound to the ,duke of ,urbino until the monument was finished4 ,the ,pope grew angry1 and exclaimed3 ',it is thirty years that ,i have cherished this desire1 and now that ,i am ,pope1 may ,i not indulge it8 ,where is the contract8 ,i mean to tear it up4' ,michelangelo1 finding himself reduced to these straits1 almost resolved to leave ,rome and take refuge in the ,genoese1 at an abbey held by the ,bishop of ,aleria1 who had been a creature of ,julius1 and was much attached to him4 ,he hoped that the neighbourhood of the ,carrara quarries1 and the facility of transporting marbles by sea1 would help him to complete his engagements4 ,he also thought of settling at ,urbino1 which he had previously selected as a tranquil retreat1 and where he expected to be well received for the sake of ,pope ,julius4 ,some months earlier1 he even sent a man of his to buy a house and land there4 ,still he dreaded the greatness of the ,pontiff1 as indeed he had good cause to do2 and for this reason he abandoned the idea of quitting ,rome1 hoping to pacify his ,holiness with fair words4 ,the ,pope1 however1 stuck to his opinion2 and one day he visited ,michelangelo at his house1 attended by eight or ten ,cardinals4 ,he first of all inspected the cartoon prepared in ,clement's reign for the great work of the ,sistine2 then the statues for the tomb1 and everything in detail4 ,the most reverend ,cardinal of ,mantua1 standing before the statue of ,moses1 cried out3 ',that piece alone is sufficient to do honour to the monument of ,julius4' ,pope ,paul1 having gone through the whole workshop1 renewed his request that ,michelangelo should enter his service2 and when the latter still resisted1 he clinched the matter by saying3 ',i will provide that the ,duke of ,urbino shall be satisfied with three statues from your hand1 and the remaining three shall be assigned to some other sculptor4' ,accordingly1 he settled on the terms of a new contract with the agents of the ,duke1 which were confirmed by his ,excellency1 who did not care to displeasure the ,pope4 ,michelangelo1 albeit he was now relieved from the obligation of paying for the three statues1 preferred to take this cost upon himself1 and deposited #aehj ducats for the purpose4 ,and so the ,tragedy of the ,tomb came at last to an end4 ,this may now be seen at ,s4 ,pietro ad ,vincula2 and though1 truth to tell1 it is but a mutilated and botched-up remnant of ,michelangelo's original design1 the monument is still the finest to be found in ,rome1 and perhaps elsewhere in the world1 if only for the three statues finished by the hand of the great master4 ,,ii ,in this account1 ,condivi1 has condensed the events of seven years4 ,the third and last contract with the heirs of ,julius was not ratified until the autumn of #aedb1 nor was the tomb erected much before the year #aeej4 ,we shall see that the tragedy still cost its hero many anxious days during this period4 ,paul ,,iii41 having obtained his object1 issued a brief1 whereby he appointed ,michelangelo chief architect1 sculptor1 and painter at the ,vatican4 ,the instrument is dated ,september #a1 #aece1 and the terms with which it describes the master's eminence in the three arts are highly flattering4 ,allusion is directly made to the fresco of the ,last ,judgment1 which may therefore have been begun about this date4 ,michelangelo was enrolled as member of the ,pontifical household1 with a permanent pension of #abjj golden crowns1 to be raised in part on the revenues accruing from a ferry across the ,po at ,piacenza4 ,he did not1 however1 obtain possession of this ferry until #aecg1 and the benefice proved so unremunerative that it was exchanged for a little post in the ,chancery at ,rimini4 ,when ,michelangelo began to work again in the ,sistine ,chapel1 the wall above the altar was adorned with three great sacred subjects by the hand of ,pietro ,perugino4 ,in the central fresco of the ,assumption ,perugino introduced a portrait of ,sixtus ,,iv4 kneeling in adoration before the ascending ,madonna4 ,the side panels were devoted to the ,nativity and the finding of ,moses4 ,in what condition ,michelangelo found these frescoes before the painting of the ,last ,judgment we do not know4 ,vasari says that he caused the wall to be rebuilt with well-baked carefully selected bricks1 and sloped inwards so that the top projected half a cubit from the bottom4 ,this was intended to secure the picture from dust4 ,vasari also relates that ,sebastiano del ,piombo1 acting on his own responsibility1 prepared this wall with a ground for oil-colours1 hoping to be employed by ,michelangelo1 but that the latter had it removed1 preferring the orthodox method of fresco-painting4 ,the story1 as it stands1 is not very probable2 yet we may perhaps conjecture that1 before deciding on the system to be adopted for his great work1 ,buonarroti thought fit to make experiments in several surfaces4 ,the painters of that period1 as is proved by ,sebastiano's practice1 by ,lionardo da ,vinci's unfortunate innovations at ,florence1 and by the experiments of ,raffaello's pupils in the hall of ,constantine1 not unfrequently invented methods for mural decoration which should afford the glow and richness of oil-colouring4 ,michelangelo may even have proposed at one time to intrust a large portion of his fresco to ,sebastiano's executive skill1 and afterwards have found the same difficulties in collaboration which reduced him to the necessity of painting the ,sistine vault in solitude4 ,be that as it may1 when the doors of the chapel once closed behind the master1 we hear nothing whatsoever about his doings till they opened again on ,christmas ,day in #aeda4 ,the reticence of ,michelangelo regarding his own works is one of the most trying things about him4 ,it is true indeed that his correspondence between #aecd and #aeda almost entirely fails2 still1 had it been abundant1 we should probably have possessed but dry and laconic references to matters connected with the business of his art4 ,he must have been fully occupied on the ,last ,judgment during #aecf and #aecg4 ,paul ,,iii4 was still in correspondence with the ,duke of ,urbino1 who showed himself not only willing to meet the ,pope's wishes with regard to the ,tomb of ,julius1 but also very well disposed toward the sculptor4 ,in ,july #aecg1 ,hieronimo ,staccoli wrote to the ,duke of ,camerino about a silver salt-cellar which ,michelangelo had designed at his request4 ,this prince1 ,guidobaldo della ,rovere1 when he afterwards succeeded to the ,duchy of ,urbino1 sent a really warm-hearted despatch to his dearest ,messer ,michelangelo4 ,he begins by saying that1 though he still cherishes the strongest wish to see the monument of his uncle completed1 he does not like to interrupt the fresco in the ,sistine ,chapel1 upon which his ,holiness has set his heart4 ,he thoroughly trusts in ,michelangelo's loyalty1 and is assured that his desire to finish the tomb1 for the honour of his former patron's memory1 is keen and sincere4 ,therefore1 he hopes that when the picture of the ,last ,judgment is terminated1 the work will be resumed and carried to a prosperous conclusion4 ,in the meantime1 let ,buonarroti attend to his health1 and not put everything again to peril by overstraining his energies4 ,signer ,gotti quotes a ,papal brief1 issued on the #ahth of ,september #aecg1 in which the history of the ,tomb of ,julius up to date is set forth1 and ,michelangelo's obligations toward the princes of ,urbino are recited4 ,it then proceeds to declare that ,clement ,,vii4 ordered him to paint the great wall of the ,sistine1 and that ,paul desires this work to be carried forward with all possible despatch4 ,he therefore lets it be publicly known that ,michelangelo has not failed to perform his engagements in the matter of the tomb through any fault or action of his own1 but by the express command of his ,holiness4 ,finally1 he discharges him and his heirs from all liabilities1 pecuniary or other1 to which he may appear exposed by the unfulfilled contracts4 ,,iii ,while thus engaged upon his fresco1 ,michelangelo received a letter1 dated ,venice1 ,september #ae1 #aecg1 from that rogue of genius1 ,pietro ,aretino4 ,it opens in the strain of hyperbolical compliment and florid rhetoric which ,aretino affected when he chose to flatter4 ,the man1 however1 was an admirable stylist1 the inventor of a new epistolary manner4 ,like a volcano1 his mind blazed with wit1 and buried sound sense beneath the scoriae and ashes it belched forth4 ,gifted with a natural feeling for rhetorical contrast1 he knew the effect of some simple and impressive sentence1 placed like a gem of value in the midst of gimcrack conceits4 ,thus3 ,i should not venture to address you1 had not my name1 accepted by the ears of every prince in ,europe1 outworn much of its native indignity4 ,and it is but meet that that ,i should approach you with this reverence2 for the world has many kings1 and one only ,michelangelo4 ,strange miracle1 that ,nature1 who cannot place aught so high but that you explore it with your art1 should be impotent to stamp upon her works that majesty which she contains within herself1 the immense power of your style and your chisel6 ,wherefore1 when we gaze on you1 we regret no longer that we may not meet with ,pheidias1 ,apelles1 or ,vitruvius1 whose spirits were the shadow of your spirit4 ,he piles the panegyric up to its climax1 by adding it is fortunate for those great artists of antiquity that their masterpieces cannot be compared with ,michelangelo's1 since1 being arraigned before the tribunal of our eyes1 we should perforce proclaim you unique as sculptor1 unique as painter1 and as architect unique4 ,after the blare of this exordium1 ,aretino settles down to the real business of his letter1 and communicates his own views regarding the ,last ,judgment1 which he hears that the supreme master of all arts is engaged in depicting4 ,who would not quake with terror while dipping his brush into the dreadful theme8 ,i behold ,anti-christ in the midst of thronging multitudes1 with an aspect such as only you could limn4 ,i behold affright upon the forehead of the living2 ,i see the signs of the extinction of the sun1 the moon1 the stars2 ,i see the breath of life exhaling from the elements2 ,i see ,nature abandoned and apart1 reduced to barrenness1 crouching in her decrpitude2 ,i see ,time sapless and trembling1 for his end has come1 and he is seated on an arid throne2 and while ,i hear the trumpets of the angels with their thunder shake the hearts of all1 ,i see both ,life and ,death convulsed with horrible confusion1 the one striving to resuscitate the dead1 the other using all his might to slay the living2 ,i see ,hope and ,despair guiding the squadrons of the good and the cohorts of the wicked2 ,i see the theatre of clouds1 blazing with rays that issue from the purest fires of heaven1 upon which among his hosts ,christ sits1 ringed round with splendours and with terrors2 ,i see the radiance of his face1 coruscating flames of light both glad and awful1 filling the blest with joy1 the damned with fear intolerable4 ,then ,i behold the satellites of the abyss1 who with horrid gestures1 to the glory of the saints and martyrs1 deride ,caesar and the ,alexanders2 for it is one thing to have trampled on the world1 but more to have conquered self4 ,i see ,fame1 with her crowns and palms trodden under foot1 cast out among the wheels of her own chariots4 ,and to conclude all1 ,i see the dread sentence issue from the mouth of the ,son of ,god4 ,i see it in the form of two darts1 the one of salvation1 the other of damnation2 and as they hustle down1 ,i hear the fury of its onset shock the elemental frame of things1 and1 with the roar of thunderings and voices1 smash the universal scheme to fragments4 ,i see the vault of ether merged in gloom1 illuminated only by the lights of ,paradise and the furnaces of hell4 ,my thoughts1 excited by this vision of the day of ,doom1 whisper3 ',if we quake in terror before the handiwork of ,buonarroti1 how shall we shake and shrink affrighted when ,he who shall judge passes sentence on our souls8' ,this description of the ,last ,day1 in which it is more than doubtful whether a man like ,aretino had any sincere faith1 possesses considerable literary interest4 ,in the first place1 it is curious as coming from one who lived on terms of closest intimacy with painters1 and who certainly appreciated art2 for this reason1 that nothing less pictorial than the images evoked could be invented4 ,then1 again1 in the first half of the sixteenth century it anticipated the rhetoric of the barocco period--the eloquence of seventeenth-century divines1 ,dutch poets1 ,jesuit pulpiteers4 ,aretino's originality consisted in his precocious divination of a whole new age of taste and style1 which was destined to supersede the purer graces of the ,renaissance4 ,the letter ends with an assurance that if anything could persuade him to break a resolution he had formed1 and to revisit ,rome1 it would be his great anxiety to view the ,last ,judgment of the ,sistine ,chapel with his own eyes4 ,michelangelo sent an answer which may be cited as an example of his peculiar irony4 ,under the form of elaborate compliment it conceals the scorn he must have conceived for ,aretino and his insolent advice4 ,yet he knew how dangerous the man could be1 and felt obliged to humour him4 ,magnificent ,messer ,pietro1 my lord and brother1--,the receipt of your letter gave me both joy and sorrow4 ,i rejoiced exceedingly1 since it came from you1 who are without peer in all the world for talent4 ,yet at the same time ,i grieved1 inasmuch as1 having finished a large part of the fresco1 ,i cannot realise your conception1 which is so complete1 that if the ,day of ,judgment had come1 and you had been present and seen it with your eyes1 your words could not have described it better4 ,now1 touching an answer to my letter1 ,i reply that ,i not only desire it1 but ,i entreat you to write one1 seeing that kings and emperors esteem it the highest favour to be mentioned by your pen4 ,meanwhile1 if ,i have anything that you would like1 ,i offer it with all my heart4 ,in conclusion1 do not break your resolve of never revisiting ,rome on account of the picture ,i am painting1 for this would be too much4 ,aretino's real object was to wheedle some priceless sketch or drawing out of the great master4 ,this appears from a second letter written by him on the #bjth of ,january #aech4 ,does not my devotion deserve that ,i should receive from you1 the prince of sculpture and of painting1 one of those cartoons which you fling into the fire1 to the end that during life ,i may enjoy it1 and in death carry it with me to the tomb8 ,after all1 we must give ,aretino credit for genuine feelings of admiration toward illustrious artists like ,titian1 ,sansovino1 and ,michelangelo4 ,writing many years after the date of these letters1 when he has seen an engraving of the ,last ,judgment1 he uses terms1 extravagant indeed1 but apparently sincere1 about its grandeur of design4 ,then he repeats his request for a drawing4 ,why will you not repay my devotion to your divine qualities by the gift of some scrap of a drawing1 the least valuable in your eyes8 ,i should certainly esteem two strokes of the chalk upon a piece of paper more than all the cups and chains which all the kings and princes gave me4 ,it seems that ,michelangelo continued to correspond with him1 and that ,benvenuto ,cellini took part in their exchange of letters4 ,but no drawings were sent2 and in course of time the ruffian got the better of the virtuoso in ,aretino's rapacious nature4 ,without ceasing to fawn and flatter ,michelangelo1 he sought occasion to damage his reputation4 ,thus we find him writing in ,january #aedf to the engraver ,enea ,vico1 bestowing high praise upon a copper-plate which a certain ,bazzacco had made from the ,last ,judgment1 but criticising the picture as licentious and likely to cause scandal with the ,lutherans1 by reason of its immodest exposure of the nakedness of persons of both sexes in heaven and hell4 ,it is not clear what ,aretino expected from ,enea ,vico4 ,a reference to the ,duke of ,florence seems to indicate that he wished to arouse suspicions among great and influential persons regarding the religious and moral quality of ,michelangelo's work4 ,this malevolent temper burst out at last in one of the most remarkable letters we possess of his4 ,it was obviously intended to hurt and insult ,michelangelo as much as lay within his power of innuendo and direct abuse4 ,the invective offers so many points of interest with regard to both men1 that ,i shall not hesitate to translate it here in full4 ,sir1 when ,i inspected the complete sketch of the whole of your ,last ,judgment1 ,i arrived at recognising the eminent graciousness of ,raffaello in its agreeable beauty of invention4 ,meanwhile1 as a baptized ,christian1 ,i blush before the license1 so forbidden to man's intellect1 which you have used in expressing ideas connected with the highest aims and final ends to which our faith aspires4 ,so1 then1 that ,michelangelo stupendous in his fame1 that ,michelangelo renowned for prudence1 that ,michelangelo whom all admire1 has chosen to display to the whole world an impiety of irreligion only equalled by the perfection of his painting6 ,is it possible that you1 who1 since you are divine1 do not condescend to consort with human beings1 have done this in the greatest temple built to ,god1 upon the highest altar raised to ,christ1 in the most sacred chapel upon earth1 where the mighty hinges of the ,church1 the venerable priests of our religion1 the ,vicar of ,christ1 with solemn ceremonies and holy prayers1 confess1 contemplate1 and adore his body1 his blood1 and his flesh8 ,if it were not infamous to introduce the comparison1 ,i would plume myself upon my virtue when ,i wrote ,la ,nanna4 ,i would demonstrate the superiority of my reserve to your indiscretion1 seeing that ,i1 while handling themes lascivious and immodest1 use language comely and decorous1 speak in terms beyond reproach and inoffensive to chaste ears4 ,you1 on the contrary1 presenting so awful a subject1 exhibit saints and angels1 these without earthly decency1 and those without celestial honours4 ,the pagans1 when they modelled a ,diana1 gave her clothes2 when they made a naked ,venus1 hid the parts which are not shown with the hand of modesty4 ,and here there comes a ,christian1 who1 because he rates art higher than the faith1 deems it a royal spectacle to portray martyrs and virgins in improper attitudes1 to show men dragged down by their shame1 before which things houses of ill-fame would shut the eyes in order not to see them4 ,your art would be at home in some voluptuous bagnio1 certainly not in the highest chapel of the world4 ,less criminal were it if you were an infidel1 than1 being a believer1 thus to sap the faith of others4 ,up to the present time the splendour of such audacious marvels hath not gone unpunished2 for their very superexcellence is the death of your good name4 ,restore them to repute by turning the indecent parts of the damned to flames1 and those of the blessed to sunbeams2 or imitate the modesty of ,florence1 who hides your ,david's shame beneath some gilded leaves4 ,and yet that statue is exposed upon a public square1 not in a consecrated chapel4 ,as ,i wish that ,god may pardon you1 ,i do not write this out of any resentment for the things ,i begged of you4 ,in truth1 if you had sent me what you promised1 you would only have been doing what you ought to have desired most eagerly to do in your own interest2 for this act of courtesy would silence the envious tongues which say that only certain ,gerards and ,thomases dispose of them4 ,well1 if the treasure bequeathed you by ,pope ,julius1 in order that you might deposit his ashes in an urn of your own carving1 was not enough to make you keep your plighted word1 what can ,i expect from you8 ,it is not your ingratitude1 your avarice1 great painter1 but the grace and merit of the ,supreme ,shepherd1 which decide his fame4 ,god wills that ,julius should live renowned for ever in a simple tomb1 inurned in his own merits1 and not in some proud monument dependent on your genius4 ,meantime1 your failure to discharge your obligations is reckoned to you as an act of thieving4 ,our souls need the tranquil emotions of piety more than the lively impressions of plastic art4 ,may ,god1 then1 inspire his ,holiness ,paul with the same thoughts as he instilled into ,gregory of blessed memory1 who rather chose to despoil ,rome of the proud statues of the ,pagan deities than to let their magnificence deprive the humbler images of the saints of the devotion of the people4 ,lastly1 when you set about composing your picture of the universe and hell and heaven1 if you had steeped your heart with those suggestions of glory1 of honour1 and of terror proper to the theme which ,i sketched out and offered to you in the letter ,i wrote you and the whole world reads1 ,i venture to assert that not only would nature and all kind influences cease to regret the illustrious talents they endowed you with1 and which to-day render you1 by virtue of your art1 an image of the marvellous3 but ,providence1 who sees all things1 would herself continue to watch over such a masterpiece1 so long as order lasts in her government of the hemispheres4 ,your servant1 ,the ,aretine4 ,now that ,i have blown off some of the rage ,i feel against you for the cruelty you used to my devotion1 and have taught you to see that1 while you may be divine1 ,i am not made of water1 ,i bid you tear up this letter1 for ,i have done the like1 and do not forget that ,i am one to whose epistles kings and emperors reply4 ,to the great ,michelangelo ,buonarroti in ,rome4 ,the malignancy of this letter is only equalled by its stylistic ingenuity4 ,aretino used every means he could devise to wound and irritate a sensitive nature4 ,the allusion to ,raffaello1 the comparison of his own pornographic dialogues with the ,last ,judgment in the ,sistine1 the covert hint that folk gossiped about ,michelangelo's relations to young men1 his sneers at the great man's exclusiveness1 his cruel insinuations with regard to the ,tomb of ,julius1 his devout hope that ,paul will destroy the fresco1 and the impudent eulogy of his precious letter on the ,last ,day1 were all nicely calculated to annoy4 ,whether the missive was duly received by ,buonarroti we do not know4 ,gaye asserts that it appears to have been sent through the post4 ,he discovered it in the ,archives of the ,strozzi ,palace4 ,the virtuous ,pietro ,aretino was not the only one to be scandalised by the nudities of the ,last ,judgment2 and indeed it must be allowed that when ,michelangelo treated such a subject in such a manner1 he was pushing the principle of art for art's sake to its extremity4 ,one of the most popular stories told about this work shows that it early began to create a scandal4 ,when it was three fourths finished1 ,pope ,paul went to see the fresco1 attended by ,messer ,biagio da ,cesena1 his ,master of the ,ceremonies4 ,on being asked his opinion of the painting1 ,messer ,biagio replied that he thought it highly improper to expose so many naked figures in a sacred picture1 and that it was more fit for a place of debauchery than for the ,pope's chapel4 ,michelangelo1 nettled by this1 drew the prelate's portrait to the life1 and placed him in hell with horns on his head and a serpent twisted round his loins4 ,messer ,biagio1 finding himself in this plight1 and being no doubt laughed at by his friends1 complained to the ,pope1 who answered that he could do nothing to help him4 ,had the painter sent you to ,purgatory1 ,i would have used my best efforts to get you released2 but ,i exercise no influence in hell2 ubi nulla est redemptio4 ,before ,michelangelo's death1 his follower1 ,daniele da ,volterra1 was employed to provide draperies for the most obnoxious figures1 and won thereby the name of ,il ,braghettone1 or the breeches-maker4 ,paul ,,iv4 gave the painter this commission1 having previously consulted ,buonarroti on the subject4 ,the latter is said to have replied to the ,pope's messenger3 ,tell his ,holiness that this is a small matter1 and can easily be set straight4 ,let him look to setting the world in order3 to reform a picture costs no great trouble4 ,later on1 during the ,pontificate of ,pio ,v41 a master named ,girolamo da ,fano continued the process begun by ,daniele da ,volterra4 ,as a necessary consequence of this tribute to modesty1 the scheme of ,michelangelo's colouring and the balance of his masses have been irretrievably damaged4 ,,iv ,vasari says that not very long before the ,last ,judgment was finished1 ,michelangelo fell from the scaffolding1 and seriously hurt his leg4 ,the pain he suffered and his melancholy made him shut himself up at home1 where he refused to be treated by a doctor4 ,there was a ,florentine physician in ,rome1 however1 of capricious humour1 who admired the arts1 and felt a real affection for ,buonarroti4 ,this man contrived to creep into the house by some privy entrance1 and roamed about it till he found the master4 ,he then insisted upon remaining there on watch and guard until he had effected a complete cure4 ,the name of this excellent friend1 famous for his skill and science in those days1 was ,baccio ,rontini4 ,after his recovery ,michelangelo returned to work1 and finished the ,last ,judgment in a few months4 ,it was exposed to the public on ,christmas ,day in #aeda4 ,time1 negligence1 and outrage1 the dust of centuries1 the burned papers of successive conclaves1 the smoke of altar-candles1 the hammers and the hangings of upholsterers1 the brush of the breeches-maker and restorer1 have so dealt with the ,last ,judgment that it is almost impossible to do it justice now4 ,what ,michelangelo intended by his scheme of colour is entirely lost4 ,not only did ,daniele da ,volterra1 an execrable colourist1 dab vividly tinted patches upon the modulated harmonies of flesh-tones painted by the master2 but the whole surface has sunk into a bluish fog1 deepening to something like lamp-black around the altar4 ,nevertheless1 in its composition the fresco may still be studied2 and after due inspection1 aided by photographic reproductions of each portion1 we are not unable to understand the enthusiasm which so nobly and profoundly planned a work of art aroused among contemporaries4 ,it has sometimes been asserted that this enormous painting1 the largest and most comprehensive in the world1 is a tempest of contending forms1 a hurly-burly of floating1 falling1 soaring1 and descending figures4 ,nothing can be more opposed to the truth4 ,michelangelo was sixty-six years of age when he laid his brush down at the end of the gigantic task4 ,he had long outlived the spontaneity of youthful ardour4 ,his experience through half a century in the planning of monuments1 the painting of the ,sistine vault1 the designing of faades and sacristies and libraries1 had developed the architectonic sense which was always powerful in his conceptive faculty4 ,consequently1 we are not surprised to find that1 intricate and confused as the scheme may appear to an unpractised eye1 it is in reality a design of mathematical severity1 divided into four bands or planes of grouping4 ,the wall1 since it occupies one entire end of a long high building1 is naturally less broad than lofty4 ,the pictorial divisions are therefore horizontal in the main1 though so combined and varied as to produce the effect of multiplied curves1 balancing and antiphonally inverting their lines of sinuosity4 ,the pendentive upon which the prophet ,jonah sits1 descends and breaks the surface at the top1 leaving a semicircular compartment on each side of its corbel4 ,michelangelo filled these upper spaces with two groups of wrestling angels1 the one bearing a huge cross1 the other a column1 in the air4 ,the cross and whipping-post are the chief emblems of ,christ's ,passion4 ,the crown of thorns is also there1 the sponge1 the ladder1 and the nails4 ,it is with no merciful intent that these signs of our ,lord's suffering are thus exhibited4 ,demonic angels1 tumbling on clouds like ,leviathans1 hurl them to and fro in brutal wrath above the crowd of souls1 as though to demonstrate the justice of damnation4 ,in spite of a ,god's pain and shameful death1 mankind has gone on sinning4 ,the ,judge is what the crimes of the world and ,italy have made him4 ,immediately below the corbel1 and well detached from the squadrons of attendant saints1 ,christ rises from ,his throne4 ,his face is turned in the direction of the damned1 ,his right hand is lifted as though loaded with thunderbolts for their annihilation4 ,he is a ponderous young athlete2 rather say a mass of hypertrophied muscles1 with the features of a vulgarised ,apollo4 ,the ,virgin sits in a crouching attitude at ,his right side1 slightly averting her head1 as though in painful expectation of the coming sentence4 ,the saints and martyrs who surround ,christ and ,his ,mother1 while forming one of the chief planes in the composition1 are arranged in four unequal groups of subtle and surprising intricacy4 ,all bear the emblems of their cruel deaths1 and shake them in the sight of ,christ as though appealing to ,his judgment-seat4 ,it has been charitably suggested that they intend to supplicate for mercy4 ,i cannot1 however1 resist the impression that they are really demanding rigid justice4 ,s4 ,bartholomew flourishes his flaying-knife and dripping skin with a glare of menace4 ,s4 ,catherine struggles to raise her broken wheel4 ,s4 ,sebastian frowns down on hell with a sheaf of arrows quivering in his stalwart arm4 ,the saws1 the carding-combs1 the crosses1 and the grid-irons1 all subserve the same purpose of reminding ,christ that1 if ,he does not damn the wicked1 confessors will have died with ,him in vain4 ,it is singular that1 while ,michelangelo depicted so many attitudes of expectation1 eagerness1 anxiety1 and astonishment in the blest1 he has given to none of them the expression of gratitude1 or love1 or sympathy1 or shrinking awe4 ,men and women1 old and young alike1 are human beings of ,herculean build4 ,paradise1 according to ,buonarroti's conception1 was not meant for what is graceful1 lovely1 original1 and tender4 ,the hosts of heaven are adult and over-developed gymnasts4 ,yet1 while we record these impressions1 it would be unfair to neglect the spiritual beauty of some souls embracing after long separation in the grave1 with folding arms1 and clasping hands1 and clinging lips4 ,while painting these1 ,michelangelo thought peradventure of his father and his brother4 ,the two planes which ,i have attempted to describe occupy the upper and the larger portion of the composition4 ,the third in order is made up of three masses4 ,in the middle floats a band of ,titanic cherubs1 blowing their long trumpets over earth and sea to wake the dead4 ,dramatically1 nothing can be finer than the strained energy and superhuman force of these superb creatures4 ,their attitudes compel our imagination to hear the crashing thunders of the trump of doom4 ,to the left of the spectator are souls ascending to be judged1 some floating through vague ether1 enwrapped with grave-clothes1 others assisted by descending saints and angels1 who reach a hand1 a rosary1 to help the still gross spirit in its flight4 ,to the right are the condemned1 sinking downwards to their place of torment1 spurned by seraphs1 cuffed by angelic grooms1 dragged by demons1 hurling1 howling1 huddled in a mass of horror4 ,it is just here1 and still yet farther down1 that ,michelangelo put forth all his power as a master of expression4 ,while the blessed display nothing which is truly proper to their state of holiness and everlasting peace1 the damned appear in every realistic aspect of most stringent agony and terror4 ,the colossal forms of flesh with which the multitudes of saved and damned are equally endowed1 befit that extremity of physical and mental anguish more than they suit the serenity of bliss eternal4 ,there is a wretch1 twined round with fiends1 gazing straight before him as he sinks2 one half of his face is buried in his hand1 the other fixed in a stony spasm of despair1 foreshadowing perpetuity of hell4 ,nothing could express with sublimity of a higher order the sense of irremediable loss1 eternal pain1 a future endless without hope1 than the rigid dignity of this not ignoble sinner's dread4 ,just below is the place to which the doomed are sinking4 ,michelangelo reverted to ,dante for the symbolism chosen to portray hell4 ,charon1 the demon1 with eyes of burning coal1 compels a crowd of spirits in his ferryboat4 ,they land and are received by devils1 who drag them before ,minos1 judge of the infernal regions4 ,he towers at the extreme right end of the fresco1 indicating that the nether regions yawn infinitely deep1 beyond our ken2 just as the angels above ,christ suggest a region of light and glory1 extending upward through illimitable space4 ,the scene of judgment on which attention is concentrated forms but an episode in the universal1 sempiternal scheme of things4 ,balancing hell1 on the left hand of the spectator1 is brute earth1 the grave1 the forming and the swallowing clay1 out of which souls1 not yet acquitted or condemned1 emerge with difficulty1 in varied forms of skeletons or corpses1 slowly thawing into life eternal4 ,vasari1 in his description of the ,last ,judgment1 seized upon what after all endures as the most salient aspect of this puzzling work1 at once so fascinating and so repellent4 ,it is obvious1 he says1 that the peerless painter did not aim at anything but the portrayal of the human body in perfect proportions and most varied attitudes1 together with the passions and affections of the soul4 ,that was enough for him1 and here he has no equal4 ,he wanted to exhibit the grand style3 consummate draughtsmanship in the nude1 mastery over all problems of design4 ,he concentrated his power upon the human form1 attending to that alone1 and neglecting all subsidiary things1 as charm of colour1 capricious inventions1 delicate devices and novelties of fancy4 ,vasari might have added that ,michelangelo also neglected what ought to have been a main object of his art3 convincing eloquence1 the solemnity proper to his theme1 spirituality of earthly grossness quit4 ,as a collection of athletic nudes in all conceivable postures of rest and action1 of foreshortening1 of suggested movement1 the ,last ,judgment remains a stupendous miracle4 ,nor has the aged master lost his cunning for the portrayal of divinely simple faces1 superb limbs1 masculine beauty1 in the ideal persons of young men4 ,the picture1 when we dwell long enough upon its details1 emerges into prominence1 moreover1 as indubitably awe-inspiring1 terrifying1 dreadful in its poignant expression of wrath1 retaliation1 thirst for vengeance1 cruelty1 and helpless horror4 ,but the supreme point even of ,doomsday1 of the ,dies ,irae1 has not been seized4 ,we do not hear the still small voice of pathos and of human hope which thrills through ,thomas a ,celano's hymn3-- ,quaerens me sedisti lassus1 ,redemisti crucem passus3 ,tantus labor non sit cassus4 ,the note is one of sustained menace and terror1 and the total scheme of congregated forms might be compared to a sense-deafening solo on a trombone4 ,while saying this1 we must remember that it was the constant impulse of ,michelangelo to seize one moment only1 and what he deemed the most decisive moment1 in the theme he had to develop4 ,having selected the instant of time at which ,christ1 half risen from his ,judgment-seat of cloud1 raises an omnific hand to curse1 the master caused each fibre of his complex composition to thrill with the tremendous passion of that coming sentence4 ,the long series of designs for ,crucifixions1 ,depositions from the ,cross1 and ,piets which we possess1 all of them belonging to a period of his life not much later than #aeda1 prove that his nature was quite as sensitive to pathos as to terror2 only1 it was not in him to attempt a combination of terror and pathos4 ,he aimed at the portrayal of the human body4 ,he wanted to exhibit the grand style4 ,so says ,vasari1 and ,vasari is partly right4 ,but we must not fall into the paradox1 so perversely maintained by ,ruskin in his lecture on ,tintoretto and ,michelangelo1 that the latter was a cold and heartless artist1 caring chiefly for the display of technical skill and anatomical science4 ,partial and painful as we may find the meaning of the ,last ,judgment1 that meaning has been only too powerfully and personally felt4 ,the denunciations of the prophets1 the woes of the ,apocalypse1 the invectives of ,savonarola1 the tragedies of ,italian history1 the sense of present and indwelling sin1 storm through and through it4 ,technically1 the masterpiece bears signs of fatigue and discontent1 in spite of its extraordinary vigour of conception and execution4 ,the man was old and tired1 thwarted in his wishes and oppressed with troubles4 ,his very science had become more formal1 his types more arid and schematic1 than they used to be4 ,the thrilling life1 the divine afflatus1 of the ,sistine vault have passed out of the ,last ,judgment4 ,wholly admirable1 unrivalled1 and unequalled by any other human work upon a similar scale as this fresco may be in its command over the varied resources of the human body1 it does not strike our mind as the production of a master glorying in carnal pride and mental insolence1 but rather as that of one discomfited and terrified1 upon the point of losing heart4 ,henri ,beyle1 jotting down his impressions in the ,sistine ,chapel1 was reminded of the ,grand ,army's flight after the burning of ,moscow4 ,when1 in our disastrous retreat from ,russia1 it chanced that we were suddenly awakened in the middle of the dark night by an obstinate cannonading1 which at each moment seemed to gain in nearness1 then all the forces of a man's nature gathered close around his heart2 he felt himself in the presence of fate1 and having no attention left for things of vulgar interest1 he made himself ready to dispute his life with destiny4 ,the sight of ,michelangelo's picture has brought back to my consciousness that almost forgotten sensation4 ,this is a piece of just and sympathetic criticism1 and upon its note ,i am fain to close4 ,v ,it is probable that the fame of the ,last ,judgment spread rapidly abroad through ,italy1 and that many visits to ,rome were made for the purpose of inspecting it4 ,complimentary sonnets must also have been addressed to the painter4 ,i take it that ,niccol ,martelli sent some poems on the subject from ,florence1 for ,michelangelo replied upon the #bjth of ,january #aedb in the following letter of singular modesty and urbane kindness3-- ,i received from ,messer ,vincenzo ,perini your letter with two sonnets and a madrigal4 ,the letter and the sonnet addressed to me are so marvellously fine1 that if a man should find in them anything to castigate1 it would be impossible to castigate him as thoroughly as they are castigated4 ,it is true they praise me so much1 that had ,i ,paradise in my bosom1 less of praise would suffice4 ,i perceive that you suppose me to be just what ,god wishes that ,i were4 ,i am a poor man and of little merit1 who plod along in the art which ,god gave me1 to lengthen out my life as far as possible4 ,such as ,i am1 ,i remain your servant and that of all the house of ,martelli4 ,i thank you for your letter and the poems1 but not as much as duty bids1 for ,i cannot soar to such heights of courtesy4 ,when the ,last ,judgment was finished1 ,michelangelo not unreasonably hoped that he might resume his work upon the ,tomb of ,julius4 ,but this was not to be4 ,antonio da ,san ,gallo had just completed the ,chapel of the ,holy ,sacrament in the ,vatican1 which is known as the ,cappella ,paolina1 and the ,pope resolved that its frescoes should be painted by ,buonarroti4 ,the ,duke of ,urbino1 yielding to his wishes1 wrote to ,michelangelo upon the #fth of ,march #aedb1 saying that he should be quite satisfied if the three statues by his hand1 including the ,moses1 were assigned to the tomb1 the execution of the rest being left to competent workmen under his direction4 ,in effect1 we possess documents proving that the tomb was consigned to several masters during this year1 #aedb4 ,the first is a contract dated ,february #bg1 whereby ,raffaello da ,montelupo undertakes to finish three statues1 two of these being the ,active ,life and the ,contemplative4 ,the second is a contract dated ,may #af1 in which ,michelangelo assigns the architectural and ornamental portion of the monument conjointly to ,giovanni de' ,marchesi and ,francesco d' ,amadore1 called ,urbino1 providing that differences which may arise between them shall be referred to ,donato ,giannotti4 ,there is a third contract1 under date ,june #a1 about the same work intrusted to the same two craftsmen1 prescribing details with more exactitude4 ,it turned out that the apprehension of disagreement between the masters about the division of their labour was not unfounded1 for ,michelangelo wrote twice in ,july to his friend ,luigi del ,riccio1 complaining bitterly of their dissensions1 and saying that he has lost two months in these trifles4 ,he adds that one of them is covetous1 the other mad1 and he fears their quarrel may end in wounds or murder4 ,the matter disturbs his mind greatly1 chiefly on account of ,urbino1 because he has brought him up1 and also because of the time wasted over their ignorance and bestial stupidity4 ,the dispute was finally settled by the intervention of three master-masons 7acting severally for ,michelangelo1 ,urbino1 and ,giovanni71 who valued the respective portions of the work4 ,i must interrupt this narrative of the tomb to explain who some of the persons just mentioned were1 and how they came to be connected with ,buonarroti4 ,donato ,giannotti was the famous writer upon political and literary topics1 who1 after playing a conspicuous part in the revolution of ,florence against the ,medici1 now lived in exile at ,rome4 ,his dialogues on ,dante1 and ,francesco d',olanda's account of the meetings at ,s4 ,silvestro1 prove that he formed a member of that little circle which included ,michelangelo and ,vittoria ,colonna4 ,luigi del ,riccio was a ,florentine merchant1 settled in the banking-house of the ,strozzi at ,rome4 ,for many years he acted as ,michelangelo's man of business2 but their friendship was close and warm in many other ways4 ,they were drawn together by a common love of poetry1 and by the charm of a rarely gifted youth called ,cecchino dei ,bracci4 ,urbino was the great sculptor's servant and man of all work1 the last and best of that series1 which included ,stefano ,miniatore1 ,pietro ,urbino1 ,antonio ,mini4 ,michelangelo made ,urbino's fortune1 mourned his death1 and undertook the guardianship of his children1 as will appear in due course4 ,all through his life the great sculptor was dependent upon some trusted servant1 to whom he became personally attached1 and who did not always repay his kindness with gratitude4 ,after ,urbino's death1 ,ascanio ,condivi filled a similar post1 and to this circumstance we owe the most precious of our contemporary biographies4 ,our most important document with regard to the ,tomb of ,julius is an elaborate petition addressed by ,michelangelo to ,paul ,,iii4 upon the #bjth of ,july4 ,it begins by referring to the contract of ,april #ah1 #aecb1 and proceeds to state that the ,pope's new commission for the ,cappella ,paolina has interfered once more with the fulfilment of the sculptor's engagements4 ,then it recites the terms suggested by the ,duke of ,urbino in his letter of ,march #f1 #aedb1 according to which three of the statues of the tomb may be assigned to capable craftsmen1 while the other three1 including the ,moses1 will have to be finished by ,michelangelo himself4 ,raffaello da ,montelupo has already undertaken the ,madonna and ,child1 a ,prophet1 and a ,sibyl4 ,giovanni de' ,marchese and ,francesco da ,urbino are at work upon the architecture4 ,it remains for ,michelangelo to furnish the ,moses and two ,captives1 all three of which are nearly completed4 ,the ,captives1 however1 were designed for a much larger monument1 and will not suit the present scheme4 ,accordingly1 he has blocked out two other figures1 representing the ,active and ,contemplative ,life4 ,but even these he is unable to finish1 since the painting of the chapel absorbs his time and energy4 ,he therefore prays the ,pope to use his influence with the ,duke of ,urbino1 so that he may be henceforward wholly and absolutely freed from all obligations in the matter of the tomb4 ,the ,moses he can deliver in a state of perfection1 but he wishes to assign the ,active and ,contemplative ,life to ,raffaello or to any other sculptor who may be preferred by the ,duke4 ,finally1 he is prepared to deposit a sum of #abjj crowns for the total costs1 and to guarantee that the work shall be efficiently executed in all its details4 ,it is curious that in this petition and elsewhere no mention is made of what might be considered the most important portion of the tomb--namely1 the portrait statue of ,julius4 ,the document was presented to ,messer ,piero ,giovanni ,aliotti1 ,bishop of ,forli1 and keeper of the wardrobe to ,pope ,paul4 ,accordingly1 the final contract regarding the tomb was drawn up and signed upon the #bjth of ,august4 ,i need not recapitulate its terms1 for ,i have already printed a summary of them in a former chapter of this work4 ,suffice it to say that ,michelangelo was at last released from all active responsibility with regard to the tomb1 and that the vast design of his early manhood now dwindled down to the ,moses4 ,to ,raffaello da ,montelupo was left the completion of the remaining five statues4 ,this lamentable termination to the cherished scheme of his lifetime must have preyed upon ,michelangelo's spirits4 ,the letters in which he alludes to it1 after the contract had been signed1 breathe a spirit of more than usual fretfulness4 ,moreover1 the ,duke of ,urbino now delayed to send his ratification1 by which alone the deed could become valid4 ,in ,october1 writing to ,del ,riccio1 ,michelangelo complains that ,messer ,aliotti is urging him to begin painting in the chapel2 but the plaster is not yet fit to work on4 ,meanwhile1 although he has deposited #adjj crowns1 which would have kept him working for seven years1 and would have enabled him to finish two tombs1 the ,duke's ratification does not come4 ,it is easy enough to see what that means without writing it in words6 ,enough2 for the loyalty of thirty-six years1 and for having given myself of my own free will to others1 ,i deserve no better4 ,painting and sculpture1 labour and good faith1 have been my ruin1 and ,i go continually from bad to worse4 ,better would it have been for me if ,i had set myself to making matches in my youth6 ,i should not be in such distress of mind4444 ,i will not remain under this burden1 nor be vilified every day for a swindler by those who have robbed my life and honour4 ,only death or the ,pope can extricate me4 ,it appears that at this time the ,duke of ,urbino's agents were accusing him of having lent out moneys which he had received on account for the execution of the monument4 ,then follows1 in the same month of ,october1 that stormy letter to some prelate1 which is one of the most weighty autobiographical documents from the hand of ,michelangelo in our possession4 ,monsignore1--,your lordship sends to tell me that ,i must begin to paint1 and have no anxiety4 ,i answer that one paints with the brain and not with the hands2 and he who has not his brains at his command produces work that shames him4 ,therefore1 until my business is settled1 ,i can do nothing good4 ,the ratification of the last contract does not come4 ,on the strength of the other1 made before ,clement1 ,i am daily stoned as though ,i had crucified ,christ4444 ,my whole youth and manhood have been lost1 tied down to this tomb4444 ,i see multitudes with incomes of #bjjj or #cjjj crowns lying in bed1 while ,i with all my immense labour toil to grow poor4444 ,i am not a thief and usurer1 but a citizen of ,florence1 noble1 the son of an honest man1 and do not come from ,cagli4 7,these and similar outbursts of indignant passion scattered up and down the epistle1 show to what extent the sculptor's irritable nature had been exasperated by calumnious reports4 ,as he openly declares1 he is being driven mad by pin-pricks4 ,then follows the detailed history of his dealings with ,julius1 which1 as ,i have already made copious use of it1 may here be given in outline47 ,in the first year of his pontificate1 ,julius commissioned me to make his tomb1 and ,i stayed eight months at ,carrara quarrying marbles and sending them to the ,piazza of ,s4 ,peter's1 where ,i had my lodgings behind ,s4 ,caterina4 ,afterwards the ,pope decided not to build his tomb during his lifetime1 and set me down to painting4 ,then he kept me two years at ,bologna casting his statue in bronze1 which has been destroyed4 ,after that ,i returned to ,rome and stayed with him until his death1 always keeping my house open without post or pension1 living on the money for the tomb1 since ,i had no other income4 ,after the death of ,julius1 ,aginensis wanted me to go on with it1 but on a larger scale4 ,so ,i brought the marbles to the ,macello dei ,corvi1 and got that part of the mural scheme finished which is now walled in at ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli1 and made the figures which ,i have at home still4 ,meanwhile1 ,leo1 not wishing me to work at the tomb1 pretended that he wanted to complete the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo at ,florence1 and begged me of the ,cardinal4 ,to continue my history of the tomb of ,julius1 ,i say that when he changed his mind about building it in his lifetime1 some shiploads of marble came to the ,ripa1 which ,i had ordered a short while before from ,carrara1 and as ,i could not get money from the ,pope to pay the freightage1 ,i had to borrow #aej or #bjj ducats from ,baldassare ,balducci--that is1 from the bank of ,jacopo ,gallo4 ,at the same time workmen came from ,florence1 some of whom are still alive2 and ,i furnished the house which ,julius gave me behind ,s4 ,caterina with beds and other furniture for the men1 and what was wanted for the work of the tomb4 ,all this being done without money1 ,i was greatly embarrassed4 ,accordingly1 ,i urged the ,pope with all my power to go forward with the business1 and he had me turned away by a groom one morning when ,i came to speak upon the matter4 7,here intervenes the story of the flight to ,florence1 which has been worked up in the course of ,chapter ,,iv47 ,later on1 while ,i was at ,florence1 ,julius sent three briefs to the ,signory4 ,at last the latter sent for me and said3 ',we do not want to go to war with ,pope ,julius because of you4 ,you must return2 and if you do so1 we will write you letters of such authority that if he does you harm1 he will be doing it to this ,signory4' ,accordingly1 ,i took the letters1 and went back to the ,pope1 and what followed would be long to tell6 ,all the dissensions between ,pope ,julius and me arose from the envy of ,bramante and ,raffaello da ,urbino2 and this was the cause of my not finishing the tomb in his lifetime4 ,they wanted to ruin me4 ,raffaello had indeed good reason1 for all he had of art1 he had from me4 ,twice again in ,october ,michelangelo wrote to ,luigi del ,riccio about the ratification of his contract4 ,i cannot live1 far less paint4 ,i am resolved to stop at home and finish the three figures1 as ,i agreed to do4 ,this would be better for me than to drag my limbs daily to the ,vatican4 ,let him who likes get angry4 ,if the ,pope wants me to paint1 he must send for the ,duke's ambassador and procure the ratification4 ,what happened at this time about the tomb can be understood by help of a letter written to ,salvestro da ,montauto on the #crd of ,february #aede4 ,michelangelo refers to the last contract1 and says that the ,duke of ,urbino ratified the deed4 ,accordingly1 five statues were assigned to ,raffaello da ,montelupo4 ,but while ,i was painting the new chapel for ,pope ,paul ,,iii41 his ,holiness1 at my earnest prayer1 allowed me a little time1 during which ,i finished two of them1 namely1 the ,active and ,contemplative ,life1 with my own hand4 ,with all his good-will1 however1 ,michelangelo did not wholly extricate himself from the anxieties of this miserable affair4 ,as late as the year #aeec1 ,annibale ,caro wrote to ,antonio ,gallo entreating him to plead for the illustrious old man with the ,duke of ,urbino4 ,i assure you that the extreme distress caused him by being in disgrace with his ,excellency is sufficient to bring his grey hairs to the grave before his time4 ,,vi ,the ,tomb of ,julius1 as it now appears in the ,church of ,s4 ,pietro in ,vincoli in ,rome1 is a monument composed of two discordant parts1 by inspecting which a sympathetic critic is enabled to read the dreary history of its production4 ,as ,condivi allows1 it was a thing rattoppata e rifatta1 patched together and hashed up4 ,the lower half represents what eventually survived from the grandiose original design for one faade of that vast mount of marble which was to have been erected in the ,tribune of ,st4 ,peter's4 ,the socles1 upon which captive ,arts and ,sciences were meant to stand1 remain2 but instead of statues1 inverted consoles take their places1 and lead lamely up to the heads and busts of terminal old men4 ,the pilasters of these terms have been shortened4 ,there are four of them1 enclosing two narrow niches1 where beautiful female figures1 the ,active ,life and the ,contemplative ,life1 still testify to the enduring warmth and vigour of the mighty sculptor's genius4 ,as single statues duly worked into a symmetrical scheme1 these figures would be admirable1 since grace of line and symbolical contrast of attitude render both charming4 ,in their present position they are reduced to comparative insignificance by heavy architectural surroundings4 ,the space left free between the niches and the terms is assigned to the seated statue of ,moses1 which forms the main attraction of the monument1 and of which1 as a masterpiece of ,michelangelo's best years1 ,i shall have to speak later on4 ,the architectural plan and the surface decoration of this lower half are conceived in a style belonging to the earlier ,italian ,renaissance4 ,arabesques and masks and foliated patterns adorn the flat slabs4 ,the recess of each niche is arched with a concave shell4 ,the terminal busts are boldly modelled1 and impose upon the eye4 ,the whole is rich in detail1 and1 though somewhat arid in fanciful invention1 it carries us back to the tradition of ,florentine work by ,mino da ,fiesole and ,desiderio da ,settignano4 ,when we ascend to the upper portion1 we seem to have passed1 as indeed we do pass1 into the region of the new manner created by ,michelangelo at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,the orders of the pilasters are immensely tall in proportion to the spaces they enclose4 ,two of these spaces1 those on the left and right side1 are filled in above with meaningless rectangular recesses1 while seated statues occupy less than a whole half in altitude of the niches4 ,the architectural design is nondescript1 corresponding to no recognised style1 unless it be a bastard ,roman ,doric4 ,there is absolutely no decorative element except four shallow masks beneath the abaci of the pilasters4 ,all is cold and broad and dry1 contrasting strangely with the accumulated details of the lower portion4 ,in the central niche1 immediately above the ,moses1 stands a ,madonna of fine sculptural quality1 beneath a shallow arch1 which repeats the shell-pattern4 ,at her feet lies the extended figure of ,pope ,julius ,,ii41 crowned with the tiara1 raising himself in a half-recumbent attitude upon his right arm4 ,of the statues in the upper portion1 by far the finest in artistic merit is the ,madonna4 ,this dignified and gracious lady1 holding the ,divine ,child in her arms1 must be reckoned among ,buonarroti's triumphs in dealing with the female form4 ,there is more of softness and sweetness here than in the ,madonna of the ,medicean sacristy1 while the infant playing with a captured bird is full of grace4 ,michelangelo left little in this group for the chisel of ,montelupo to deform by alteration4 ,the seated female1 a ,sibyl1 on the left1 bears equally the stamp of his design4 ,executed by himself1 this would have been a masterpiece for grandeur of line and dignified repose4 ,as it is1 the style1 while seeming to aim at breadth1 remains frigid and formal4 ,the so-called ,prophet on the other side counts among the signal failures of ,italian sculpture4 ,it has neither beauty nor significance4 ,like a heavy ,roman consul of the ,decadence1 the man sits there1 lumpy and meaningless2 we might take it for a statue-portrait erected by some provincial municipality to celebrate a local magnate2 but of prophecy or inspiration there is nothing to detect in this inert figure4 ,we wonder why he should be placed so near a ,pope4 ,it is said that ,michelangelo expressed dissatisfaction with ,montelupo's execution of the two statues finally committed to his charge1 and we know from documents that the man was ill when they were finished4 ,still we can hardly excuse the master himself for the cold and perfunctory performance of a task which had such animated and heroic beginnings4 ,competent judges1 who have narrowly surveyed the monument1 say that the stones are badly put together1 and the workmanship is defective in important requirements of the sculptor-mason's craft4 ,those who defend ,buonarroti must fall back upon the theory that weariness and disappointment made him at last indifferent to the fate of a design which had cost him so much anxiety1 pecuniary difficulties1 and frustrated expectations in past years4 ,he let the ,tomb of ,julius1 his first vast dream of art1 be botched up out of dregs and relics by ignoble hands1 because he was heart-sick and out of pocket4 ,as artist1 ,michelangelo might1 one thinks1 have avoided the glaring discord of styles between the upper and the lower portions of the tomb2 but sensitiveness to harmony of manner lies not in the nature of men who rapidly evolve new forms of thought and feeling from some older phase4 ,probably he felt the width and the depth of that gulf which divided himself in #aeje from the same self in #aede1 less than we do4 ,forty years in a creative nature introduce subtle changes1 which react upon the spirit of the age1 and provoke subsequent criticism to keen comments and comparisons4 ,the individual and his contemporaries are not so well aware of these discrepancies as posterity4 ,the ,moses1 which ,paul and his courtiers thought sufficient to commemorate a single ,pope1 stands as the eminent jewel of this defrauded tomb4 ,we may not be attracted by it4 ,we may even be repelled by the goat-like features1 the enormous beard1 the ponderous muscles1 and the grotesque garments of the monstrous statue4 ,in order to do it justice1 ,jet us bear in mind that the ,moses now remains detached from a group of environing symbolic forms which ,michelangelo designed4 ,instead of taking its place as one among eight corresponding and counterbalancing giants1 it is isolated1 thrust forward on the eye2 whereas it was intended to be viewed from below in concert with a scheme of balanced figures1 male and female1 on the same colossal scale4 ,condivi writes not amiss1 in harmony with the gusto of his age1 and records what a gentle spirit thought about the ,moses then3 ,worthy of all admiration is the statue of ,moses1 duke and captain of the ,hebrews4 ,he sits posed in the attitude of a thinker and a sage1 holding beneath his right arm the tables of the law1 and with the left hand giving support to his chin1 like one who is tired and full of anxious cares4 ,from the fingers of this hand escape long flowing lines of beard1 which are very beautiful in their effect upon the eye4 ,the face is full of vivid life and spiritual force1 fit to inspire both love and terror1 as perhaps the man in truth did4 ,he bears1 according to the customary wont of artists while portraying ,moses1 two horns upon the head1 not far removed from the summit of the brows4 ,he is robed and girt about the legs with hosen1 the arms bare1 and all the rest after the antique fashion4 ,it is a marvellous work1 and full of art3 mostly in this1 that underneath those subtleties of raiment one can perceive the naked form1 the garments detracting nothing from the beauty of the body2 as was the universal way of working with this master in all his clothed figures1 whether painted or sculptured4 ,except that ,condivi dwelt too much upon the repose of this extraordinary statue1 too little upon its vivacity and agitating unrest1 his description serves our purpose as well as any other4 ,he does not seem to have felt the turbulence and carnal insolence which break our sense of dignity and beauty now4 ,michelangelo left the ,moses incomplete in many details1 after bringing the rest of the figure to a high state of polish4 ,tooth-marks of the chisel are observable upon the drapery1 the back1 both hands1 part of the neck1 the hair1 and the salient horns4 ,it seems to have been his habit1 as ,condivi and ,cellini report1 to send a finished statue forth with some sign-manual of roughness in the final touches4 ,that gave his work the signature of the sharp tools he had employed upon it4 ,and perhaps he loved the marble so well that he did not like to quit the good white stone without sparing a portion of its clinging strength and stubbornness1 as symbol of the effort of his brain and hand to educe live thought from inert matter4 ,in the century after ,michelangelo's death a sonnet was written by ,giovanni ,battista ,felice ,zappi upon this ,moses4 ,it is famous in ,italian literature1 and expresses adequately the ideas which occur to ordinary minds when they approach the ,moses4 ,for this reason ,i think that it is worthy of being introduced in a translation here3-- ,who is the man who1 carved in this huge stone1 ,sits giant1 all renowned things of art ,transcending8 he whose living lips1 that start1 ,speak eager words8 ,i hear1 and take their tone4 ,he sure is ,moses4 ,that the chin hath shown ,by its dense honour1 the brows' beam bipart3 ',tis ,moses1 when he left the ,mount1 with part1 ,a great-part1 of ,god's glory round him thrown4 ,such was the prophet when those sounding vast ,waters he held suspense about him2 such ,when he the sea barred1 made it gulph his foe4 ,and you1 his tribes1 a vile calf did you cast8 ,why not an idol worth like this so much8 ,to worship that had wrought you lesser woe4 ,,vii ,before quitting the ,tomb of ,julius1 ,i must discuss the question of eight scattered statues1 partly unfinished1 which are supposed1 on more or less good grounds1 to have been designed for this monument4 ,about two of them1 the bound ,captives in the ,louvre1 there is no doubt4 ,michelangelo mentions these in his petition to ,pope ,paul1 saying that the change of scale implied by the last plan obliged him to abstain from using them4 ,we also know their history4 ,when the sculptor was ill at ,rome in #aedd1 ,luigi del ,riccio nursed him in the palace of the ,strozzi4 ,gratitude for this hospitality induced him to make a present of the statues to ,ruberto degli ,strozzi1 who took them to ,france and offered them to the ,king4 ,francis gave them to the ,constable de ,montmorenci2 and he placed them in his country-house of ,ecouen4 ,in #agic the ,republic offered them for sale1 when they were bought for the ,french nation by ,m4 ,lenoir4 ,one of these ,captives deserves to be called the most fascinating creation of the master's genius4 ,together with the ,adam1 it may be taken as fixing his standard of masculine beauty4 ,he is a young man1 with head thrown back1 as though in swoon or slumber2 the left arm raised above the weight of massy curls1 the right hand resting on his broad full bosom4 ,there is a divine charm in the tranquil face1 tired but not fatigued1 sad but not melancholy1 suggesting that the sleeping mind of the immortal youth is musing upon solemn dreams4 ,praxiteles might have so expressed the ,genius of ,eternal ,repose2 but no ,greek sculptor would have given that huge girth to the thorax1 or have exaggerated the mighty hand with such delight in sinewy force4 ,these qualities1 peculiar to ,buonarroti's sense of form1 do not detract from the languid pose and supple rhythm of the figure1 which flows down1 a sinuous line of beauty1 through the slightly swelling flanks1 along the finely moulded thighs1 to loveliest feet emerging from the marble4 ,it is impossible1 while gazing on this statue1 not to hear a strain of intellectual music4 ,indeed1 like melody1 it tells no story1 awakes no desire1 but fills the soul with something beyond thought or passion1 subtler and more penetrating than words4 ,the companion figure has not equal grace4 ,athletically muscular1 though adolescent1 the body of this young man1 whose hands are tied behind his back1 is writhed into an attitude of vehement protest and rebellion4 ,he raises his face with appealing pain to heaven4 ,the head1 which is only blocked out1 overweighs the form1 proving that ,michelangelo1 unlike the ,greeks1 did not observe a fixed canon of proportion for the human frame4 ,this statue bears a strong resemblance in feeling and conception to the ,apollo designed for ,baccio ,valori4 ,there are four rough-hewn male figures1 eccentrically wrought into the rock-work of a grotto in the ,boboli ,gardens1 which have been assigned to the ,tomb of ,julius4 ,this attribution involves considerable difficulties4 ,in the first place1 the scale is different1 and the stride of one of them1 at any rate1 is too wide for the pedestals of that monument4 ,then their violent contortions and ponderous adult forms seem to be at variance with the spirit of the ,captives4 ,mr4 ,heath ,wilson may perhaps be right in his conjecture that ,michelangelo began them for the sculptural decoration on the faade of ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,their incompleteness baffles criticism2 yet we feel instinctively that they were meant for the open air and for effect at a considerable distance4 ,they remind us of ,deucalion's men growing out of the stones he threw behind his back4 ,we could not wish them to be finished1 or to lose their wild attraction1 as of primeval beings1 the remnants of dim generations nearer than ourselves to elemental nature4 ,no better specimens of ,buonarroti's way of working in the marble could be chosen4 ,almost savage hatchings with the point blend into finer touches from the toothed chisel2 and here and there the surface has been treated with innumerable smoothing lines that round it into skin and muscle4 ,to a man who chiselled thus1 marble must have yielded like softest freestone beneath his tools2 and how recklessly he wrought is clear from the defective proportions of one old man's figure1 whose leg below the knee is short beyond all excuse4 ,a group of two figures1 sometimes called the ,victory1 now in the ,bargello ,palace1 was catalogued without hesitation by ,vasari among the statues for the tomb4 ,a young hero1 of gigantic strength and height1 stands firmly poised upon one foot1 while his other leg1 bent at the knee1 crushes the back of an old man doubled up beneath him4 ,in the face of the vanquished warrior critics have found a resemblance to ,michelangelo4 ,the head of the victorious youth seems too small for his stature1 and the features are almost brutally vacuous1 though burning with an insolent and carnal beauty4 ,the whole forcible figure expresses irresistible energy and superhuman litheness combined with massive strength4 ,this group cannot be called pleasing1 and its great height renders it almost inconceivable that it was meant to range upon one monument with the ,captives of the ,louvre4 ,there are1 however1 so many puzzles and perplexities connected with that design in its several stages1 that we dare affirm or deny nothing concerning it4 ,m4 ,guillaume1 taking it for granted that the ,victory was intended for the tomb1 makes the plausible suggestion that some of the peculiarities which render it in composition awkward1 would have been justified by the addition of bronze wings4 ,mr4 ,heath ,wilson1 seeking after an allegory1 is fain to believe that it represents ,michelangelo's own state of subjection while employed upon the ,serravezza quarries4 ,last comes the so-called ,adonis of the ,bargello ,palace1 which not improbably was designed for one of the figures prostrate below the feet of a victorious ,genius4 ,it bears1 indeed1 much resemblance to a roughly indicated nude at the extreme right of the sketch for the tomb4 ,upon this supposition1 ,michelangelo must have left it in a very unfinished state1 with an unshaped block beneath the raised right thigh4 ,this block has now been converted into a boar4 ,extremely beautiful as the ,adonis undoubtedly is1 the strained1 distorted attitude seems to require some explanation4 ,that might have been given by the trampling form and robes of a ,genius4 ,still it is difficult to comprehend why the left arm and hand1 finished1 ,i feel almost sure1 by ,michelangelo1 should have been so carefully executed4 ,the ,genius1 if draped1 would have hidden nearly the whole of that part of the statue4 ,the face of this ,adonis displays exactly the same type as that of the so-called ,victory and of ,giuliano de' ,medici4 ,here the type assumes singular loveliness4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,i ,after the death of ,clement ,,vii4 ,michelangelo never returned to reside at ,florence4 ,the rest of his life was spent in ,rome4 ,in the year #aecd he had reached the advanced age of fifty-nine1 and it is possible that he first became acquainted with the noble lady ,vittoria ,colonna about #aech4 ,recent students of his poetry and friendships have suggested that their famous intimacy began earlier1 during one of his not infrequent visits to ,rome4 ,but we have no proof of this4 ,on the contrary1 the only letters extant which he sent to her1 two in number1 belong to the year #aede4 ,it is certain that anything like friendship between them grew up at some considerable time after his final settlement in ,rome4 ,vittoria was the daughter of ,fabrizio ,colonna1 ,grand ,constable of ,naples1 by his marriage with ,agnesina di ,montefeltro1 daughter of ,federigo1 ,duke of ,urbino4 ,blood more illustrious than hers could not be found in ,italy4 ,when she was four years old1 her parents betrothed her to ,ferrante ,francesco d',avalos1 a boy of the same age1 the only son of the ,marchese di ,pescara4 ,in her nineteenth year the affianced couple were married at ,ischia1 the fief and residence of the house of ,d',avalos4 ,ferrante had succeeded to his father's title early in boyhood1 and was destined for a brilliant military career4 ,on the young bride's side at least it was a love-match4 ,she was tenderly attached to her handsome husband1 ignorant of his infidelities1 and blind to his fatal faults of character4 ,her happiness proved of short duration4 ,in #aeab ,pescara was wounded and made prisoner at the battle of ,ravenna1 and1 though he returned to his wife for a short interval1 duty called him again to the field of war in ,lombardy in #aeae4 ,after this date ,vittoria saw him but seldom4 ,the last time they met was in ,october #aebb4 ,as general of the ,imperial forces1 ,pescara spent the next years in perpetual military operations4 ,under his leadership the battle of ,pavia was won in #aebe1 and ,king ,francis became his master's prisoner4 ,so far1 nothing but honour1 success1 and glory waited on the youthful hero4 ,but now the tide turned4 ,pescara1 when he again settled down at ,milan1 began to plot with ,girolamo ,morone1 ,grand ,chancellor of ,francesco ,sforza's duchy4 ,morone had conceived a plan for reinstating his former lord in ,milan by the help of an ,italian coalition4 ,he offered ,pescara the crown of ,naples if he would turn against the ,emperor4 ,the ,marquis seems at first to have lent a not unwilling ear to these proposals1 but seeing reason to doubt the success of the scheme1 he finally resolved to betray ,morone to ,charles ,v41 and did this with cold-blooded ingenuity4 ,a few months afterwards1 on ,november #be1 #aebe1 he died1 branded as a traitor1 accused of double treachery1 both to his sovereign and his friend4 ,if suspicions of her husband's guilt crossed ,vittoria's mind1 as we have some reason to believe they did1 these were not able to destroy her loyalty and love4 ,though left so young a widow and childless1 she determined to consecrate her whole life to his memory and to religion4 ,his nephew and heir1 the ,marchese del ,vasto1 became her adopted son4 ,the ,marchioness survived ,pescara two-and-twenty years1 which were spent partly in retirement at ,ischia1 partly in journeys1 partly in convents at ,orvieto and ,viterbo1 and finally in a semi-monastic seclusion at ,rome4 ,the time spared from pious exercises she devoted to study1 the composition of poetry1 correspondence with illustrious men of letters1 and the society of learned persons4 ,her chief friends belonged to that group of earnest thinkers who felt the influences of the ,reformation without ceasing to be loyal children of the ,church4 ,with ,vittoria's name are inseparably connected those of ,gasparo ,contarini1 ,reginald ,pole1 ,giovanni ,morone1 ,jacopo ,sadoleto1 ,marcantonio ,flaminio1 ,pietro ,carnesecchi1 and ,fra ,bernardino ,ochino4 ,the last of these avowed his ,lutheran principles1 and was severely criticised by ,vittoria ,colonna for doing so4 ,carnesecchi was burned for heresy4 ,vittoria never adopted ,protestantism1 and died an orthodox ,catholic4 ,yet her intimacy with men of liberal opinions exposed her to mistrust and censure in old age4 ,the movement of the ,counter-,reformation had begun1 and any kind of speculative freedom aroused suspicion4 ,this saintly princess was accordingly placed under the supervision of the ,holy ,office1 and to be her friend was slightly dangerous4 ,it is obvious that ,vittoria's religion was of an evangelical type1 inconsistent with the dogmas developed by the ,tridentine ,council2 and it is probable that1 like her friend ,contarini1 she advocated a widening rather than a narrowing of ,western ,christendom4 ,to bring the ,church back to purer morals and sincerity of faith was their aim4 ,they yearned for a reformation and regeneration from within4 ,in all these matters1 ,michelangelo1 the devout student of the ,bible and the disciple of ,savonarola1 shared ,vittoria's sentiments4 ,his nature1 profoundly and simply religious from the outset1 assumed a tone of deeper piety and habitual devotion during the advance of years4 ,vittoria ,colonna's influence at this period strengthened his ,christian emotions1 which remained untainted by asceticism or superstition4 ,they were further united by another bond1 which was their common interest in poetry4 ,the ,marchioness of ,pescara was justly celebrated during her lifetime as one of the most natural writers of ,italian verse4 ,her poems consist principally of sonnets consecrated to the memory of her husband1 or composed on sacred and moral subjects4 ,penetrated by genuine feeling1 and almost wholly free from literary affectation1 they have that dignity and sweetness which belong to the spontaneous utterances of a noble heart4 ,whether she treats of love or of religion1 we find the same simplicity and sincerity of style4 ,there is nothing in her pious meditations that a ,christian of any communion may not read with profit1 as the heartfelt outpourings of a soul athirst for ,god and nourished on the study of the gospel4 ,michelangelo preserved a large number of her sonnets1 which he kept together in one volume4 ,writing to his nephew ,lionardo in #aeed1 he says3 ,messer ,giovan ,francesco 7,fattucci7 asked me about a month ago if ,i possessed any writings of the ,marchioness4 ,i have a little book bound in parchment1 which she gave me some ten years ago4 ,it has one hundred and three sonnets1 not counting another forty she afterwards sent on paper from ,viterbo4 ,i had these bound into the same book1 and at that time ,i used to lend them about to many persons1 so that they are all of them now in print4 ,in addition to these poems ,i have many letters which she wrote from ,orvieto and ,viterbo4 ,these then are the writings ,i possess of the ,marchioness4 ,he composed several pieces1 madrigals and sonnets1 under the genial influence of this exchange of thoughts4 ,it was a period at which his old love of versifying revived with singular activity4 ,other friends1 like ,tommaso ,cavalieri1 ,luigi del ,riccio1 and afterwards ,vasari1 enticed his ,muse to frequent utterance4 ,those he wrote for the ,marchioness were distributed in manuscript among his private friends1 and found their way into the first edition of his collected poems4 ,but it is a mistake to suppose that she was the sole or even the chief source of his poetical inspiration4 ,we shall see that it was his custom to mark his feeling for particular friends by gifts of drawings as well as of poems4 ,he did this notably in the case of both ,vittoria ,colonna and ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri4 ,for the latter he designed subjects from ,greek mythology2 for the former1 episodes in the ,passion of our ,lord4 ,at the request of this lady1 says ,condivi1 he made a naked ,christ1 at the moment when1 taken from the cross1 our ,lord would have fallen like an abandoned corpse at the feet of his most holy ,mother1 if two angels did not support him in their arms4 ,she sits below the cross with a face full of tears and sorrow1 lifting both her widespread arms to heaven1 while on the stem of the tree above is written this legend1 ',non vi si pensa quanto sangue costa4' ,the cross is of the same kind as that which was carried in procession by the ,white ,friars at the time of the plague of #acdh1 and afterwards deposited in the ,church of ,s4 ,croce at ,florence4 ,he also made1 for love of her1 the design of a ,jesus ,christ upon the cross1 not with the aspect of one dead1 as is the common wont1 but in a divine attitude1 with face raised to the ,father1 seeming to exclaim1 ',eli6 ,eli6' ,in this drawing the body does not appear to fall1 like an abandoned corpse1 but as though in life to writhe and quiver with the agony it feels4 ,of these two designs we have several more or less satisfactory mementoes4 ,the ,piet was engraved by ,giulio ,bonasoni and ,tudius ,bononiensis 7date #aedf71 exactly as ,condivi describes it4 ,the ,crucifixion survives in a great number of pencil-drawings1 together with one or two pictures painted by men like ,venusti1 and many early engravings of the drawings4 ,one sketch in the ,taylor ,museum at ,oxford is generally supposed to represent the original designed for ,vittoria4 ,,ii ,what remains of the correspondence between ,michelangelo and the ,marchioness opens with a letter referring to their interchange of sonnets and drawings4 ,it is dated ,rome1 #aede4 ,vittoria had evidently sent him poems1 and he wishes to make her a return in kind3 ,i desired1 lady1 before ,i accepted the things which your ladyship has often expressed the will to give me--,i desired to produce something for you with my own hand1 in order to be as little as possible unworthy of this kindness4 ,i have now come to recognise that the grace of ,god is not to be bought1 and that to keep it waiting is a grievous sin4 ,therefore ,i acknowledge my error1 and willingly accept your favours4 ,when ,i possess them1 not indeed because ,i shall have them in my house1 but for that ,i myself shall dwell in them1 the place will seem to encircle me with ,paradise4 ,for which felicity ,i shall remain ever more obliged to your ladyship than ,i am already1 if that is possible4 ,the bearer of this letter will be ,urbino1 who lives in my service4 ,your ladyship may inform him when you would like me to come and see the head you promised to show me4 ,this letter is written under the autograph copy of a sonnet which must have been sent with it1 since it expresses the same thought in its opening quatrain4 ,my translation of the poem runs thus3 ,seeking at least to be not all unfit ,for thy sublime and-boundless courtesy1 ,my lowly thoughts at first were fain to try ,what they could yield for grace so infinite4 ,but now ,i know my unassisted wit ,is all too weak to make me soar so high1 ,for pardon1 lady1 for this fault ,i cry1 ,and wiser still ,i grow1 remembering it4 ,yea1 well ,i see what folly 'twere to think ,that largess dropped from thee like dews from heaven ,could e'er be paid by work so frail as mine6 ,to nothingness my art and talent sink2 ,he fails who from his mortal stores hath given ,a thousandfold to match one gift divine4 ,michelangelo's next letter refers to the design for the ,crucified ,christ1 described by ,condivi4 ,it is pleasant to find that this was sent by the hand of ,cavalieri3 ,lady ,marchioness1--,being myself in ,rome1 ,i thought it hardly fitting to give the ,crucified ,christ to ,messer ,tommaso1 and to make him an intermediary between your ladyship and me1 your servant2 especially because it has been my earnest wish to perform more for you than for any one ,i ever knew upon the world4 ,but absorbing occupations1 which still engage me1 have prevented my informing your ladyship of this4 ,moreover1 knowing that you know that love needs no taskmaster1 and that he who loves doth not sleep1 ,i thought the less of using go-betweens4 ,and though ,i seemed to have forgotten1 ,i was doing what ,i did not talk about in order to effect a thing that was not looked for4 ,my purpose has been spoiled3 ,he sins who faith like this so soon forgets4 ,a sonnet which may or may not have been written at this time1 but seems certainly intended for the ,marchioness1 shall here be given as a pendant to the letter3-- ,blest spirit1 who with loving tenderness ,quickenest my heart1 so old and near to die1 ,who 'mid thy joys on me dost bend an eye1 ,though many nobler men around thee press6 ,as thou wert erewhile wont my sight to bless1 ,so to console1 my mind thou now dost fly2 ,hope therefore stills the pangs of memory1 ,which1 coupled with desire1 my soul distress4 ,so finding in thee grace to plead for me-- ,thy thoughts for me sunk in so sad a case-- ,he who now writes returns thee thanks for these4 ,lo6 it were foul and monstrous usury ,to send thee ugliest paintings in the place ,of thy fair spirit's living phantasies4 ,unfortunately we possess no other document in prose addressed immediately to ,vittoria4 ,but four of her letters to him exist1 and from these ,i will select some specimens reflecting light upon the nature of the famous intimacy4 ,the ,marchioness writes always in the tone and style of a great princess1 adding that peculiar note of religious affectionateness which the ,french call onction1 and marking her strong admiration of the illustrious artist4 ,the letters are not dated2 but this matters little1 since they only turn on literary courtesies exchanged1 drawings presented1 and pious interests in common4 ,unique ,master ,michelangelo1 and my most singular friend1--,i have received your letter1 and examined the crucifix1 which truly hath crucified in my memory every other picture ,i ever saw4 ,nowhere could one find another figure of our ,lord so well executed1 so living1 and so exquisitely finished4 ,certes1 ,i cannot express in words how subtly and marvellously it is designed4 ,wherefore ,i am resolved to take the work as coming from no other hand but yours1 and accordingly ,i beg you to assure me whether this is really yours or another's4 ,excuse the question4 ,if it is yours1 ,i must possess it under any conditions4 ,in case it is not yours1 and you want to have it carried out by your assistant1 we will talk the matter over first4 ,i know how extremely difficult it would be to copy it1 and therefore ,i would rather let him finish something else than this4 ,but if it be in fact yours1 rest assured1 and make the best of it1 that it will never come again into your keeping4 ,i have examined it minutely in full light and by the lens and mirror1 and never saw anything more perfect4--,yours to command1 ,the ,marchioness of ,pescara4 ,like many grand ladies of the highest rank1 even though they are poetesses1 ,vittoria ,colonna did not always write grammatically or coherently4 ,i am not therefore sure that ,i have seized the exact meaning of this diplomatical and flattering letter4 ,it would appear1 however1 that ,michelangelo had sent her the drawing for a crucifix1 intimating that1 if she liked it1 he would intrust its execution to one of his workmen1 perhaps ,urbino4 ,this1 as we know1 was a common practice adopted by him in old age1 in order to avoid commissions which interfered with his main life-work at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,the noble lady1 fully aware that the sketch is an original1 affects some doubt upon the subject1 declines the intervention of a common craftsman1 and declares her firm resolve to keep it1 leaving an impression that she would gladly possess the crucifix if executed by the same hand which had supplied the masterly design4 ,another letter refers to the drawing of a ,christ upon the cross between two angels4 ,your works forcibly stimulate the judgment of all who look at them4 ,my study of them made me speak of adding goodness to things perfect in themselves1 and ,i have seen now that 'all is possible to him who believes4' ,i had the greatest faith in ,god that ,he would bestow upon you supernatural grace for the making of this ,christ4 ,when ,i came to examine it1 ,i found it so marvellous that it surpasses all my expectations4 ,wherefore1 emboldened by your miracles1 ,i conceived a great desire for that which ,i now see marvellously accomplished3 ,i mean that the design is in all parts perfect and consummate1 and one could not desire more1 nor could desire attain to demanding so much4 ,i tell you that ,i am mighty pleased that the angel on the right hand is by far the fairer1 since ,michael will place you1 ,michelangelo1 upon the right hand of our ,lord at that last day4 ,meanwhile1 ,i do not know how else to serve you than by making orisons to this sweet ,christ1 whom you have drawn so well and exquisitely1 and praying you to hold me yours to command as yours in all and for all4 ,the admiration and the good-will of the great lady transpire in these somewhat incoherent and studied paragraphs4 ,their verbiage leaves much to be desired in the way of logic and simplicity4 ,it is pleasanter perhaps to read a familiar note1 sent probably by the hand of a servant to ,buonarroti's house in ,rome4 ,i beg you to let me have the crucifix a short while in my keeping1 even though it be unfinished4 ,i want to show it to some gentlemen who have come from the ,most ,reverend the ,cardinal of ,mantua4 ,if you are not working1 will you not come to-day at your leisure and talk with me8--,yours to command1 ,the ,marchioness of ,pescara4 ,it seems that ,michelangelo's exchange of letters and poems became at last too urgent4 ,we know it was his way 7as in the case of ,luigi del ,riccio7 to carry on an almost daily correspondence for some while1 and then to drop it altogether when his mood changed4 ,vittoria1 writing from ,viterbo1 gives him a gentle and humorous hint that he is taking up too much of her time3 ,magnificent ,messer ,michelangelo1--,i did not reply earlier to your letter1 because it was1 as one might say1 an answer to my last3 for ,i thought that if you and ,i were to go on writing without intermission according to my obligation and your courtesy1 ,i should have to neglect the ,chapel of ,s4 ,catherine here1 and be absent at the appointed hours for company with my sisterhood1 while you would have to leave the ,chapel of ,s4 ,paul1 and be absent from morning through the day from your sweet usual colloquy with painted forms1 the which with their natural accents do not speak to you less clearly than the living persons round me speak to me4 ,thus we should both of us fail in our duty1 ,i to the brides1 you to the vicar of ,christ4 ,for these reasons1 inasmuch as ,i am well assured of our steadfast friendship and firm affection1 bound by knots of ,christian kindness1 ,i do not think it necessary to obtain the proof of your good-will in letters by writing on my side1 but rather to await with well-prepared mind some substantial occasion for serving you4 ,meanwhile ,i address my prayers to that ,lord of whom you spoke to me with so fervent and humble a heart when ,i left ,rome1 that when ,i return thither ,i may find you with ,his image renewed and enlivened by true faith in your soul1 in like measure as you have painted it with perfect art in my ,samaritan4 ,believe me to remain always yours and your ,urbino's4 ,this letter must have been written when ,michelangelo was still working on the frescoes of the ,cappella ,paolina1 and therefore before #aedi4 ,the check to his importunacy1 given with genial tact by the ,marchioness1 might be taken1 by those who believe their liaison to have had a touch of passion in it1 as an argument in favour of that view4 ,the great age which ,buonarroti had now reached renders this1 however1 improbable2 while the general tenor of their correspondence is that of admiration for a great artist on the lady's side1 and of attraction to a noble nature on the man's side1 cemented by religious sentiment and common interests in serious topics4 ,,iii ,all students of ,michelangelo's biography are well acquainted with the ,dialogues on ,painting1 composed by the ,portuguese miniature artist1 ,francis of ,holland4 ,written in the quaint style of the sixteenth century1 which curiously blent actual circumstance and fact with the author's speculation1 these essays present a vivid picture of ,buonarroti's conferences with ,vittoria ,colonna and her friends4 ,the dialogues are divided into four parts1 three of which profess to give a detailed account of three several ,sunday conversations in the ,convent of ,s4 ,silvestro on ,monte ,cavallo4 ,after describing the objects which brought him to ,rome1 ,francis says3 ,above all1 ,michelangelo inspired me with such esteem1 that when ,i met him in the palace of the ,pope or on the streets1 ,i could not make my mind up to leave him until the stars forced us to retire4 ,indeed1 it would seem from his frank admissions in another place that the ,portuguese painter had become a little too attentive to the famous old man1 and that ,buonarroti did all he could to shun his company1 seeing that when they once came together1 they could not separate4 ,it happened one ,sunday that ,francis paid a visit to his friend ,lattanzio ,tolomei1 who had gone abroad1 leaving a message that he would be found in the ,church of ,s4 ,silvestro1 where he was hoping to hear a lecture by ,brother ,ambrose of ,siena on the ,epistles of ,s4 ,paul1 in company with the ,marchioness4 ,accordingly he repaired to this place1 and was graciously received by the noble lady4 ,she courteously remarked that he would probably enjoy a conversation with ,michelangelo more than a sermon from ,brother ,ambrose1 and after an interval of compliments a servant was sent to find him4 ,it chanced that ,buonarroti was walking with the man whom ,francis of ,holland calls his old friend and colour-grinder1 ,urbino1 in the direction of the ,thermae4 ,so the lackey1 having the good chance to meet him1 brought him at once to the convent4 ,the ,marchioness made him sit between her and ,messer ,tolomei1 while ,francis took up his position at a little distance4 ,the conversation then began1 but ,vittoria ,colonna had to use the tact for which she was celebrated before she could engage the wary old man on a serious treatment of his own art4 ,he opened his discourse by defending painters against the common charge of being eccentric in their habits1 difficult to deal with1 and unbearable2 whereas1 on the contrary1 they are really most humane4 ,common people do not consider1 he remarked1 that really zealous artists are bound to abstain from the idle trivialities and current compliments of society1 not because they are haughty or intolerant by nature1 but because their art imperiously claims the whole of their energies4 ,when such a man shall have the same leisure as you enjoy1 then ,i see no objection to your putting him to death if he does not observe your rules of etiquette and ceremony4 ,you only seek his company and praise him in order to obtain honour through him for yourselves1 nor do you really mind what sort of man he is1 so long as kings and emperors converse with him4 ,i dare affirm that any artist who tries to satisfy the better vulgar rather than men of his own craft1 one who has nothing singular1 eccentric1 or at least reputed to be so1 in his person1 will never become a superior talent4 ,for my part1 ,i am bound to confess that even his ,holiness sometimes annoys and wearies me by begging for too much of my company4 ,i am most anxious to serve him1 but1 when there is nothing important going forward1 ,i think ,i can do so better by studying at home than by dancing attendance through a whole day on my legs in his reception-rooms4 ,he allows me to tell him so2 and ,i may add that the serious occupations of my life have won for me such liberty of action that1 in talking to the ,pope1 ,i often forget where ,i am1 and place my hat upon my head4 ,he does not eat me up on that account1 but treats me with indulgence1 knowing that it is precisely at such times that ,i am working hard to serve him4 ,as for solitary habits1 the world is right in condemning a man who1 out of pure affectation or eccentricity1 shuts himself up alone1 loses his friends1 and sets society against him4 ,those1 however1 who act in this way naturally1 because their profession obliges them to lead a recluse life1 or because their character rebels against feigned politenesses and conventional usage1 ought in common justice to be tolerated4 ,what claim by right have you on him8 ,why should you force him to take part in those vain pastimes1 which his love for a quiet life induces him to shun8 ,do you not know that there are sciences which demand the whole of a man1 without leaving the least portion of his spirit free for your distractions8 ,this apology for his own life1 couched in a vindication of the artistic temperament1 breathes an accent of sincerity1 and paints ,michelangelo as he really was1 with his somewhat haughty sense of personal dignity4 ,what he says about his absence of mind in the presence of great princes might be illustrated by a remark attributed to ,clement ,,vii4 ,when ,buonarroti comes to see me1 ,i always take a seat and bid him to be seated1 feeling sure that he will do so without leave or license4 ,the conversation passed by natural degrees to a consideration of the fine arts in general4 ,in the course of this discussion1 ,michelangelo uttered several characteristic opinions1 strongly maintaining the superiority of the ,italian to the ,flemish and ,german schools1 and asserting his belief that1 while all objects are worthy of imitation by the artist1 the real touch stone of excellence lies in his power to represent the human form4 ,his theory of the arts in their reciprocal relations and affinities throws interesting light upon the qualities of his own genius and his method in practice4 ,the science of design1 or of line-drawing1 if you like to use this term1 is the source and very essence of painting1 sculpture1 architecture1 and of every form of representation1 as well too as of all the sciences4 ,he who has made himself a master in this art possesses a great treasure4 ,sometimes1 when ,i meditate upon these topics1 it seems to me that ,i can discover but one art or science1 which is design1 and that all the works of the human brain and hand are either design itself or a branch of that art4 ,this theme he develops at some length1 showing how a complete mastery of drawing is necessary not only to the plastic arts of painting and sculpture1 but also to the constructive and mechanical arts of architecture1 fortification1 gun-foundry1 and so forth1 applying the same principle to the minutest industries4 ,with regard to the personal endowments of the artist1 he maintained that a lofty style1 grave and decorous1 was essential to great work4 ,few artists understand this1 and endeavour to appropriate these qualities4 ,consequently we find many members of the confraternity who are only artists in name4 ,the world encourages this confusion of ideas1 since few are capable of distinguishing between a fellow who has nothing but his colour-box and brushes to make him a painter1 and the really gifted natures who appear only at wide intervals4 ,he illustrates the position that noble qualities in the artist are indispensable to nobility in the work of art1 by a digression on religious painting and sculpture4 ,in order to represent in some degree the adored image of our ,lord1 it is not enough that a master should be great and able4 ,i maintain that he must also be a man of good conduct and morals1 if possible a saint1 in order that the ,holy ,ghost may rain down inspiration on his understanding4 ,ecclesiastical and secular princes ought1 therefore1 to permit only the most illustrious among the artists of their realm to paint the benign sweetness of our ,saviour1 the purity of our ,lady1 and the virtues of the saints4 ,it often happens that ill-executed images distract the minds of worshippers and ruin their devotion1 unless it be firm and fervent4 ,those1 on the contrary1 which are executed in the high style ,i have described1 excite the soul to contemplation and to tears1 even among the least devout1 by inspiring reverence and fear through the majesty of their aspect4 ,this doctrine is indubitably sound4 ,to our minds1 nevertheless1 it rings a little hollow on the lips of the great master who modelled the ,christ of the ,minerva and painted the ,christ and ,madonna of the ,last ,judgment4 ,yet we must remember that1 at the exact period when these dialogues took place1 ,buonarroti1 under the influence of his friendship with ,vittoria ,colonna1 was devoting his best energies to the devout expression of the ,passion of our ,lord4 ,it is deeply to be regretted that1 out of the numerous designs which remain to us from this endeavour1 all of them breathing the purest piety1 no monumental work except the ,piet at ,florence emerged for perpetuity4 ,many curious points1 both of minute criticism and broad opinion1 might still be gleaned from the dialogues set down by ,francis of ,holland4 ,it must suffice here to resume what ,michelangelo maintained about the artist's method4 ,one of the interlocutors begged to be informed whether he thought that a master ought to aim at working slowly or quickly4 ,i will tell you plainly what ,i feel about this matter4 ,it is both good and useful to be able to work with promptitude and address4 ,we must regard it as a special gift from ,god to be able to do that in a few hours which other men can only perform in many days of labour4 ,consequently1 artists who paint rapidly1 without falling in quality below those who paint but slowly1 deserve the highest commendation4 ,should this rapidity of execution1 however1 cause a man to transgress the limits of sound art1 it would have been better to have proceeded with more tardiness and study4 ,a good artist ought never to allow the impetuosity of his nature to overcome his sense of the main end of art1 perfection4 ,therefore we cannot call slowness of execution a defect1 nor yet the expenditure of much time and trouble1 if this be employed with the view of attaining greater perfection4 ,the one unpardonable fault is bad work4 ,and here ,i would remind you of a thing essential to our art1 which you will certainly not ignore1 and to which ,i believe you attach the full importance it deserves4 ,in every kind of plastic work we ought to strive with all our might at making what has cost time and labour look as though it had been produced with facility and swiftness4 ,it sometimes happens1 but rarely1 that a portion of our work turns out excellent with little pains bestowed upon it4 ,most frequently1 however1 it is the expenditure of care and trouble which conceals our toil4 ,plutarch relates that a bad painter showed ,apelles a picture1 saying3 ',this is from my hand2 ,i have just made it in a moment4' ,the other replied3 ',i should have recognised the fact without your telling me2 and ,i marvel that you do not make a multitude of such things every day4' ,michelangelo is reported to have made a similar remark to ,vasari when the latter took him to inspect some frescoes he had painted1 observing that they had been dashed off quickly4 ,we must be grateful to ,francis of ,holland for this picture of the ,sunday-morning interviews at ,s4 ,silvestro4 ,the place was cool and tranquil4 ,the great lady received her guests with urbanity1 and led the conversation with highbred courtesy and tact4 ,fra ,ambrogio1 having discoursed upon the spiritual doctrines of ,s4 ,paul's ,epistles1 was at liberty to turn an attentive ear to purely aesthetical speculations4 ,the grave and elderly ,lattanzio ,tolomei added the weight of philosophy and literary culture to the dialogue4 ,michelangelo1 expanding in the genial atmosphere1 spoke frankly on the arts which he had mastered1 not dictating ex cathedra rules1 but maintaining a note of modesty and common-sense and deference to the opinion of others4 ,francis engaged on equal terms in the discussion4 ,his veneration for ,buonarroti1 and the eagerness with which he noted all the great man's utterances1 did not prevent him from delivering lectures at a somewhat superfluous length4 ,in short1 we may fairly accept his account of these famous conferences as a truthful transcript from the refined and witty social gatherings of which ,vittoria ,colonna formed the centre4 ,,iv ,this friendship with ,vittoria ,colonna forms a very charming episode in the history of ,michelangelo's career1 and it was undoubtedly one of the consolations of his declining years4 ,yet too great stress has hitherto been laid on it by his biographers4 ,not content with exaggerating its importance in his life1 they have misinterpreted its nature4 ,the world seems unable to take interest in a man unless it can contrive to discover a love-affair in his career4 ,the singular thing about ,michelangelo is that1 with the exception of ,vittoria ,colonna1 no woman is known to have influenced his heart or head in any way4 ,in his correspondence he never mentions women1 unless they be aunts1 cousins1 grand-nieces1 or servants4 ,about his mother he is silent4 ,we have no tradition regarding amours in youth or middle age2 and only two words dropped by ,condivi lead us to conjecture that he was not wholly insensible to the physical attractions of the female4 ,romancers and legend-makers have1 therefore1 forced ,vittoria ,colonna to play the rle of ,juliet in ,michelangelo's life-drama4 ,it has not occurred to these critics that there is something essentially disagreeable in the thought of an aged couple entertaining an amorous correspondence4 ,i use these words deliberately1 because poems which breathe obvious passion of no merely spiritual character have been assigned to the number he composed for ,vittoria ,colonna4 ,this1 as we shall see1 is chiefly the fault of his first editor1 who printed all the sonnets and madrigals as though they were addressed to one woman or another4 ,it is also in part due to the impossibility of determining their exact date in the majority of instances4 ,verses1 then1 which were designed for several objects of his affection1 male or female1 have been indiscriminately referred to ,vittoria ,colonna1 whereas we can only attribute a few poems with certainty to her series4 ,this mythus of ,michelangelo's passion for the ,marchioness of ,pescara has blossomed and brought forth fruit abundantly from a single and pathetic passage in ,condivi4 ,in particular1 he greatly loved the ,marchioness of ,pescara1 of whose divine spirit he was enamoured1 being in return dearly beloved by her4 ,he still preserves many of her letters1 breathing honourable and most tender affection1 and such as were wont to issue from a heart like hers4 ,he also wrote to her a great number of sonnets1 full of wit and sweet longing4 ,she frequently removed from ,viterbo and other places1 whither she had gone for solace or to pass the summer1 and came to ,rome with the sole object of seeing ,michelangelo4 ,he for his part1 loved her so1 that ,i remember to have heard him say that he regretted nothing except that when he went to visit her upon the moment of her passage from this life1 he did not kiss her forehead or her face1 as he did kiss her hand4 ,her death was the cause that oftentimes he dwelt astonied1 thinking of it1 even as a man bereft of sense4 ,michelangelo himself1 writing immediately after ,vittoria's death1 speaks of her thus3 ,she felt the warmest affection for me1 and ,i not less for her4 ,death has robbed me of a great friend4 ,it is curious that he here uses the masculine gender3 un grande amico4 ,he also composed two sonnets1 which were in all probability inspired by the keen pain of this bereavement4 ,to omit them here would be unjust to the memory of their friendship3-- ,when my rude hammer to the stubborn stone ,gives human shape1 now that1 now this1 at will1 ,following his hand who wields and guides it still1 ,it moves upon another's feet alone3 ,the third illustrates in a singular manner that custom of sixteenth-century literature which ,shakespeare followed in his sonnets1 of weaving poetical images out of thoughts borrowed from law and business4 ,it is also remarkable in this respect1 that ,michelangelo has here employed precisely the same conceit for ,vittoria ,colonna which he found serviceable when at an earlier date he wished to deplore the death of the ,florentine1 ,cecchino dei ,bracci4 ,for both of them he says that ,heaven bestowed upon the beloved object all its beauties1 instead of scattering these broad-cast over the human race1 which1 had it done so1 would have entailed the bankruptcy and death of all3-- ,so that high heaven should have not to distrain ,from several that vast beauty ne'er yet shown1 ,to one exalted dame alone ,the total sum was lent in her pure self3-- ,heaven had made sorry gain1 ,recovering from the crowd its scattered pelf4 ,now in a puff of breath1 ,nay1 in one second1 ,god ,hath ta'en her back through death1 ,back from the senseless folk and from our eyes4 ,yet earth's oblivious sod1 ,albeit her body dies1 ,will bury not her live words fair and holy4 ,ah1 cruel mercy6 ,here thou showest solely ,how1 had heaven lent us ugly what she took1 ,and death the debt reclaimed1 all men were broke4 ,without disputing the fact that a very sincere emotion underlay these verses1 it must be submitted that1 in the words of ,samuel ,johnson about ,lycidas1 he who thus grieves will excite no sympathy2 he who thus praises will confer no honour4 ,this conviction will be enforced when we reflect that the thought upon which the madrigal above translated has been woven 7#aedg7 had been already used for ,cecchino dei ,bracci in #aedd4 ,it is clear that1 in dealing with ,michelangelo's poetical compositions1 we have to accept a mass of conventional utterances1 penetrated with a few firmly grasped ,platonical ideas4 ,it is only after long familiarity with his work that a man may venture to distinguish between the accents of the heart and the head-notes in the case of so great a master using an art he practised mainly as an amateur4 ,i shall have to return to these considerations when ,i discuss the value of his poetry taken as a whole4 ,the union of ,michelangelo and ,vittoria was beautiful and noble1 based upon the sympathy of ardent and high-feeling natures4 ,nevertheless we must remember that when ,michelangelo lost his old servant ,urbino1 his letters and the sonnet written upon that occasion express an even deeper passion of grief4 ,love is an all-embracing word1 and may well be used to describe this exalted attachment1 as also to qualify the great sculptor's affection for a faithful servant or for a charming friend4 ,we ought not1 however1 to distort the truth of biography or to corrupt criticism1 from a personal wish to make more out of his feeling than fact and probability warrant4 ,this is what has been done by all who approached the study of ,michelangelo's life and writings4 ,of late years1 the determination to see ,vittoria ,colonna through every line written by him which bears the impress of strong emotion1 and to suppress other aspects of his sensibility1 has been so deliberate1 that ,i am forced to embark upon a discussion which might otherwise have not been brought so prominently forward4 ,for the understanding of his character1 and for a proper estimate of his poetry1 it has become indispensable to do so4 ,v ,michelangelo's best friend in ,rome was a young nobleman called ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,speaking of his numerous allies and acquaintances1 ,vasari writes3 ,immeasurably more than all the rest1 he loved ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri1 a ,roman gentleman1 for whom1 as he was young and devoted to the arts1 ,michelangelo made many stupendous drawings of superb heads in black and red chalk1 wishing him to learn the method of design4 ,moreover1 he drew for him a ,ganymede carried up to heaven by ,jove's eagle1 a ,tityos with the vulture feeding on his heart1 the fall of ,phaeton with the sun's chariot into the river ,po1 and a ,bacchanal of children2 all of them things of the rarest quality1 and drawings the like of which were never seen4 ,michelangelo made a cartoon portrait of ,messer ,tommaso1 life-size1 which was the only portrait that he ever drew1 since he detested to imitate the living person1 unless it was one of incomparable beauty4 ,several of ,michelangelo's sonnets are addressed to ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,benedetto ,varchi1 in his commentary1 introduces two of them with these words3 ,the first ,i shall present is one addressed to ,m4 ,tommaso ,cavalieri1 a young ,roman of very noble birth1 in whom ,i recognised1 while ,i was sojourning at ,rome1 not only incomparable physical beauty1 but so much elegance of manners1 such excellent intelligence1 and such graceful behaviour1 that he well deserved1 and still deserves1 to win the more love the better he is known4 ,then ,varchi recites the sonnet3-- ,why should ,i seek to ease intense desire ,with still more tears and windy words of grief1 ,when heaven1 or late or soon1 sends no relief ,to souls whom love hath robed around with fire8 ,why need my aching heart to death aspire1 ,when all must die8 ,nay1 death beyond belief ,unto these eyes would be both sweet and brief1 ,since in my sum of woes all joys expire6 ,therefore1 because ,i cannot shun the blow ,i rather seek1 say who must rule my breast1 ,gliding between her gladness and her woe8 ,if only chains and bands can make me blest1 ,no marvel if alone and bare ,i go1 ,an armd ,,knight',s captive and slave confessed4 ,the other shall be what follows1 written perhaps for the same person1 and worthy1 in my opinion1 not only of the ripest sage1 but also of a poet not unexercised in writing verse3-- ,with your fair eyes a charming light ,i see1 ,for which my own blind eyes would peer in vain2 ,stayed by your feet1 the burden ,i sustain ,which my lame feet find all too strong for me2 ,wingless upon your pinions forth ,i fly2 ,heavenward your sprit stirreth me to strain2 ,e'en as you will1 ,i blush and blanch again1 ,freeze in the sun1 burn 'neath a frosty sky4 ,your will includes and is the lord of mine2 ,life to my thoughts within your heart is given2 ,my words begin to breathe upon your breath3 ,like to the-moon am ,i1 that cannot shine ,alone2 for1 lo6 our eyes see naught in heaven ,save what the living sun illumineth4 ,the frank and hearty feeling for a youth of singular distinction which is expressed in these sonnets1 gave no offence to society during the period of the earlier ,renaissance2 but after the ,tridentine ,council social feeling altered upon this and similar topics4 ,while morals remained what they had been1 language and manners grew more nice and hypocritical4 ,it happened thus that grievous wrong was done to the text of ,michelangelo's poems1 with the best intentions1 by their first editor4 ,grotesque misconceptions1 fostered by the same mistaken zeal1 are still widely prevalent4 ,when ,michelangelo the younger arranged his grand-uncle's poems for the press1 he was perplexed by the first of the sonnets quoted by ,varchi4 ,the last line1 which runs in the ,italian thus-- ,resto prigion d'un ,cavalier armato1 has an obvious play of words upon ,cavalieri's surname4 ,this he altered into ,resto prigion d'un cor di virt armato4 ,the reason was that1 if it stood unaltered1 the ignorance of men would have occasion to murmur4 ,varchi1 he adds1 did wrong in printing it according to the text4 ,remember well1 he observes1 that this sonnet1 as well as the preceding number and some others1 are concerned1 as is manifest1 with a masculine love of the ,platonic species4 ,michelangelo the younger's anxiety for his granduncle's memory induced him thus to corrupt the text of his poems4 ,the same anxiety has led their latest editor to explain away the obvious sense of certain words4 ,signor ,guasti approves of the first editor's pious fraud1 on the ground that morality has higher claims than art2 but he adds that the expedient was not necessary3 for these sonnets do not refer to masculine love1 nor yet do any others4 ,in the first 7xxxi47 the lady is compared to an armed knight1 because she carries the weapons of her sex and beauty2 and while ,i think on it1 an example occurs to my mind from ,messer ,cino in support of the argument4 ,as regards the second 7lxii471 those who read these pages of mine will possibly remember that ,michelangelo1 writing of the dead ,vittoria ,colonna1 called her amico2 and on reflection1 this sounds better than amica1 in the place where it occurs4 ,moreover1 there are not wanting in these poems instances of the term signore1 or lord1 applied to the beloved lady2 which is one of the many periphrastical expressions used by the ,romance poets to indicate their mistress4 ,it is true that ,cino compares his lady in one sonnet to a knight who has carried off the prize of beauty in the lists of love and grace by her elegant dancing4 ,but he never calls a lady by the name of cavaliere4 ,it is also indubitable that the ,tuscans occasionally addressed the female or male object of their adoration under the title of signore1 lord of my heart and soul4 ,but such instances weigh nothing against the direct testimony of a contemporary like ,varchi1 into whose hands ,michelangelo's poems came at the time of their composition1 and who was well acquainted with the circumstances of their composition4 ,there is1 moreover1 a fact of singular importance bearing on this question1 to which ,signor ,guasti has not attached the value it deserves4 ,in a letter belonging to the year #aedi1 ,michelangelo thanks ,luca ,martini for a copy of ,varchi's commentary on his sonnet1 and begs him to express his affectionate regards and hearty thanks to that eminent scholar for the honour paid him4 ,in a second letter addressed to ,g4,f4 ,fattucci1 under date ,october #aedi1 he conveys the thanks of ,messer ,tomao de' ,cavalieri to ,varchi for a certain little book of his which has been printed1 and in which he speaks very honourably of himself1 and not less so of me4 ,in neither of these letters does ,michelangelo take exception to ,varchi's interpretation of ,sonnet xxxi4 ,indeed1 the second proves that both he and ,cavalieri were much pleased with it4 ,michelangelo even proceeds to inform ,fattucci that ,cavalieri has given me a sonnet which ,i made for him in those same years1 begging me to send it on as a proof and witness that he really is the man intended4 ,this ,i will enclose in my present letter4 ,furthermore1 we possess an insolent letter of ,pietro ,aretino1 which makes us imagine that the ignorance of the vulgar had already begun to murmur4 ,after complaining bitterly that ,michelangelo refused to send him any of his drawings1 he goes on to remark that it would be better for the artist if he did so1 inasmuch as such an act of courtesy would quiet the insidious rumours which assert that only ,gerards and ,thomases can dispose of them4 ,we have seen from ,vasari that ,michelangelo executed some famous designs for ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,the same authority asserts that he presented ,gherardo ,perini1 a ,florentine gentleman1 and his very dear friend1 with three splendid drawings in black chalk4 ,tommaso ,cavalieri and ,gherardo ,perini1 were1 therefore1 the ,gerards and ,thomases alluded to by ,aretino4 ,michelangelo the younger's and ,cesare ,guasti's method of defending ,buonarroti from a malevolence which was only too well justified by the vicious manners of the time1 seems to me so really injurious to his character1 that ,i feel bound to carry this investigation further4 ,first of all1 we ought to bear in mind what ,buonarroti admitted concerning his own temperament4 ,you must know that ,i am1 of all men who were ever born1 the most inclined to love persons4 ,whenever ,i behold some one who possesses any talent or displays any dexterity of mind1 who can do or say something more appropriately than the rest of the world1 ,i am compelled to fall in love with him2 and then ,i give myself up to him so entirely that ,i am no longer my own property1 but wholly his4 ,he mentions this as a reason for not going to dine with ,luigi del ,riccio in company with ,donate ,giannotti and ,antonio ,petrejo4 ,if ,i were to do so1 as all of you are adorned with talents and agreeable graces1 each of you would take from me a portion of myself1 and so would the dancer1 and so would the lute-player1 if men with distinguished gifts in those arts were present4 ,each person would filch away a part of me1 and instead of being refreshed and restored to health and gladness1 as you said1 ,i should be utterly bewildered and distraught1 in such wise that for many days to come ,i should not know in what world ,i was moving4 ,this passage serves to explain the extreme sensitiveness of the great artist to personal charm1 grace1 accomplishments1 and throws light upon the self-abandonment with which he sometimes yielded to the attractions of delightful people4 ,we possess a series of ,michelangelo's letters addressed to or concerned with ,tommaso ,cavalieri1 the tone of which is certainly extravagant4 ,his biographer1 ,aurelio ,gotti1 moved by the same anxiety as ,michelangelo the younger and ,guasti1 adopted the extraordinary theory that they were really directed to ,vittoria ,colonna1 and were meant to be shown to her by the common friend of both1 ,cavalieri4 ,there is an epistle to this young man1 he says1 so studied in its phrases1 so devoid of all naturalness1 that we cannot extract any rational sense from it without supposing that ,cavalieri was himself a friend of the ,marchioness1 and that ,michelangelo1 while writing to him1 intended rather to address his words to the ,colonna4 ,of this letter1 which bears the date of ,january #a1 #aecc1 three drafts exist1 proving the great pains taken by ,michelangelo in its composition4 ,without due consideration1 ,messer ,tomao1 my very dear lord1 ,i was moved to write to your lordship1 not by way of answer to any letter received from you1 but being myself the first to make advances1 as though ,i felt bound to cross a little stream with dry feet1 or a ford made manifest by paucity of water4 ,but now that ,i have left the shore1 instead of the trifling river ,i expected1 the ocean with its towering waves appears before me1 so that1 if it were possible1 in order to avoid drowning1 ,i would gladly retrace my steps to the dry land whence ,i started4 ,still1 as ,i am here1 ,i will e'en make of my heart a rock1 and proceed farther2 and if ,i shall not display the art of sailing on the sea of your powerful genius1 that genius itself will excuse me1 nor will be disdainful of my inferiority in parts1 nor desire from me that which ,i do not possess1 inasmuch as he who is unique in all things can have peers in none4 ,therefore your lordship1 the light of our century without paragon upon this world1 is unable to be satisfied with the productions of other men1 having no match or equal to yourself4 ,and if1 peradventure1 something of mine1 such as ,i hope and promise to perform1 give pleasure to your mind1 ,i shall esteem it more fortunate than excellent2 and should ,i be ever sure of pleasing your lordship1 as is said1 in any particular1 ,i will devote the present time and all my future to your service2 indeed1 it will grieve me much that ,i cannot regain the past1 in order to devote a longer space to you than the future only will allow1 seeing ,i am now too old4 ,i have no more to say4 ,read the heart1 and not the letter1 because 'the pen toils after man's good-will in vain4' ,i have to make excuses for expressing in my first letter a marvellous astonishment at your rare genius2 and thus ,i do so1 having recognised the error ,i was in2 for it is much the same to wonder at ,god's working miracles as to wonder at ,rome producing divine men4 ,of this the universe confirms us in our faith4 ,it is clear that ,michelangelo alludes in this letter to the designs which he is known to have made for ,cavalieri1 and the last paragraph has no point except as an elaborate compliment addressed to a ,roman gentleman4 ,it would be quite out of place if applied to ,vittoria ,colonna4 ,gotti finds the language strained and unnatural4 ,we cannot deny that it differs greatly from the simple diction of the writer's ordinary correspondence4 ,but ,michelangelo did sometimes seek to heighten his style1 when he felt that the occasion demanded a special effort2 and then he had recourse to the laboured images in vogue at that period1 employing them with something of the ceremonious cumbrousness displayed in his poetry4 ,the letters to ,pietro ,aretino1 ,niccolo ,martelli1 ,vittoria ,colonna1 ,francis ,i41 ,luca ,martini1 and ,giorgio ,vasari might be quoted as examples4 ,as a postscript to this letter1 in the two drafts which were finally rejected1 the following enigmatical sentence is added3--,it would be permissible to give the name of the things a man presents1 to him who receives them2 but proper sense of what is fitting prevents it being done in this letter4 ,probably ,michelangelo meant that he should have liked to call ,cavalieri his friend1 since he had already given him friendship4 ,the next letter1 ,july #bh1 #aecc1 begins thus3--,my dear ,lord1--,had ,i not believed that ,i had made you certain of the very great1 nay1 measureless love ,i bear you1 it would not have seemed strange to me nor have roused astonishment to observe the great uneasiness you show in your last letter1 lest1 through my not having written1 ,i should have forgotten you4 ,still it is nothing new or marvellous when so many other things go counter1 that this also should be topsy-turvy4 ,for what your lordship says to me1 ,i could say to yourself3 nevertheless1 you do this perhaps to try me1 or to light a new and stronger flame1 if that indeed were possible3 but be it as it wills3 ,i know well that1 at this hour1 ,i could as easily forget your name as the food by which ,i live2 nay1 it were easier to forget the food1 which only nourishes my body miserably1 than your name1 which nourishes both body and soul1 filling the one and the other with such sweetness that neither weariness nor fear of death is felt by me while memory preserves you to my mind4 ,think1 if the eyes could also enjoy their portion1 in what condition ,i should find myself4 ,this second letter has also been extremely laboured2 for we have three other turns given in its drafts to the image of food and memory4 ,that these two documents were really addressed to ,cavalieri1 without any thought of ,vittoria ,colonna1 is proved by three letters sent to ,michelangelo by the young man in question4 ,one is dated ,august #b1 #aecc1 another ,september #b1 and the third bears no date4 ,the two which ,i have mentioned first belong to the summer of #aecc2 the third seems to be the earliest4 ,it was clearly written on some occasion when both men were in ,rome together1 and at the very beginning of their friendship4 ,i will translate them in their order4 ,the first undated letter was sent to ,michelangelo in ,rome1 in answer to some writing of the illustrious sculptor which we do not possess3-- ,i have received from you a letter1 which is the more acceptable because it was so wholly unexpected4 ,i say unexpected1 because ,i hold myself unworthy of such condescension in a man of your eminence4 ,with regard to what ,pierantonio spoke to you in my praise1 and those things of mine which you have seen1 and which you say have aroused in you no small affection for me1 ,i answer that they were insufficient to impel a man of such transcendent genius1 without a second1 not to speak of a peer1 upon this earth1 to address a youth who was born but yesterday1 and therefore is as ignorant as it is possible to be4 ,at the same time ,i cannot call you a liar4 ,i rather think then1 nay1 am certain1 that the love you bear me is due to this1 that you being a man most excellent in art1 nay1 art itself1 are forced to love those who follow it and love it1 among whom am ,i2 and in this1 according to my capacity1 ,i yield to few4 ,i promise you truly that you shall receive from me for your kindness affection equal1 and perhaps greater1 in exchange2 for ,i never loved a man more than ,i do you1 nor desired a friendship more than ,i do yours4 ,about this1 though my judgment may fail in other things1 it is unerring2 and you shall see the proof1 except only that fortune is adverse to me in that now1 when ,i might enjoy you1 ,i am far from well4 ,i hope1 however1 if she does not begin to trouble me again1 that within a few days ,i shall be cured1 and shall come to pay you my respects in person4 ,meanwhile ,i shall spend at least two hours a day in studying two of your drawings1 which ,pierantonio brought me3 the more ,i look at them1 the more they delight me2 and ,i shall soothe my complaint by cherishing the hope which ,pierantonio gave me1 of letting me see other things of yours4 ,in order not to be troublesome1 ,i will write no more4 ,only ,i beg you remember1 on occasion1 to make use of me2 and recommend myself in perpetuity to you4--,your most affectionate servant4 ,thomao ,cavaliere4 ,the next letters were addressed to ,michelangelo in ,florence3--,unique1 my ,lord1--,i have received from you a letter1 very acceptable1 from which ,i gather that you are not a little saddened at my having written to you about forgetting4 ,i answer that ,i did not write this for either of the following reasons3 to wit1 because you have not sent me anything1 or in order to fan the flame of your affection4 ,i only wrote to jest with you1 as certainly ,i think ,i may do4 ,therefore1 do not be saddened1 for ,i am quite sure you will not be able to forget me4 ,regarding what you write to me about that young ,nerli1 he is much my friend1 and having to leave ,rome1 he came to ask whether ,i needed anything from ,florence4 ,i said no1 and he begged me to allow him to go in my name to pay you my respects1 merely on account of his own desire to speak with you4 ,i have nothing more to write1 except that ,i beg you to return quickly4 ,when you come you will deliver me from prison1 because ,i wish to avoid bad companions2 and having this desire1 ,i cannot converse with any one but you4 ,i recommend myself to you a thousand times4--,yours more than his own1 ,thomao ,cavaliere4 ,rome1 ,august #b1 #aecc4 ,it appears from the third letter1 also sent to ,florence1 that during the course of the month ,michelangelo had despatched some of the drawings he made expressly for his friend3--,unique1 my ,lord1--,some days ago ,i received a letter from you1 which was very welcome1 both because ,i learned from it that you were well1 and also because ,i can now be sure that you will soon return4 ,i was very sorry not to be able to answer at once4 ,however1 it consoles me to think that1 when you know the cause1 you will hold me excused4 ,on the day your letter reached me1 ,i was attacked with vomiting and such high fever that ,i was on the point of death2 and certainly ,i should have died1 if it 7i4e41 the letter7 had not somewhat revived me4 ,since then1 thank ,god1 ,i have been always well4 ,messer ,bartolommeo 7,angelini7 has now brought me a sonnet sent by you1 which has made me feel it my duty to write4 ,some three days since ,i received my ,phathon1 which is exceedingly well done4 ,the ,pope1 the ,cardinal de' ,medici1 and every one1 have seen it2 ,i do not know what made them want to do so4 ,the ,cardinal expressed a wish to inspect all your drawings1 and they pleased him so much that he said he should like to have the ,tityos and ,ganymede done in crystal4 ,i could not manage to prevent him from using the ,tityos1 and it is now being executed by ,maestro ,giovanni4 ,hard ,i struggled to save the ,ganymede4 ,the other day ,i went1 as you requested1 to ,fra ,sebastiano4 ,he sends a thousand messages1 but only to pray you to come back4--,your affectionate1 ,thomao ,cavaliere4 ,rome1 ,september #f4 ,all the drawings mentioned by ,vasari as having been made for ,cavalieri are alluded to here1 except the ,bacchanal of ,children4 ,of the ,phathon we have two splendid examples in existence1 one at ,windsor1 the other in the collection of ,m4 ,emile ,galichon4 ,they differ considerably in details1 but have the same almost mathematical exactitude of pyramidal composition4 ,that belonging to ,m4 ,galichon must have been made in ,rome1 for it has this rough scrawl in ,michelangelo's hand at the bottom1 ,tomao1 se questo scizzo non vi piace1 ditelo a ,urbino4 ,he then promises to make another4 ,perhaps ,cavalieri sent word back that he did not like something in the sketch--possibly the women writhing into trees--and that to this circumstance we owe the ,windsor drawing1 which is purer in style4 ,there is a fine ,tityos with the vulture at ,windsor1 so exquisitely finished and perfectly preserved that one can scarcely believe it passed through the hands of ,maestro ,giovanni4 ,windsor1 too1 possesses a very delicate ,ganymede1 which seems intended for an intaglio4 ,the subject is repeated in an unfinished pen-design at the ,uffizi1 incorrectly attributed to ,michelangelo1 and is represented by several old engravings4 ,the ,infant ,bacchanals again exist at ,windsor1 and fragmentary jottings upon the margin of other sketches intended for the same theme survive4 ,,vi ,a correspondence between ,bartolommeo ,angelini in ,rome and ,michelangelo in ,florence during the summers of #aecb and #aecc throws some light upon the latter's movements1 and also upon his friendship for ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,the first letter of this series1 written on the #bast of ,august #aecb1 shows that ,michelangelo was then expected in ,rome4 ,fra ,sebastiano says that you wish to dismount at your own house4 ,knowing then that there is nothing but the walls1 ,i hunted up a small amount of furniture1 which ,i have had sent thither1 in order that you may be able to sleep and sit down and enjoy some other conveniences4 ,for eating1 you will be able to provide yourself to your own liking in the neighbourhood4 ,from the next letter 7,september #ah1 #aecb7 it appears that ,michelangelo was then in ,rome4 ,there ensues a gap in the correspondence1 which is not resumed until ,july #ab1 #aecc4 ,it now appears that ,buonarroti had recently left ,rome at the close of another of his visits4 ,angelini immediately begins to speak of ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,i gave that soul you wrote of to ,m4 ,tommao1 who sends you his very best regards1 and begs me to communicate any letters ,i may receive from you to him4 ,your house is watched continually every night1 and ,i often go to visit it by day4 ,the hens and master cock are in fine feather1 and the cats complain greatly over your absence1 albeit they have plenty to eat4 ,angelini never writes now without mentioning ,cavalieri4 ,since this name does not occur in the correspondence before the date of ,july #ab1 #aecc1 it is possible that ,michelangelo made the acquaintance during his residence at ,rome in the preceding winter4 ,his letters to ,angelini must have conveyed frequent expressions of anxiety concerning ,cavalieri's affection2 for the replies invariably contain some reassuring words 7,july #bf73 ,yours makes me understand how great is the love you bear him2 and in truth1 so far as ,i have seen1 he does not love you less than you love him4 ,again 7,august #aa1 #aecc73 ,i gave your letter to ,m4 ,thomao1 who sends you his kindest remembrances1 and shows the very strongest desire for your return1 saying that when he is with you1 then he is really happy1 because he possesses all that he wishes for upon this world4 ,so then1 it seems to me that1 while you are fretting to return1 he is burning with desire for you to do so4 ,why do you not begin in earnest to make plans for leaving ,florence8 ,it would give peace to yourself and all of us1 if you were here4 ,i have seen your soul1 which is in good health and under good guardianship4 ,the body waits for your arrival4 ,this mysterious reference to the soul1 which ,angelini gave1 at ,buonarroti's request1 to young ,cavalieri1 and which he now describes as prospering1 throws some light upon the passionate phrases of the following mutilated letter1 addressed to ,angelini by ,michelangelo upon the #aath of ,october4 ,the writer1 alluding to ,messer ,tommao1 says that1 having given him his heart1 he can hardly go on living in his absence3 ,and so1 if ,i yearn day and night without intermission to be in ,rome1 it is only in order to return again to life1 which ,i cannot enjoy without the soul4 ,this conceit is carried on for some time1 and the letter winds up with the following sentence3 ,my dear ,bartolommeo1 although you may think that ,i am joking with you1 this is not the case4 ,i am talking sober sense1 for ,i have grown twenty years older and twenty pounds lighter since ,i have been here4 ,this epistle1 as we shall see in due course1 was acknowledged4 ,all ,michelangelo's intimates in ,rome became acquainted with the details of this friendship4 ,writing to ,sebastiano from ,florence in this year1 he says3 ,i beg you1 if you see ,messer ,t4 ,cavalieri1 to recommend me to him infinitely2 and when you write1 tell me something about him to keep him in my memory2 for if ,i were to lose him from my mind1 ,i believe that ,i should fall down dead straightway4 ,in ,sebastiano's letters there is one allusion to ,cavalieri1 who had come to visit him in the company of ,bartolommeo ,angelini1 when he was ill4 ,it is not necessary to follow all the references to ,tommaso ,cavalieri contained in ,angelini's letters4 ,they amount to little more than kind messages and warm wishes for ,michelangelo's return4 ,soon1 however1 ,michelangelo began to send poems1 which ,angelini acknowledges 7,september #f73 ,i have received the very welcome letter you wrote me1 together with your graceful and beautiful sonnet1 of which ,i kept a copy1 and then sent it on to ,m4 ,thomao4 ,he was delighted to possess it1 being thereby assured that ,god has deigned to bestow upon him the friendship of a man endowed with so many noble gifts as you are4 ,again he writes 7,october #ah73 ,yours of the #abth is to hand1 together with ,m4 ,thomao's letter and the most beautiful sonnets4 ,i have kept copies1 and sent them on to him for whom they were intended1 because ,i know with what affection he regards all things that pertain to you4 ,he promised to send an answer which shall be enclosed in this ,i now am writing4 ,he is counting not the days merely1 but the hours1 till you return4 ,in another letter1 without date1 ,angelini says1 ,i gave your messages to ,m4 ,thomao1 who replied that your presence would be dearer to him than your writing1 and that if it seems to you a thousand years1 to him it seems ten thousand1 till you come4 ,i received your gallant 7galante7 and beautiful sonnet2 and though you said nothing about it1 ,i saw at once for whom it was intended1 and gave it to him4 ,like everything of yours1 it delighted him4 ,the tenor of the sonnet shows that love keeps you perpetually restless4 ,i do not think this ought to be the effect of love1 and so ,i send you one of my poor performances to prove the contrary opinion4 ,we may perhaps assume that this sonnet was the famous ,no4 xxxi41 from the last line of which every one could perceive that ,michelangelo meant it for ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,,vii ,it is significant that1 while ,michelangelo's affection for the young ,roman was thus acquiring force1 another friendship1 which must have once been very dear to him1 sprang up and then declined1 but not apparently through his own fault or coldness4 ,we hear of ,febo di ,poggio in the following autumn for the first and last time4 ,before proceeding to speak of him1 ,i will wind up what has to be said about ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,not long after the date of the last letter quoted above1 ,michelangelo returned to ,rome1 and settled there for the rest of his life4 ,he continued to the end of his days in close friendship with ,cavalieri1 who helped to nurse him during his last illness1 who took charge of his effects after his death1 and who carried on the architectural work he had begun at the ,capitol4 ,their friendship seems to have been uninterrupted by any disagreement1 except on one occasion when ,michelangelo gave way to his suspicious irritability1 quite at the close of his long life4 ,this drew forth from ,cavalieri the following manly and touching letter3-- ,very magnificent1 my ,lord1--,i have noticed during several days past that you have some grievance--what1 ,i do not know--against me4 ,yesterday ,i became certain of it when ,i went to your house4 ,as ,i cannot imagine the cause1 ,i have thought it best to write this1 in order that1 if you like1 you may inform me4 ,i am more than positive that ,i never offended you4 ,but you lend easy credence to those whom perhaps you ought least to trust2 and some one has possibly told you some lie1 for fear ,i should one day reveal the many knaveries done under your name1 the which do you little honour2 and if you desire to know about them1 you shall4 ,only ,i cannot1 nor1 if ,i could1 should ,i wish to force myself--but ,i tell you frankly that if you do not want me for a friend1 you can do as you like1 but you cannot compel me not to be a friend to you4 ,i shall always try to do you service2 and only yesterday ,i came to show you a letter written by the ,duke of ,florence1 and to lighten your burdens1 as ,i have ever done until now4 ,be sure you have no better friend than me2 but on this ,i will not dwell4 ,still1 if you think otherwise1 ,i hope that in a short time you will explain matters2 and ,i know that you know ,i have always been your friend without the least interest of my own4 ,now ,i will say no more1 lest ,i should seem to be excusing myself for something which does not exist1 and which ,i am utterly unable to imagine4 ,i pray and conjure you1 by the love you bear to ,god1 that you tell me what you have against me1 in order that ,i may disabuse you4 ,not having more to write1 ,i remain your servant1 ,thomao ,de' ,cavalieri4 ,from my house1 ,november #ae1 #aefa4 ,it is clear from this letter1 and from the relations which subsisted between ,michelangelo and ,cavalieri up to the day of his death1 that the latter was a gentleman of good repute and honour1 whose affection did credit to his friend4 ,i am unable to see that anything but an injury to both is done by explaining away the obvious meaning of the letters and the sonnets ,i have quoted4 ,the supposition that ,michelangelo intended the ,cavalieri letters to reach ,vittoria ,colonna through that friend's hands does not1 indeed1 deserve the complete refutation which ,i have given it4 ,i am glad1 however1 to be able to adduce the opinion of a caustic ,florentine scholar upon this topic1 which agrees with my own1 and which was formed without access to the original documents which ,i have been enabled to make use of4 ,fanfani says3 ,i have searched1 but in vain1 for documentary proofs of the passion which ,michelangelo is supposed to have felt for ,vittoria ,colonna1 and which she returned with ardour according to the assertion of some critics4 ,my own belief1 concurring with that of better judges than myself1 is that we have here to deal with one of the many baseless stories told about him4 ,omitting the difficulties presented by his advanced age1 it is wholly contrary to all we know about the ,marchioness1 and not a little damaging to her reputation for austerity1 to suppose that this admirable matron1 who1 after the death of her husband1 gave herself up to ,god1 and abjured the commerce of the world1 should1 later in life1 have carried on an intrigue1 as the saying is1 upon the sly1 particularly when a third person is imposed on our credulity1 acting the part of go-between and cloak in the transaction1 as certain biographers of the great artist1 and certain commentators of his poetry1 are pleased to assert1 with how much common-sense and what seriousness ,i will not ask4 ,,viii ,the history of ,luigi del ,riccio's affection for a lad of ,florence called ,cecchino dei ,bracci1 since this is interwoven with ,michelangelo's own biography and the criticism of his poems1 may be adduced in support of the argument ,i am developing4 ,cecchino was a youth of singular promise and personal charm4 ,his relative1 the ,florentine merchant1 ,luigi del ,riccio1 one of ,buonarroti's most intimate friends and advisers1 became devotedly attached to the boy4 ,michelangelo1 after his return to ,rome in #aecd1 shared this friend ,luigi's admiration for ,cecchino2 and the close intimacy into which the two elder men were drawn1 at a somewhat later period of ,buonarroti's life1 seems to have been cemented by their common interest in poetry and their common feeling for a charming personality4 ,we have a letter of uncertain date1 in which ,michelangelo tells ,del ,riccio that he has sent him a madrigal1 begging him1 if he thinks fit1 to commit the verses to the fire--that is1 to what consumes me4 ,then he asks him to resolve a certain problem which has occurred to his mind during the night1 for while ,i was saluting our idol in a dream1 it seemed to me that he laughed1 and in the same instant threatened me2 and not knowing which of these two moods ,i have to abide by1 ,i beg you to find out from him2 and on ,sunday1 when we meet again1 you will inform me4 ,cecchino1 who is probably alluded to in this letter1 died at ,rome on the #hth of ,january #aedb1 and was buried in the ,church of ,araceli4 ,luigi felt the blow acutely4 ,upon the #abth of ,january he wrote to his friend ,donate ,giannotti1 then at ,vicenza1 in the following words3-- ,alas1 my friend ,donato6 ,our ,cecchino is dead4 ,all ,rome weeps4 ,michelangelo is making for me the design of a decent sepulture in marble2 and ,i pray you to write me the epitaph1 and to send it to me with a consolatory letter1 if time permits1 for my grief has distraught me4 ,patience6 ,i live with a thousand and a thousand deaths each hour4 ,o ,god6 ,how has ,fortune changed her aspect6 ,giannotti replied1 enclosing three fine sonnets1 the second of which1 beginning-- ,messer ,luigi mio1 di noi che fia ,che sian restati senza il nostro sole8 seems to have taken ,michelangelo's fancy4 ,many good pens in ,italy poured forth laments on this occasion4 ,we have verses written by ,giovanni ,aldobrandini1 ,carlo ,gondi1 ,fra ,paolo del ,rosso1 and ,anton ,francesco ,grazzini1 called ,il ,lasca4 ,not the least touching is ,luigi's own threnody1 which starts upon this note3-- ,idol mio1 che la tua leggiadra spoglia ,mi lasciasti anzi tempo4 ,michelangelo1 seeking to indulge his own grief and to soothe that of his friend ,luigi1 composed no fewer than forty-two epigrams of four lines each1 in which he celebrated the beauty and rare personal sweetness of ,cecchino in laboured philosophical conceits4 ,they rank but low among his poems1 having too much of scholastic trifling and too little of the accent of strong feeling in them4 ,certainly these pieces did not deserve the pains which ,michelangelo the younger bestowed1 when he altered the text of a selection from them so as to adapt their ,platonic compliments to some female4 ,far superior is a sonnet written to ,del ,riccio upon the death of the youth1 showing how recent had been ,michelangelo's acquaintance with ,cecchino1 and containing an unfulfilled promise to carve his portrait3-- ,scarce had ,i seen for the first time his eyes1 ,which to your living eyes were life and light1 ,when1 closed at last in death's injurious night1 ,he opened them on ,god in ,paradise4 ,i know it1 and ,i weep--too late made wise3 ,yet was the fault not mine2 for death's fell spite ,robbed my desire of that supreme delight ,which in your better memory never dies4 ,therefore1 ,luigi1 if the task be mine ,to make unique ,cecchino smile in stone ,for ever1 now that earth hath made him dim1 ,if the beloved within the lover shine1 ,since art without him cannot work alone1 ,you must ,i carve to tell the world of him4 ,the strange blending of artificial conceits with spontaneous feeling in these poetical effusions1 the deep interest taken in a mere lad like ,cecchino by so many eminent personages1 and the frank publicity given to a friendship based apparently upon the beauty of its object1 strike us now as almost unintelligible4 ,yet we have the history of ,shakespeare's ,sonnets1 and the letters addressed by ,languet to young ,sidney1 in evidence that fashion at the end of the sixteenth century differed widely from that which prevails at the close of the nineteenth4 ,,ix ,some further light may here be thrown upon ,michelangelo's intimacy with young men by two fragments extracted independently from the ,buonarroti ,archives by ,milanesi and ,guasti4 ,in the collection of the letters we find the following sorrowful epistle1 written in ,december #aecc1 upon the eve of ,michelangelo's departure from ,florence4 ,it is addressed to a certain ,febo3-- ,febo1--,albeit you bear the greatest hatred toward my person--,i know not why--,i scarcely believe1 because of the love ,i cherish for you1 but probably through the words of others1 to which you ought to give no credence1 having proved me--yet ,i cannot do otherwise than write to you this letter4 ,i am leaving ,florence to-morrow1 and am going to ,pescia to meet the ,cardinal di ,cesis and ,messer ,baldassare4 ,i shall journey with them to ,pisa1 and thence to ,rome1 and ,i shall never return again to ,florence4 ,i wish you to understand that1 so long as ,i live1 wherever ,i may be1 ,i shall always remain at your service with loyalty and love1 in a measure unequalled by any other friend whom you may have upon this world4 ,i pray ,god to open your eyes from some other quarter1 in order that you may come to comprehend that he who desires your good more than his own welfare1 is able to love1 not to hate like an enemy4 ,milanesi prints no more of the manuscript in his edition of the ,letters4 ,but ,guasti1 conscientiously collecting fragments of ,michelangelo's verses1 gives six lines1 which he found at the foot of the epistle3-- ,vo' sol del mie morir contento veggio3 ,la terra piange1 e'l ciel per me si muove2 ,e vo' men piet stringe ov' io sto peggio4 ,o sol che scaldi il mondo in ogni dove1 ,o ,febo1 o luce eterna de' mortali1 ,perch a me sol ti scuri e non altrove8 99 99 99 99 99 ,naught comforts you1 ,i see1 unless ,i die3 ,earth weeps1 the heavens for me are moved to woe2 ,you feel of grief the less1 the more grieve ,i4 ,o sun that warms the world where'er you go1 ,o ,febo1 light eterne for mortal eyes6 ,why dark to me alone1 elsewhere not so8 ,these verses seem to have been written as part of a long ,capitolo which ,michelangelo himself1 the elder1 used indifferently in addressing ,febo and his abstract donna4 ,who ,febo was1 we do not know4 ,but the sincere accent of the letter and the lyric cry of the rough lines leave us to imagine that he was some one for whom ,michelangelo felt very tenderly in ,florence4 ,milanesi prints this letter to ,febo with the following title1 ,a ,febo 7di ,poggio74 ,this proves that he at any rate knew it had been answered by some one signing ,febo di ,poggio4 ,the autograph1 in an illiterate hand and badly spelt1 is preserved among the ,buonarroti ,archives1 and bears date ,january #ad1 #aecd4 ,febo excuses himself for not having been able to call on ,michelangelo the night before he left ,florence1 and professes to have come the next day and found him already gone4 ,he adds that he is in want of money1 both to buy clothes and to go to see the games upon the ,monte4 ,he prays for a gratuity1 and winds up3 ,vostro da figliuolo 7yours like a son71 ,febo di ,poggio4 ,i will add a full translation here3-- ,magnificent ,m4 ,michelangelo1 to be honoured as a father1--,i came back yesterday from ,pisa1 whither ,i had gone to see my father4 ,immediately upon my arrival1 that friend of yours at the bank put a letter from you into my hands1 which ,i received with the greatest pleasure1 having heard of your well-being4 ,god be praised1 ,i may say the same about myself4 ,afterwards ,i learned what you say about my being angry with you4 ,you know well ,i could not be angry with you1 since ,i regard you in the place of a father4 ,besides1 your conduct toward me has not been of the sort to cause in me any such effect4 ,that evening when you left ,florence1 in the morning ,i could not get away from ,m4 ,vincenzo1 though ,i had the greatest desire to speak with you4 ,next morning ,i came to your house1 and you were already gone1 and great was my disappointment at your leaving ,florence without my seeing you4 ,i am here in ,florence2 and when you left1 you told me that if ,i wanted anything1 ,i might ask it of that friend of yours2 and now that ,m4 ,vincenzo is away1 ,i am in want of money1 both to clothe myself1 and also to go to the ,monte1 to see those people fighting1 for ,m4 ,vincenzo is there4 ,accordingly1 ,i went to visit that friend at the bank1 and he told me that he had no commission whatsoever from you2 but that a messenger was starting to-night for ,rome1 and that an answer could come back within five days4 ,so then1 if you give him orders1 he will not fail1 ,i beseech you1 then1 to provide and assist me with any sum you think fit1 and do not fail to answer4 ,i will not write more1 except that with all my heart and power ,i recommend myself to you1 praying ,god to keep you from harm4--,yours in the place of a son1 ,febo ,di ,poggio4 ,florence1 ,january #d1 #aed4 ,x ,in all the compositions ,i have quoted as illustrative of ,michelangelo's relations with young men1 there is a singular humility which gives umbrage to his editors4 ,the one epistle to ,gherardo ,perini1 cited above1 contains the following phrases3 ,i do not feel myself of force enough to correspond to your kind letter2 ,your most faithful and poor friend4 ,yet there was nothing extraordinary in ,cavalieri1 ,cecchino1 ,febo1 or ,perini1 except their singularity of youth and grace1 good parts and beauty4 ,the vulgar are offended when an illustrious man pays homage to these qualities1 forgetful of ,shakespeare's self-abasement before ,mr4 ,w4,h4 and of ,languet's prostration at the feet of ,sidney4 ,in the case of ,michelangelo1 we may find a solution of this problem1 ,i think1 in one of his sonnets4 ,he says1 writing a poem belonging very probably to the series which inspires ,michelangelo the younger with alarm3-- ,as one who will re-seek her home of light1 ,thy form immortal to this prison-house ,descended1 like an angel-piteous1 ,to heal all hearts and make the whole world bright1 ',tis this that thralls my soul in love's delight1 ,not thy clear face of beauty glorious2 ,for he who harbours virtue still will choose ,to love what neither years nor death can blight4 ,so fares it ever with things high and rare ,wrought in the sweat of nature2 heaven above ,showers on their birth the blessings of her prime3 ,nor hath ,god deigned to show ,himself elsewhere ,more clearly than in human forms sublime1 ,which1 since they image ,him1 alone ,i love4 ,it was not1 then1 to this or that young man1 to this or that woman1 that ,michelangelo paid homage1 but to the eternal beauty revealed in the mortal image of divinity before his eyes4 ,the attitude of the mind1 the quality of passion1 implied in these poems1 and conveyed more clumsily through the prose of the letters1 may be difficult to comprehend4 ,but until we have arrived at seizing them we shall fail to understand the psychology of natures like ,michelangelo4 ,no language of admiration is too strong1 no self-humiliation too complete1 for a soul which has recognised deity made manifest in one of its main attributes1 beauty4 ,in the sight of a philosopher1 a poet1 and an artist1 what are kings1 popes1 people of importance1 compared with a really perfect piece of ,god's handiwork8 ,from thy fair face ,i learn1 ,o my loved lord1 ,that which no mortal tongue can rightly say2 ,the soul imprisoned in her house of clay1 ,holpen by thee1 to ,god hath often soared4 ,and though the vulgar1 vain1 malignant horde ,attribute what their grosser wills obey1 ,yet shall this fervent homage that ,i pay1 ,this love1 this faith1 pure joys for us afford4 ,lo1 all the lovely things we find on earth1 ,resemble for the soul that rightly sees ,that source of bliss divine which gave us birth3 ,nor have we first-fruits or remembrances ,of heaven elsewhere4 ,thus1 loving loyally1 ,i rise to ,god1 and make death sweet by thee4 ,we know that1 in some way or other1 perhaps during those early years at ,florence among the members of the ,platonic ,academy1 ,michelangelo absorbed the doctrines of the ,phoedrus and ,symposium4 ,his poems abound in references to the contrast between ,uranian and ,pandemic1 celestial and vulgar1 ,eros4 ,we have even one sonnet in which he distinctly states the ,greek opinion that the love of women is unworthy of a soul bent upon high thoughts and virile actions4 ,it reads like a verse transcript from the main argument of the ,symposium3-- ,love is not always harsh and deadly sin1 ,when love for boundless beauty makes us pine2 ,the heart1 by love left soft and infantine1 ,will let the shafts of ,god's grace enter in4 ,love wings and wakes the soul1 stirs her to win ,her flight aloft1 nor e'er to earth decline2 ',tis the first step that leads her to the shrine ,of ,him who slakes the thirst that burns within4 ,the love of that whereof ,i speak ascends3 ,woman is different far2 the love of her ,but ill befits a heart manly and wise4 ,the one love soars1 the other earthward tends2 ,the soul lights this1 while that the senses stir2 ,and still lust's arrow at base quarry flies4 ,the same exalted ,platonism finds obscure but impassioned expression in this fragment of a sonnet 7,no4 lxxix473---- ,for ,love's fierce wound1 and for the shafts that harm1 ,true medicine 'twould have been to pierce my heart2 ,but my soul's ,lord owns only one strong charm1 ,which makes life grow where grows life's mortal smart4 ,my ,lord dealt death1 when with his-powerful arm ,he bent ,love's bow4 ,winged with that shaft1 from ,love ,an angel flew1 cried1 ,love1 nay ,burn6 ,who dies1 ,hath but ,love's plumes whereby to soar above6 ,lo1 ,i am ,he who from thine earliest years ,toward1 heaven-born ,beauty raised thy faltering eyes4 ,beauty alone lifts live man to heaven's spheres4 ,feeling like this1 ,michelangelo would have been justly indignant with officious relatives and critics1 who turned his amici into animi1 redirected his ,cavalieri letters to the address of ,vittoria ,colonna1 discovered ,florence in ,febo di ,poggio1 and ascribed all his emotional poems to some woman4 ,there is no doubt that both the actions and the writings of contemporaries justified a considerable amount of scepticism regarding the purity of ,platonic affections4 ,the words and lives of many illustrious persons gave colour to what ,segni stated in his ,history of ,florence1 and what ,savonarola found it necessary to urge upon the people from his pulpit4 ,but we have every reason to feel certain that1 in a malicious age1 surrounded by jealous rivals1 with the fierce light of his transcendent glory beating round his throne1 ,buonarroti suffered from no scandalous reports1 and maintained an untarnished character for sobriety of conduct and purity of morals4 ,the general opinion regarding him may be gathered from ,scipione ,ammirati's ,history 7under the year #aefd74 ,this annalist records the fact that ,buonarotti having lived for ninety years1 there was never found through all that length of time1 and with all that liberty to sin1 any one who could with right and justice impute to him a stain or any ugliness of manners4 ,how he appeared to one who lived and worked with him for a long period of intimacy1 could not be better set forth than in the warm and ingenuous words of ,condivi3 ,he has loved the beauty of the human body with particular devotion1 as is natural with one who knows that beauty so completely2 and has loved it in such wise that certain carnally minded men1 who do not comprehend the love of beauty1 except it be lascivious and indecorous1 have been led thereby to think and to speak evil of him3 just as though ,alcibiades1 that comeliest young man1 had not been loved in all purity by ,socrates1 from whose side1 when they reposed together1 he was wont to say that he arose not otherwise than from the side of his own father4 ,oftentimes have ,i heard ,michelangelo discoursing and expounding on the theme of love1 and have afterwards gathered from those who were present upon these occasions that he spoke precisely as ,plato wrote1 and as we may read in ,plato's works upon this subject4 ,i1 for myself1 do not know what ,plato says2 but ,i know full well that1 having so long and so intimately conversed with ,michelangelo1 ,i never once heard issue from that mouth words that were not of the truest honesty1 and such as had virtue to extinguish in the heart of youth any disordered and uncurbed desire which might assail it4 ,i am sure1 too1 that no vile thoughts were born in him1 by this token1 that he loved not only the beauty of human beings1 but in general all fair things1 as a beautiful horse1 a beautiful dog1 a beautiful piece of country1 a beautiful plant1 a beautiful mountain1 a beautiful wood1 and every site or thing in its kind fair and rare1 admiring them with marvellous affection4 ,this was his way2 to choose what is beautiful from nature1 as bees collect the honey from flowers1 and use it for their purpose in their workings3 which indeed was always the method of those masters who have acquired any fame in painting4 ,that old ,greek artist1 when he wanted to depict a ,venus1 was not satisfied with the sight of one maiden only4 ,on the contrary1 he sought to study many2 and culling from each the particular in which she was most perfect1 to make use of these details in his ,venus4 ,of a truth1 he who imagines to arrive at any excellence without following this system 7which is the source of a true theory in the arts71 shoots very wide indeed of his mark4 ,condivi perhaps exaggerated the influence of lovely nature1 horses1 dogs1 flowers1 hills1 woods1 c41 on ,michelangelo's genius4 ,his work1 as we know1 is singularly deficient in motives drawn from any province but human beauty2 and his poems and letters contain hardly a trace of sympathy with the external world4 ,yet1 in the main contention1 ,condivi told the truth4 ,michelangelo's poems and letters1 and the whole series of his works in fresco and marble1 suggest no single detail which is sensuous1 seductive1 enfeebling to the moral principles4 ,their tone may be passionate2 it is indeed often red-hot with a passion like that of ,lucretius and ,beethoven2 but the genius of the man transports the mind to spiritual altitudes1 where the lust of the eye and the longings of the flesh are left behind us in a lower region4 ,only a soul attuned to the same chord of intellectual rapture can breathe in that fiery atmosphere and feel the vibrations of its electricity4 ,,xi ,i have used ,michelangelo's poems freely throughout this work as documents illustrative of his opinions and sentiments1 and also in their bearing on the events of his life4 ,i have made them reveal the man in his personal relations to ,pope ,julius ,,ii41 to ,vittoria ,colonna1 to ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri1 to ,luigi del ,riccio1 to ,febo di ,poggio4 ,i have let them tell their own tale1 when sorrow came upon him in the death of his father and ,urbino1 and when old age shook his lofty spirit with the thought of approaching death4 ,i have appealed to them for lighter incidents3 matters of courtesy1 the completion of the ,sistine vault1 the statue of ,night at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 the subjection of ,florence to the ,medici1 his heart-felt admiration for ,dante's genius4 ,examples of his poetic work1 so far as these can be applied to the explanation of his psychology1 his theory of art1 his sympathies1 his feeling under several moods of passion1 will consequently be found scattered up and down by volumes4 ,translation1 indeed1 is difficult to the writer1 and unsatisfactory to the reader4 ,but ,i have been at pains to direct an honest student to the original sources1 so that he may1 if he wishes1 compare my versions with the text4 ,therefore ,i do not think it necessary to load this chapter with voluminous citations4 ,still1 there remains something to be said about ,michelangelo as poet1 and about the place he occupies as poet in ,italian literature4 ,the value of ,michelangelo's poetry is rather psychological than purely literary4 ,he never claimed to be more than an amateur1 writing to amuse himself4 ,his style is obscure1 crabbed1 ungrammatical4 ,expression only finds a smooth and flowing outlet when the man's nature is profoundly stirred by some powerful emotion1 as in the sonnets to ,cavalieri1 or the sonnets on the deaths of ,vittoria ,colonna and ,urbino1 or the sonnets on the thought of his own death4 ,for the most part1 it is clear that he found great difficulty in mastering his thoughts and images4 ,this we discover from the innumerable variants of the same madrigal or sonnet which he made1 and his habit of returning to them at intervals long after their composition4 ,a good fourth of the ,codex ,vaticanus consists of repetitions and rifacimenti4 ,he was also wont to submit what he wrote to the judgment of his friends1 requesting them to alter and improve4 ,he often had recourse to ,luigi del ,riccio's assistance in such matters4 ,i may here adduce an inedited letter from two friends in ,rome1 ,giovanni ,francesco ,bini and ,giovanni ,francesco ,stella1 who returned a poem they had handled in this manner3 ,we have done our best to alter some things in your sonnet1 but not to set it all to rights1 since there was not much wanting4 ,now that it is changed or put in order1 according as the kindness of your nature wished1 the result will be more due to your own judgment than to ours1 since you have the true conception of the subject in your mind4 ,we shall be greatly pleased if you find yourself as well served as we earnestly desire that you should command us4 ,it was the custom of amateur poets to have recourse to literary craftsmen before they ventured to circulate their compositions4 ,an amusing instance of this will be found in ,professor ,biagi's monograph upon ,tullia d',aragona1 all of whose verses passed through the crucible of ,benedetto ,varchi's revision4 ,the thoughts and images out of which ,michelangelo's poetry is woven are characteristically abstract and arid4 ,he borrows no illustrations from external nature4 ,the beauty of the world and all that lives in it might have been non-existent so far as he was concerned4 ,nor do his octave stanzas in praise of rural life form an exception to this statement2 for these are imitated from ,poliziano1 so far as they attempt pictures of the country1 and their chief poetical feature is the masque of vices belonging to human nature in the city4 ,his stock-in-trade consists of a few ,platonic notions and a few ,petrarchan antitheses4 ,in the very large number of compositions which are devoted to love1 this one idea predominates3 that physical beauty is a direct beam sent from the eternal source of all reality1 in order to elevate the lover's soul and lead him on the upward path toward heaven4 ,carnal passion he regards with the aversion of an ascetic4 ,it is impossible to say for certain to whom these mystical love-poems were addressed4 ,whether a man or a woman is in the case 7for both were probably the objects of his aesthetical admiration71 the tone of feeling1 the language1 and the philosophy do not vary4 ,he uses the same imagery1 the same conceits1 the same abstract ideas for both sexes1 and adapts the leading motive which he had invented for a person of one sex to a person of the other when it suits his purpose4 ,in our absolute incapacity to fix any amative connection upon ,michelangelo1 or to link his name with that of any contemporary beauty1 we arrive at the conclusion1 strange as this may be1 that the greater part of his love-poetry is a scholastic exercise upon emotions transmuted into metaphysical and mystical conceptions4 ,only two pieces in the long series break this monotony by a touch of realism4 ,they are divided by a period of more than thirty years4 ,the first seems to date from an early epoch of his life3-- ,what joy hath yon glad wreath of flowers that is ,around her golden hair so deftly twined1 ,each blossom pressing forward from behind1 ,as though to be the first her brows to kiss6 ,the livelong day her dress hath perfect bliss1 ,that now reveals her breast1 now seems to bind3 ,and that fair woven net of gold refined ,rests on her cheek and throat in happiness6 ,yet still more blissful seems to me the band1 ,gilt at the tips1 so sweetly doth it ring1 ,and clasp the bosom that it serves to lace3 ,yea1 and the belt1 to such as understand1 ,bound round her waist1 saith3 ,here ,i'd ever cling6 ,what would my arms do in that girdle's place8 ,the second can be ascribed with probability to the year #aecd or #aece4 ,it is written upon the back of a rather singular letter addressed to him by a certain ,pierantonio1 when both men were in ,rome together3-- ,kind to the world1 but to itself unkind1 ,a worm is born1 that1 dying noiselessly1 ,despoils itself to clothe fair limbs1 and be ,in its true worth alone by death divined4 ,would ,i might die for my dear lord to find ,raiment in my outworn mortality2 ,that1 changing like the snake1 ,i might be free ,to cast the slough wherein ,i dwell confined6 ,nay1 were it mine1 that shaggy fleece that stays1 ,woven and wrought into a vestment fair1 ,around yon breast so beauteous in such bliss6 ,all through the day thou'd have me6 ,would ,i were ,the shoes that bear that burden6 when the ways ,were wet with rain1 thy feet ,i then should kiss6 ,i have already alluded to the fact that we can trace two widely different styles of writing in ,michelangelo's poetry4 ,some of his sonnets1 like the two just quoted1 and those we can refer with certainty to the ,cavalieri series1 together with occasional compositions upon the deaths of ,cecchino and ,urbino1 seem to come straight from the heart1 and their manuscripts offer few variants to the editor4 ,others1 of a different quality1 where he is dealing with ,platonic subtleties or ,petrarchan conceits1 have been twisted into so many forms1 and tortured by such frequent re-handlings1 that it is difficult now to settle a final text4 ,the ,codex ,vaticanus is peculiarly rich in examples of these compositions4 ,madrigal lvii4 and ,sonnet lx41 for example1 recur with wearisome reiteration4 ,these laboured and scholastic exercises1 unlike the more spontaneous utterances of his feelings1 are worked up into different forms1 and the same conceits are not seldom used for various persons and on divers occasions4 ,one of the great difficulties under which a critic labours in discussing these personal poems is that their chronology cannot be ascertained in the majority of instances4 ,another is that we are continually hampered by the false traditions invented by ,michelangelo the younger4 ,books like ,lannan ,rolland's ,michel-,ange et ,vittoria ,colonna have no value whatsoever1 because they are based upon that unlucky grand-nephew's deliberately corrupted text4 ,even ,wadsworth's translations1 fine as they are1 have lost a large portion of their interest since the publication of the autographs by ,cesare ,guasti in #ahfc4 ,it is certain that the younger ,michelangelo meant well to his illustrious ancestor4 ,he was anxious to give his rugged compositions the elegance and suavity of academical versification4 ,he wished also to defend his character from the imputation of immorality4 ,therefore he rearranged the order of stanzas in the longer poems1 pieced fragments together1 changed whole lines1 ideas1 images1 amplified and mutilated1 altered phrases which seemed to him suspicious4 ,only one who has examined the manuscripts of the ,buonarroti ,archives knows what pains he bestowed upon this ungrateful and disastrous task4 ,but the net result of his meddlesome benevolence is that now for nearly three centuries the greatest genius of the ,italian ,renaissance has worn a mask concealing the real nature of his emotion1 and that a false legend concerning his relations to ,vittoria ,colonna has become inextricably interwoven with the story of his life4 ,the extraordinary importance attached by ,michelangelo in old age to the passions of his youth is almost sufficient to justify those psychological investigators who regard him as the subject of a nervous disorder4 ,it does not seem to be accounted for by anything known to us regarding his stern and solitary life1 his aloofness from the vulgar1 and his self-dedication to study4 ,in addition to the splendid devotional sonnets addressed to ,vasari1 which will appear in their proper place1 ,i may corroborate these remarks by the translation of a set of three madrigals bearing on the topic4 ,ah me1 ah me6 how have ,i been betrayed ,by my swift-flitting years1 and by the glass1 ,which yet tells truth to those who firmly gaze6 ,thus happens it when one too long delays1 ,as ,i have done1 nor feels time fleet and1 fade3-- ,one morn he finds himself grown old1 alas6 ,to gird my loins1 repent1 my path repass1 ,sound counsel take1 ,i cannot1 now death's near2 ,foe to myself1 each tear1 ,each sigh1 is idly to the light wind sent1 ,for there's no loss to equal time ill-spent4 ,ah me1 ah me6 ,i wander telling o'er ,past years1 and yet in all ,i cannot view ,one day that might be rightly reckoned mine4 ,delusive hopes and vain desires entwine ,my soul that loves1 weeps1 burns1 and sighs full sore4 ,too well ,i know and prove that this is true1 ,since of man's passions none to me are new4 ,far from the truth my steps have gone astray1 ,in peril now ,i stay1 ,for1 lo6 the brief span of my life is o'er4 ,yet1 were it lengthened1 ,i should love once more4 ,ah me6 ,i wander tired1 and know not whither3 ,i fear to sight my goal1 the years gone by ,point it too plain2 nor will closed eyes avail4 ,now ,time hath changed and gnawed this mortal veil1 ,death and the soul in conflict strive together ,about my future fate that looms so nigh4 ,unless my judgment greatly goes awry1 ,which ,god in mercy grant1 ,i can but see ,eternal penalty ,waiting my wasted will1 my misused mind1 ,and know not1 ,lord1 where health and hope to find4 ,after reading these lamentations1 it is well to remember that ,michelangelo at times indulged a sense of humour4 ,as examples of his lighter vein1 we might allude to the sonnet on the ,sistine and the capitolo in answer to ,francesco ,berni1 written in the name of ,fra ,sebastiano4 ,sometimes his satire becomes malignant1 as in the sonnet against the people of ,pistoja1 which breathes the spirit of ,dantesque invective4 ,sometimes the fierceness of it is turned against himself1 as in the capitolo upon old age and its infirmities4 ,the grotesqueness of this lurid descant on senility and death is marked by something rather ,teutonic than ,italian1 a ,danse ,macabre intensity of loathing2 and it winds up with the bitter reflections1 peculiar to him in his latest years1 upon the vanity of art4 ,my much-prized art1 on which ,i relied and which brought me fame1 has now reduced me to this4 ,i am poor and old1 the slave of others4 ,to the dogs ,i must go1 unless ,i die quickly4 ,a proper conclusion to this chapter may be borrowed from the peroration of ,varchi's discourse upon the philosophical love-poetry of ,michelangelo4 ,this time he chooses for his text the second of those sonnets 7,no4 lii47 which caused the poet's grand-nephew so much perplexity1 inducing him to alter the word amici in the last line into animi4 ,it runs as follows3-- ,i saw no mortal beauty with these eyes ,when perfect peace in thy fair eyes ,i found2 ,but far within1 where all is holy ground1 ,my soul felt ,love1 her comrade of the skies3 ,for she was born with ,god in ,paradise2 ,else should we still to transient love be bound2 ,but1 finding these so false1 we pass beyond ,unto the ,love of loves that never dies4 ,nay1 things that die cannot assuage the thirst ,of souls undying2 nor ,eternity ,serves ,time1 where all must fade that flourisheth ,sense is not love1 but lawlessness accurst3 ,this kills the soul2 while our love lifts on high ,our friends on earth--higher in heaven through death4 ,from this sonnet1 says ,varchi1 ,i think that any man possessed of judgment will be able to discern to what extent this angel1 or rather archangel1 in addition to his three first and most noble professions of architecture1 sculpture1 and painting1 wherein without dispute he not only eclipses all the moderns1 but even surpasses the ancients1 proves himself also excellent1 nay singular1 in poetry1 and in the true art of loving2 the which art is neither less fair nor less difficult1 albeit it be more necessary and more profitable than the other four4 ,whereof no one ought to wonder3 for this reason2 that1 over and above what is manifest to everybody1 namely that nature1 desirous of exhibiting her utmost power1 chose to fashion a complete man1 and 7as the ,latins say7 one furnished in all proper parts2 he1 in addition to the gifts of nature1 of such sort and so liberally scattered1 added such study and a diligence so great that1 even had he been by birth most rugged1 he might through these means have become consummate in all virtue3 and supposing he were born1 ,i do not say in ,florence and of a very noble family1 in the time too of ,lorenzo the ,magnificent1 who recognised1 willed1 knew1 and had the power to elevate so vast a genius2 but in ,scythia1 of any stock or stem you like1 under some commonplace barbarian chief1 a fellow not disdainful merely1 but furiously hostile to all intellectual ability2 still1 in all circumstances1 under any star1 he would have been ,michelangelo1 that is to say1 the unique painter1 the singular sculptor1 the most perfect architect1 the most excellent poet1 and a lover of the most divinest4 ,for the which reasons ,i 7it is now many years ago71 holding his name not only in admiration1 but also in veneration1 before ,i knew that he was architect already1 made a sonnet2 with which 7although it be as much below the supreme greatness of his worth as it is unworthy of your most refined and chastened ears7 ,i mean to close this present conference2 reserving the discussion on the arts 7in obedience to our ,consul's orders7 for another lecture4 ,illustrious sculptor1 'twas enough and more1 ,not with the chisel-and bruised bronze alone1 ,but also with brush1 colour1 pencil1 tone1 ,to rival1 nay1 surpass that fame of yore4 ,but now1 transcending what those laurels bore ,of pride and beauty for our age and zone4 ,you climb of poetry the third high throne1 ,singing love's strife and-peace1 love's sweet and sore4 ,o wise1 and dear to ,god1 old man well born1 ,who in so many1 so fair ways1 make fair ,this world1 how shall your dues be dully paid8 ,doomed by eternal charters to adorn ,nature and art1 yourself their mirror are1 ,none1 first before1 nor second after1 made4 ,in the above translation of ,varchi's peroration ,i have endeavoured to sustain those long-winded periods of which he was so perfect and professed a master4 ,we must remember that he actually read this dissertation before the ,florentine ,academy on the second ,sunday in ,lent1 in the year #aedf1 when ,michelangelo was still alive and hearty4 ,he afterwards sent it to the press2 and the studied trumpet-tones of eulogy1 conferring upon ,michelangelo the quintuple crown of pre-eminence in painting1 sculpture1 architecture1 poetry1 and loving1 sounded from ,venice down to ,naples4 ,the style of the oration may strike us as rococo now1 but the accent of praise and appreciation is surely genuine4 ,varchi's enthusiastic comment on the sonnets xxx1 xxxi1 and lii1 published to men of letters1 taste1 and learning in ,florence and all ,italy1 is the strongest vindication of their innocence against editors and scholars who in various ways have attempted to disfigure or to misconstrue them4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,i ,the correspondence which ,i used in the eleventh chapter1 while describing ,michelangelo's difficulties regarding the final contract with the ,duke of ,urbino1 proves that he had not begun to paint the frescoes of the ,cappella ,paolina in ,october #aedb4 ,they were carried on with interruptions during the next seven years4 ,these pictures1 the last on which his talents were employed1 are two large subjects3 the ,conversion of ,s4 ,paul1 and the ,martyrdom of ,s4 ,peter4 ,they have suffered from smoke and other injuries of time even more than the frescoes of the ,sistine1 and can now be scarcely appreciated owing to discoloration4 ,nevertheless1 at no period1 even when fresh from the master's hand1 can they have been typical of his style4 ,it is true that contemporaries were not of this opinion4 ,condivi calls both of them stupendous not only in the general exposition of the histories but also in the details of each figure4 ,it is also true that the technical finish of these large compositions shows a perfect mastery of painting1 and that the great designer has not lost his power of dealing at will with the human body4 ,but the frigidity of old age had fallen on his feeling and imagination4 ,the faces of his saints and angels here are more inexpressive than those of the ,last ,judgment4 ,the type of form has become still more rigidly schematic4 ,all those figures in violent attitudes have been invented in the artist's brain without reference to nature2 and the activity of movement which he means to suggest1 is frozen1 petrified1 suspended4 ,the suppleness1 the elasticity1 the sympathy with which ,michelangelo handled the nude1 when he began to paint in the ,sistine ,chapel1 have disappeared4 ,we cannot refrain from regretting that seven years of his energetic old age should have been devoted to work so obviously indicative of decaying faculties4 ,the ,cappella ,paolina ran a risk of destruction by fire during the course of his operations there4 ,michelangelo wrote to ,del ,riccio in #aede1 reminding him that part of the roof had been consumed1 and that it would be necessary to cover it in roughly at once1 since the rain was damaging the frescoes and weakening the walls4 ,when they were finished1 ,paul ,,iii4 appointed an official guardian with a fixed salary1 whose sole business it should be to clean the frescoes well and keep them in a state of cleanliness1 free from dust and other impurities1 as also from the smoke of candles lighted in both chapels during divine service4 ,this man had charge of the ,sistine as well as the ,pauline ,chapel2 but his office does not seem to have been continued after the death of the ,farnese4 ,the first guardian nominated was ,buonarroti's favourite servant ,urbino4 ,vasari1 after describing these frescoes in some detail1 but without his customary enthusiasm1 goes on to observe3 ,michelangelo attended only1 as ,i have elsewhere said1 to the perfection of art4 ,there are no landscapes1 nor trees1 nor houses2 nor again do we find in his work that variety of movement and prettiness which may be noticed in the pictures of other men4 ,he always neglected such decoration1 being unwilling to lower his lofty genius to these details4 ,this is indeed true of the arid desert of the ,pauline frescoes4 ,then he adds3 ,they were his last productions in painting4 ,he was seventy-five years old when he carried them to completion2 and1 as he informed me1 he did so with great effort and fatigue--painting1 after a certain age1 and especially fresco-painting1 not being in truth fit work for old men4 ,the first of two acute illnesses1 which showed that ,michelangelo's constitution was beginning to give way1 happened in the summer of #aedd4 ,on this occasion ,luigi del ,riccio took him into his own apartments at the ,casa ,strozzi2 and here he nursed him with such personal devotion that the old man afterwards regarded ,del ,riccio as the saviour of his life4 ,we learn this from the following pathetic sonnet3-- ,it happens that the sweet unfathomed sea ,of seeming courtesy sometimes doth hide ,offence to life and honour4 ,this descried1 ,i hold less dear the health restored to me4 ,he who lends wings of hope1 while secretly ,he spreads a traitorous snare by the wayside1 ,hath dulled the flame of love1 and mortified ,friendship where friendship burns most fervently4 ,keep then1 my dear ,luigi1 clear and fare1 ,that ancient love to which my life ,i owe1 ,that neither wind nor storm its calm may mar4 ,for wrath and pain our gratitude obscure2 ,and if the truest truth of love ,i know1 ,one pang outweighs a thousand pleasures far4 ,ruberto ,strozzi1 who was then in ,france1 wrote anxiously inquiring after his health4 ,in reply1 ,michelangelo sent ,strozzi a singular message by ,luigi del ,riccio1 to the effect that if the king of ,france restored ,florence to liberty1 he was ready to make his statue on horseback out of bronze at his own cost1 and set it up in the ,piazza4 ,this throws some light upon a passage in a letter addressed subsequently to ,lionardo ,buonarroti1 when the tyrannous law1 termed ,la ,polverina1 enacted against malcontents by the ,duke ,cosimo de' ,medici1 was disturbing the minds of ,florentine citizens4 ,michelangelo then wrote as follows3 ,i am glad that you gave me news of the edict2 because1 if ,i have been careful up to this date in my conversation with exiles1 ,i shall take more precautions for the future4 ,as to my having been laid up with an illness in the house of the ,strozzi1 ,i do not hold that ,i was in their house1 but in the apartment of ,messer ,luigi del ,riccio1 who was my intimate friend2 and after the death of ,bartolommeo ,angelini1 ,i found no one better able to transact my affairs1 or more faithfully1 than he did4 ,when he died1 ,i ceased to frequent the house1 as all ,rome can bear me witness2 as they can also with regard to the general tenor of my life1 inasmuch as ,i am always alone1 go little around1 and talk to no one1 least of all to ,florentines4 ,when ,i am saluted on the open street1 ,i cannot do less than respond with fair words and pass upon my way4 ,had ,i knowledge of the exiles1 who they are1 ,i would not reply to them in any manner4 ,as ,i have said1 ,i shall henceforward protect myself with diligence1 the more that ,i have so much else to think about that ,i find it difficult to live4 ,this letter of #aedh1 taken in connection with the circumstances of ,michelangelo's illness in #aedd1 his exchange of messages with ,ruberto degli ,strozzi1 his gift of the two ,captives to that gentleman1 and his presence in the house of the ,strozzi during his recovery1 shows the delicacy of the political situation at ,florence under ,cosimo's rule4 ,slight indications of a reactionary spirit in the aged artist exposed his family to peril4 ,living in ,rome1 ,michelangelo risked nothing with the ,florentine government4 ,but ,la ,polverina attacked the heirs of exiles in their property and persons4 ,it was therefore of importance to establish his non-complicity in revolutionary intrigues4 ,luckily for himself and his nephew1 he could make out a good case and defend his conduct4 ,though ,buonarroti's sympathies and sentiments inclined him to prefer a republic in his native city1 and though he threw his weight into that scale at the crisis of the siege1 he did not forget his early obligations to the ,house of ,medici4 ,clement ,,vii4 accepted his allegiance when the siege was over1 and set him immediately to work at the tasks he wished him to perform4 ,what is more1 the ,pope took pains and trouble to settle the differences between him and the ,duke of ,urbino4 ,the man had been no conspirator4 ,the architect and sculptor was coveted by every pope and prince in ,italy4 ,still there remained a discord between his political instincts1 however prudently and privately indulged1 and his sense of personal loyalty to the family at whose board he sat in youth1 and to whom he owed his advancement in life4 ,accordingly1 we shall find that1 though the ,duke of ,tuscany made advances to win him back to ,florence1 ,michelangelo always preferred to live and die on neutral ground in ,rome4 ,like the wise man that he was1 he seems to have felt through these troublous times that his own duty1 the service laid on him by ,god and nature1 was to keep his force and mental faculties for art2 obliging old patrons in all kindly offices1 suppressing republican aspirations--in one word1 sticking to his last1 and steering clear of shoals on which the main raft of his life might founder4 ,from this digression1 which was needful to explain his attitude toward ,florence and part of his psychology1 ,i return to the incidents of ,michelangelo's illness at ,rome in #aedd4 ,lionardo1 having news of his uncle's danger1 came post-haste to ,rome4 ,this was his simple duty1 as a loving relative4 ,but the old man1 rendered suspicious by previous transactions with his family1 did not take the action in its proper light4 ,we have a letter1 indorsed by ,lionardo in ,rome as received upon the #aath of ,july1 to this effect3 ,lionardo1 ,i have been ill2 and you1 at the instance of ,ser ,giovan ,francesco 7probably ,fattucci71 have come to make me dead1 and to see what ,i have left4 ,is there not enough of mine at ,florence to content you8 ,you cannot deny that you are the image of your father1 who turned me out of my own house in ,florence4 ,know that ,i have made a will of such tenor that you need not trouble your head about what ,i possess at ,rome4 ,go then with ,god1 and do not present yourself before me2 and do not write to me again1 and act like the priest in the fable4 ,the correspondence between uncle and nephew during the next months proves that this furious letter wrought no diminution of mutual regard and affection4 ,before the end of the year he must have recovered1 for we find him writing to ,del ,riccio3 ,i am well again now1 and hope to live yet some years1 seeing that ,god has placed my health under the care of ,maestro ,baccio ,rontini and the trebbian wine of the ,ulivieri4 ,this letter is referred to ,january #aede1 and on the #ith of that month he dictated a letter to his friend ,del ,riccio1 in which he tells ,lionardo ,buonarroti3 ,i do not feel well1 and cannot write4 ,nevertheless ,i have recovered from my illness1 and suffer no pain now4 ,we have reason to think that ,michelangelo fell gravely ill again toward the close of #aede4 ,news came to ,florence that he was dying2 and ,lionardo1 not intimidated by his experience on the last occasion1 set out to visit him4 ,his ricordo of the journey was as follows3 ,i note how on the #aeth of ,january #aede 7,flor4 style1 i4e4 #aedf7 ,i went to ,rome by post to see ,michelangelo1 who was ill1 and returned to-day1 the #bfth4 ,it is not quite easy to separate the records of these two acute illnesses of ,michelangelo1 falling between the summer of #aedd and the early spring of #aedf4 ,still1 there is no doubt that they signalised his passage from robust old age into a period of physical decline4 ,much of life survived in the hero yet2 he had still to mould ,s4 ,peter's after his own mind1 and to invent the cupola4 ,intellectually he suffered no diminution1 but he became subject to a chronic disease of the bladder1 and adopted habits suited to decaying faculty4 ,,ii ,we have seen that ,michelangelo regarded ,luigi del ,riccio as his most trusty friend and adviser4 ,the letters which he wrote to him during these years turn mainly upon business or poetical compositions4 ,some1 however1 throw light upon the private life of both men1 and on the nature of their intimacy4 ,i will select a few for special comment here4 ,the following has no date2 but it is interesting1 because we may connect the feeling expressed in it with one of ,michelangelo's familiar sonnets4 ,dear ,messer ,luigi1 since ,i know you are as great a master of ceremonies as ,i am unfit for that trade1 ,i beg you to help me in a little matter4 ,monsignor di ,todi 7,federigo ,cesi1 afterwards ,cardinal of ,s4 ,pancrazio7 has made me a present1 which ,urbino will describe to you4 ,i think you are a friend of his lordship3 will you then thank him in my name1 when you find a suitable occasion1 and do so with those compliments which come easily to you1 and to me are very hard8 ,make me too your debtor for some tartlet4 ,the sonnet is ,no4 ix of ,signor ,guasti's edition4 ,i have translated it thus3-- ,the sugar1 candles1 and the saddled mule1 ,together with your cask of malvoisie1 ,so far exceed all my necessity ,that ,michael and not ,i my debt must rule4 ,in such a glassy calm the breezes fool ,my sinking sails1 so that amid the sea ,my bark hath missed her way1 and seems to be ,a wisp of straw whirled on a weltering pool4 ,to yield thee gift for gift and grace for grace1 ,for food and drink and carriage to and fro1 ,for all my need in every time and place1 ,o my dear lord1 matched with the much ,i owe1 ,all that ,i am were no real recompense3 ,paying a debt is not munificence4 ,in the chapter upon ,michelangelo's poetry ,i dwelt at length upon ,luigi del ,riccio's passionate affection for his cousin1 ,cecchino dei ,bracci4 ,this youth died at the age of sixteen1 on ,january #h1 #aede4 ,michelangelo undertook to design the modest sepulchre of marble erected to his memory by ,del ,riccio in the church of ,araceli4 ,he also began to write sonnets1 madrigals1 and epitaphs1 which were sent from day to day4 ,one of his letters gives an explanation of the eighth epitaph3 ,our dead friend speaks and says3 if the heavens robbed all beauty from all other men on earth to make me only1 as indeed they made me1 beautiful2 and if by the divine decree ,i must return at doomsday to the shape ,i bore in life1 it follows that ,i cannot give back the beauty robbed from others and bestowed on me1 but that ,i must remain for ever more beautiful than the rest1 and they be ugly4 ,this is just the opposite of the conceit you expressed to me yesterday2 the one is a fable1 the other is the truth4 ,some time in #aede ,luigi went to ,lyons on a visit to ,ruberto ,strozzi and ,giuliano de' ,medici4 ,this seems to have happened toward the end of the year2 for we possess a letter indorsed by him1 sent to ,lyons1 and returned upon the #bbnd of ,december4 ,this document contains several interesting details4 ,all your friends are extremely grieved to hear about your illness1 the more so that we cannot help you2 especially ,messer ,donato 7,giannotti7 and myself4 ,however1 we hope that it may turn out to be no serious affair1 ,god willing4 ,in another letter ,i told you that1 if you stayed away long1 ,i meant to come to see you4 ,this ,i repeat2 for now that ,i have lost the ,piacenza ferry1 and cannot live at ,rome without income1 ,i would rather spend the little that ,i have in hostelries1 than crawl about here1 cramped up like a penniless cripple4 ,so1 if nothing happens1 ,i have a mind to go to ,s4 ,james of ,compostella after ,easter2 and if you have not returned1 ,i should like to travel through any place where ,i shall hear that you are staying4 ,urbino has spoken to ,messer ,aurelio1 and will speak again4 ,from what he tells me1 ,i think that you will get the site you wanted for the tomb of ,cecchino4 ,it is nearly finished1 and will turn out handsome4 ,michelangelo's project of going upon pilgrimage to ,galicia shows that his health was then good4 ,but we know that he soon afterwards had another serious illness2 and the scheme was abandoned4 ,this long and close friendship with ,luigi comes to a sudden termination in one of those stormy outbursts of petulant rage which form a special feature of ,michelangelo's psychology4 ,some angry words passed between them about an engraving1 possibly of the ,last ,judgment1 which ,buonarroti wanted to destroy1 while ,del ,riccio refused to obliterate the plate3-- ,messer ,luigi1--,you seem to think ,i shall reply according to your wishes1 when the case is quite the contrary4 ,you give me what ,i have refused1 and refuse me what ,i begged4 ,and it is not ignorance which makes you send it me through ,ercole1 when you are ashamed to give it me yourself4 ,one who saved my life has certainly the power to disgrace me2 but ,i do not know which is the heavier to bear1 disgrace or death4 ,therefore ,i beg and entreat you1 by the true friendship which exists between us1 to spoil that print 7stampa71 and to burn the copies that are already printed off4 ,and if you choose to buy and sell me1 do not so to others4 ,if you hack me into a thousand pieces1 ,i will do the same1 not indeed to yourself1 but to what belongs to you4 ,michelangelo ,buonarroti4 ,not painter1 nor sculptor1 nor architect1 but what you will1 but not a drunkard1 as you said at your house4 ,unfortunately1 this is the last of the ,del ,riccio's letters4 ,it is very probable that the irascible artist speedily recovered his usual tone1 and returned to amity with his old friend4 ,but ,del ,riccio departed this life toward the close of this year1 #aedf4 ,before resuming the narrative of ,michelangelo's art-work at this period1 ,i must refer to the correspondence which passed between him and ,king ,francis ,i4 ,the ,king wrote an epistle in the spring of #aedf1 requesting some fine monument from the illustrious master's hand4 ,michelangelo replied upon the #bfth of ,april1 in language of simple and respectful dignity1 fine1 as coming from an aged artist to a monarch on the eve of death3-- ,sacred ,majesty1--,i know not which is greater1 the favour1 or the astonishment it stirs in me1 that your ,majesty should have deigned to write to a man of my sort1 and still more to ask him for things of his which are all unworthy of the name of your ,majesty4 ,but be they what they may1 ,i beg your ,majesty to know that for a long while since ,i have desired to serve you2 but not having had an opportunity1 owing to your not being in ,italy1 ,i have been unable to do so4 ,now ,i am old1 and have been occupied these many months with the affairs of ,pope ,paul4 ,but if some space of time is still granted to me after these engagements1 ,i will do my utmost to fulfil the desire which1 as ,i have said above1 has long inspired me3 that is1 to make for your ,majesty one work in marble1 one in bronze1 and one in painting4 ,and if death prevents my carrying out this wish1 should it be possible to make statues or pictures in the other world1 ,i shall not fail to do so there1 where there is no more growing old4 ,and ,i pray ,god that ,he grant your ,majesty a long and a happy life4 ,francis died in #aedg2 and we do not know that any of ,michelangelo's works passed directly into his hands1 with the exception of the ,leda1 purchased through the agency of ,luigi ,alamanni1 and the two ,captives1 presented by ,ruberto ,strozzi4 ,,iii ,the absorbing tasks imposed upon ,buonarroti's energies by ,paul ,,iii41 which are mentioned in this epistle to the ,french king1 were not merely the frescoes of the ,cappella ,paolina1 but also various architectural and engineering schemes of some importance4 ,it is clear1 ,i think1 that at this period of his hale old age1 ,michelangelo preferred to use what still survived in him of vigour and creative genius for things requiring calculation1 or the exercise of meditative fancy4 ,the time had gone by when he could wield the brush and chisel with effective force4 ,he was tired of expressing his sense of beauty and the deep thoughts of his brain in sculptured marble or on frescoed surfaces4 ,he had exhausted the human form as a symbol of artistic utterance4 ,but the extraordinary richness of his vein enabled him still to deal with abstract mathematical proportions in the art of building1 and with rhythms in the art of writing4 ,his best work1 both as architect and poet1 belongs to the period when he had lost power as sculptor and painter4 ,this fact is psychologically interesting4 ,up to the age of seventy1 he had been working in the plastic and the concrete4 ,the language he had learned1 and used with overwhelming mastery1 was man3 physical mankind1 converted into spiritual vehicle by art4 ,his grasp upon this region failed him now4 ,perhaps there was not the old sympathy with lovely shapes4 ,perhaps he knew that he had played on every gamut of that lyre4 ,emerging from the sphere of the sensuous1 where ideas take plastic embodiment1 he grappled in this final stage of his career with harmonical ratios and direct verbal expression1 where ideas are disengaged from figurative form4 ,the men and women1 loved by him so long1 so wonderfully wrought into imperishable shapes1 nurslings of immortality1 recede4 ,in their room arise1 above the horizon of his intellect1 the cupola of ,s4 ,peter's and a few imperishable poems1 which will live as long as ,italian claims a place among the languages4 ,there is no comparison to be instituted between his actual achievements as a builder and a versifier4 ,the whole tenor of his life made him more competent to deal with architecture than with literature4 ,nevertheless1 it is significant that the versatile genius of the man was henceforth restricted to these two channels of expression1 and that in both of them his last twenty years of existence produced bloom and fruit of unexpected rarity4 ,after writing this paragraph1 and before ,i engage in the narrative of what is certainly the final manifestation of ,michelangelo's genius as a creative artist1 ,i ought perhaps to pause1 and to give some account of those survivals from his plastic impulse1 which occupied the old man's energies for several years4 ,they were entirely the outcome of religious feeling2 and it is curious to notice that he never approached so nearly to true ,christian sentiment as in the fragmentary designs which we may still abundantly collect from this late autumn of his artist's life4 ,there are countless drawings for some great picture of the ,crucifixion1 which was never finished3 exquisite in delicacy of touch1 sublime in conception1 dignified in breadth and grand repose of style4 ,condivi tells us that some of these were made for the ,marchioness of ,pescara4 ,but ,michelangelo must have gone on producing them long after her death4 ,with these phantoms of stupendous works to be1 the ,museums of ,europe abound4 ,we cannot bring them together1 or condense them into a single centralised conception4 ,their interest consists in their divergence and variety1 showing the continuous poring of the master's mind upon a theme he could not definitely grasp4 ,for those who love his work1 and are in sympathy with his manner1 these drawings1 mostly in chalk1 and very finely handled1 have a supreme interest4 ,they show him1 in one sense1 at his highest and his best1 not only as a man of tender feeling1 but also as a mighty draughtsman4 ,their incompleteness testifies to something pathetic--the humility of the imperious man before a theme he found to be beyond the reach of human faculty4 ,the tone1 the ,stimmung1 of these designs corresponds so exactly to the sonnets of the same late period1 that ,i feel impelled at this point to make his poetry take up the tale4 ,but1 as ,i cannot bring the cloud of witnesses of all those drawings into this small book1 so am ,i unwilling to load its pages with poems which may be found elsewhere4 ,those who care to learn the heart of ,michelangelo1 when he felt near to ,god and face to face with death1 will easily find access to the originals4 ,concerning the ,deposition from the ,cross1 which now stands behind the high altar of the ,florentine ,duomo1 ,condivi writes as follows3 ,at the present time he has in hand a work in marble1 which he carries on for his pleasure1 as being one who1 teeming with conceptions1 must needs give birth each day to some of them4 ,it is a group of four figures larger than life4 ,a ,christ taken from the cross1 sustained in death by his ,mother1 who is represented in an attitude of marvellous pathos1 leaning up against the corpse with breast1 with arms1 and lifted knee4 ,nicodemus from above assists her1 standing erect and firmly planted1 propping the dead ,christ with a sturdy effort2 while one of the ,maries1 on the left side1 though plunged in sorrow1 does all she can to assist the afflicted ,mother1 failing under the attempt to raise her ,son4 ,it would be quite impossible to describe the beauty of style displayed in this group1 or the sublime emotions expressed in those woe-stricken countenances4 ,i am confident that the ,piet is one of his rarest and most difficult masterpieces2 particularly because the figures are kept apart distinctly1 nor does the drapery of the one intermingle with that of the others4 ,this panegyric is by no means pitched too high4 ,justice has hardly been done in recent times to the noble conception1 the intense feeling1 and the broad manner of this ,deposition4 ,that may be due in part to the dull twilight in which the group is plunged1 depriving all its lines of salience and relief4 ,it is also true that in certain respects the composition is fairly open to adverse criticism4 ,the torso of ,christ overweighs the total scheme2 and his legs are unnaturally attenuated4 ,the kneeling woman on the left side is slender1 and appears too small in proportion to the other figures2 though1 if she stood erect1 it is probable that her height would be sufficient4 ,the best way to study ,michelangelo's last work in marble is to take the admirable photograph produced under artificial illumination by ,alinari4 ,no sympathetic mind will fail to feel that we are in immediate contact with the sculptor's very soul1 at the close of his life1 when all his thoughts were weaned from earthly beauty1 and he cried-- ,painting nor sculpture now can lull to rest ,my soul1 that turns to his great love on high1 ,whose arms to clasp us on the cross were spread4 ,as a ,french critic has observed3 ,it is the most intimately personal and the most pathetic of his works4 ,the idea of penitence exhales from it4 ,the marble preaches the sufferings of the ,passion2 it makes us listen to an act of bitter contrition and an act of sorrowing love4 ,michelangelo is said to have designed the ,piet for his own monument4 ,in the person of ,nicodemus1 it is he who sustains his dead ,lord in the gloom of the sombre ,duomo4 ,his old sad face1 surrounded by the heavy cowl1 looks down for ever with a tenderness beyond expression1 repeating mutely through the years how much of anguish and of blood divine the redemption of man's soul hath cost4 ,the history of this great poem in marble1 abandoned by its maker in some mood of deep dejection1 is not without interest4 ,we are told that the stone selected was a capital from one of the eight huge columns of the ,temple of ,peace4 ,besides being hard and difficult to handle1 the material betrayed flaws in working4 ,this circumstance annoyed the master2 also1 as he informed ,vasari1 ,urbino kept continually urging him to finish it4 ,one of his reasons for attacking the block had been to keep himself in health by exercise4 ,accordingly he hewed away with fury1 and bit so deep into the marble that he injured one of the ,madonna's elbows4 ,when this happened1 it was his invariable practice to abandon the piece he had begun upon1 feeling that an incomplete performance was preferable to a lame conclusion4 ,in his old age he suffered from sleeplessness2 and it was his habit to rise from bed and work upon the ,piet1 wearing a thick paper cap1 in which he placed a lighted candle made of goat's tallow4 ,this method of chiselling by the light of one candle must have complicated the technical difficulties of his labour4 ,but what we may perhaps surmise to have been his final motive for the rejection of the work1 was a sense of his inability1 with diminished powers of execution1 and a still more vivid sense of the importance of the motive1 to accomplish what the brain conceived4 ,the hand failed4 ,the imagination of the subject grew more intimate and energetic4 ,losing patience then at last1 he took a hammer and began to break the group up4 ,indeed1 the right arm of the ,mary shows a fracture4 ,the left arm of the ,christ is mutilated in several places4 ,one of the nipples has been repaired1 and the hand of the ,madonna resting on the breast above it is cracked across4 ,it would have been difficult to reduce the whole huge block to fragments2 and when the work of destruction had advanced so far1 ,michelangelo's servant ,antonio1 the successor to ,urbino1 begged the remnants from his master4 ,tiberio ,calcagni was a good friend of ,buonarroti's at this time4 ,he heard that ,francesco ,bandini1 a ,florentine settled in exile at ,rome1 earnestly desired some relic of the master's work4 ,accordingly1 ,calgagni1 with ,michelangelo's consent1 bought the broken marble from ,antonio for #bjj crowns1 pieced it together1 and began to mend it4 ,fortunately1 he does not seem to have elaborated the surface in any important particular2 for both the finished and unfinished parts bear indubitable marks of ,michelangelo's own handling4 ,after the death of ,calcagni and ,bandini1 the ,piet remained for some time in the garden of ,antonio1 ,bandini's heir1 at ,montecavallo4 ,it was transferred to ,florence1 and placed among the marbles used in erecting the new ,medicean ,chapel1 until at last1 in #agbb1 the ,grand ,duke ,cosimo ,,iii4 finally set it up behind the altar of the ,duomo4 ,vasari adds that ,michelangelo began another ,piet in marble on a much smaller scale4 ,it is possible that this may have been the unfinished group of two figures 7a dead ,christ sustained by a bending man71 of which there is a cast in the ,accademia at ,florence4 ,in some respects the composition of this fragment bears a strong resemblance to the puzzling ,deposition from the ,cross in our ,national ,gallery4 ,the trailing languor of the dead ,christ's limbs is almost identical in the marble and the painting4 ,while speaking of these several ,piets1 ,i must not forget the medallion in high relief of the ,madonna clasping her dead ,son1 which adorns the ,albergo dei ,poveri at ,genoa4 ,it is ascribed to ,michelangelo1 was early believed to be his1 and is still accepted without hesitation by competent judges4 ,in spite of its strongly marked ,michelangelesque mannerism1 both as regards feeling1 facial type1 and design1 ,i cannot regard the bas-relief1 in its present condition at least1 as a genuine work1 but rather as the production of some imitator1 or the rifacimento of a restorer4 ,a similar impression may here be recorded regarding the noble portrait-bust in marble of ,pope ,paul ,,iii4 at ,naples4 ,this too has been attributed to ,michelangelo4 ,but there is no external evidence to support the tradition1 while the internal evidence from style and technical manipulation weighs strongly against it4 ,the medallions introduced upon the heavily embroidered cope are not in his style4 ,the treatment of the adolescent female form in particular indicates a different temperament4 ,were the ascription made to ,benvenuto ,cellini1 we might have more easily accepted it4 ,but ,cellini would certainly have enlarged upon so important a piece of sculpture in his ,memoirs4 ,if then we are left to mere conjecture1 it would be convenient to suggest ,guglielmo della ,porta1 who executed the ,farnese monument in ,s4 ,peter's4 ,,iv ,while still a ,cardinal1 ,paul ,,iii4 began to rebuild the old palace of the ,farnesi on the ,tiber shore4 ,it closes one end of the great open space called the ,campo di ,fiore1 and stands opposite to the ,villa ,farnesina1 on the right bank of the river4 ,antonio da ,sangallo was the architect employed upon this work1 which advanced slowly until ,alessandro ,farnese's elevation to the ,papacy4 ,he then determined to push the building forward1 and to complete it on a scale of magnificence befitting the supreme ,pontiff4 ,sangallo had carried the walls up to the second story4 ,the third remained to be accomplished1 and the cornice had to be constructed4 ,paul was not satisfied with ,sangallo's design1 and referred it to ,michelangelo for criticism --possibly in #aedd4 ,the result was a report1 which we still possess1 in which ,buonarroti1 basing his opinion on principles derived from ,vitruvius1 severely blames ,sangallo's plan under six separate heads4 ,he does not leave a single merit1 as regards either harmony of proportion1 or purity of style1 or elegance of composition1 or practical convenience1 or decorative beauty1 or distribution of parts4 ,he calls the cornice barbarous1 confused1 bastard in style1 discordant with the rest of the building1 and so ill suited to the palace as1 if carried out1 to threaten the walls with destruction4 ,this document has considerable interest1 partly as illustrating ,michelangelo's views on architecture in general1 and displaying a pedantry of which he was never elsewhere guilty1 partly as explaining the bitter hostility aroused against him in ,sangallo and the whole tribe of that great architect's adherents4 ,we do not1 unfortunately1 possess the design upon which the report was made4 ,but1 even granting that it must have been defective1 ,michelangelo1 who professed that architecture was not his art1 might1 one thinks1 have spared his rival such extremity of adverse criticism4 ,it exposed him to the taunts of rivals and ill-wishers2 justified them in calling him presumptuous1 and gave them a plausible excuse when they accused him of jealousy4 ,what made it worse was1 that his own large building1 the ,laurentian ,library1 glaringly exhibits all the defects he discovered in ,sangallo's cornice4 ,i find it difficult to resist the impression that ,michelangelo was responsible1 to a large extent1 for the ill-will of those artists whom ,vasari calls la setta ,sangallesca4 ,his life became embittered by their animosity1 and his industry as ,papal architect continued to be hampered for many years by their intrigues4 ,but he alone was to blame at the beginning1 not so much for expressing an honest opinion1 as for doing so with insulting severity4 ,that ,michelangelo may have been right in his condemnation of ,sangallo's cornice is of course possible4 ,paul himself was dissatisfied1 and eventually threw that portion of the building open to competition4 ,perino del ,vaga1 ,sebastiano del ,piombo1 and the young ,giorgio ,vasari are said to have furnished designs4 ,michelangelo did so also2 and his plan was not only accepted1 but eventually carried out4 ,nevertheless ,sangallo1 one of the most illustrious professional architects then alive1 could not but have felt deeply wounded by the treatment he received4 ,it was natural for his followers to exclaim that ,buonarroti had contrived to oust their aged master1 and to get a valuable commission into his own grasp1 by the discourteous exercise of his commanding prestige in the world of art4 ,in order to be just to ,michelangelo1 we must remember that he was always singularly modest in regard to his own performances1 and severe in self-criticism4 ,neither in his letters nor in his poems does a single word of self-complacency escape his pen4 ,he sincerely felt himself to be an unprofitable servant3 that was part of his constitutional depression4 ,we know1 too1 that he allowed strong temporary feelings to control his utterance4 ,the cruel criticism of ,sangallo may therefore have been quite devoid of malice2 and if it was as well founded as the criticism of that builder's plan for ,s4 ,peter's1 then ,michelangelo stands acquitted4 ,sangallo's model exists2 it is so large that you can walk inside it1 and compare your own impressions with the following judgment3-- ,it cannot be denied that ,bramante's talent as an architect was equal to that of any one from the times of the ancients until now4 ,he laid the first plan of ,s4 ,peter1 not confused1 but clear and simple1 full of light and detached from surrounding buildings1 so that it interfered with no part of the palace4 ,it was considered a very fine design1 and indeed any one can see now that it is so4 ,all the architects who departed from ,bramante's scheme1 as ,sangallo has done1 have departed from the truth2 and those who have unprejudiced eyes can observe this in his model4 ,sangallo's ring of chapels takes light from the interior as ,bramante planned it2 and not only this1 but he has provided no other means of lighting1 and there are so many hiding-places1 above and below1 all dark1 which lend themselves to innumerable knaveries1 that the church would become a secret den for harbouring bandits1 false coiners1 for debauching nuns1 and doing all sorts of rascality2 and when it was shut up at night1 twenty-five men would be needed to search the building for rogues hidden there1 and it would be difficult enough to find them4 ,there is1 besides1 another inconvenience3 the interior circle of buildings added to ,bramante's plan would necessitate the destruction of the ,paoline ,chapel1 the offices of the ,piombo and the ,ruota1 and more besides4 ,i do not think that even the ,sistine would escape4 ,after this ,michelangelo adds that to remove the out-works and foundations begun upon ,sangallo's plan would not cost #ajj1jjj crowns1 as the sect alleged1 but only #af1jjj1 ,the material would be infinitely useful1 the foundations important for the building1 and the whole fabric would profit in something like #bjj1jjj crowns and #cjj years of time4 ,this is my dispassionate opinion2 and ,i say this in truth1 for to gain a victory here would be my own incalculable loss4 ,michelangelo means that1 at the time when he wrote the letter in question1 it was still in doubt whether ,sangallo's design should be carried out or his own adopted2 and1 as usual1 he looked forward with dread to undertaking a colossal architectural task4 ,v ,returning to the ,palazzo ,farnese1 it only remains to be said that ,michelangelo lived to complete the edifice4 ,his genius was responsible for the inharmonious window above the main entrance4 ,according to ,vasari1 he not only finished the exterior from the second story upwards1 but designed the whole of the central courtyard above the first story1 making it the finest thing of its sort in ,europe4 ,the interior1 with the halls painted by ,annibale ,caracci1 owed its disposition into chambers and galleries to his invention4 ,the cornice has always been reckoned among his indubitable successes1 combining as it does salience and audacity with a grand heroic air of grace4 ,it has been criticised for disproportionate projection2 and ,michelangelo seems to have felt uneasy on this score1 since he caused a wooden model of the right size to be made and placed upon the wall1 in order to judge of its effect4 ,taken as a whole1 the ,palazzo ,farnese remains the most splendid of the noble ,roman houses1 surpassing all the rest in pomp and pride1 though falling short of ,peruzzi's ,palazzo ,massimo in beauty4 ,the catastrophe of #aebg1 when ,rome was taken by assault on the side of the ,borgo without effective resistance being possible1 rendered the fortification of the city absolutely necessary4 ,paul ,,iii determined to secure a position of such vital importance to the ,vatican by bastions4 ,accordingly he convened a diet of notables1 including his architect-in-chief1 ,antonio da ,sangallo4 ,he also wished to profit by ,michelangelo's experience1 remembering the stout resistance offered to the ,prince of ,orange by his outworks at ,s4 ,miniato4 ,vasari tells an anecdote regarding this meeting which illustrates the mutual bad feeling of the two illustrious artists4 ,after much discussion1 the opinion of ,buonarroti was requested4 ,he had conceived views widely differing on those of ,sangallo and several others1 and these he expressed frankly4 ,whereupon ,sangallo told him that sculpture and painting were his trade1 not fortification4 ,he replied that about them he knew but little1 whereas the anxious thought he had given to city defences1 the time he had spent1 and the experience he had practically gained in constructing them1 made him superior in that art to ,sangallo and all the masters of his family4 ,he proceeded to point out before all present numerous errors in the works4 ,heated words passed on both sides1 and the ,pope had to reduce the men to silence4 ,before long he brought a plan for the fortification of the whole ,borgo1 which opened the eyes of those in power to the scheme which was finally adopted4 ,owing to changes he suggested1 the great gate of ,santo ,spirito1 designed by ,sangallo and nearly finished1 was left incomplete4 ,it is not clear what changes were introduced into ,sangallo's scheme4 ,they certainly involved drawing the line of defence much closer to the city than he intended4 ,this approved itself to ,pier ,luigi ,farnese1 then ,duke of ,castro1 who presided over the meetings of the military committee4 ,it was customary in carrying out the works of fortification to associate a practical engineer with the architect who provided designs2 and one of these men1 ,gian ,francesco ,montemellino1 a trusted servant of the ,farnesi1 strongly supported the alteration4 ,that ,michelangelo agreed with ,montemellino1 and felt that they could work together1 appears from a letter addressed to the ,castellano of ,s4 ,angelo4 ,it seems to have been written soon after the dispute recorded by ,vasari4 ,in it he states1 that although he differs in many respects from the persons who had hitherto controlled the works1 yet he thinks it better not to abandon them altogether1 but to correct them1 alter the superintendence1 and put ,montemellino at the head of the direction4 ,this would prevent the ,pope from becoming disgusted with such frequent changes4 ,if affairs took the course he indicated1 he was ready to offer his assistance1 not in the capacity of colleague1 but as a servant to command in all things4 ,nothing is here said openly about ,sangallo1 who remained architect-in-chief until his death4 ,still the covert wish expressed that the superintendence might be altered1 shows a spirit of hostility against him2 and a new plan for the lines must soon have been adopted4 ,a despatch written to the ,duke of ,parma in ,september #aede informs him that the old works were being abandoned1 with the exception of the grand ,doric gateway of ,s4 ,spirito4 ,this is described at some length in another despatch of ,january #aedf4 ,later on1 in #aeeg1 we find ,michelangelo working as architect-in-chief with ,jacopo ,meleghino under his direction1 but the fortifications were eventually carried through by a more competent engineer1 one ,jacopo ,fusto ,castriotto of ,urbino4 ,,vi ,antonio da ,sangallo died on ,october #c1 #aedf1 at ,terni1 while engaged in engineering works intended to drain the ,lake ,velino4 ,michelangelo immediately succeeded to the offices and employments he had held at ,rome4 ,of these1 the most important was the post of architect-in-chief at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,paul ,,iii4 conferred it upon him for life by a brief dated ,january #a1 #aedg4 ,he is there named commissary1 prefect1 surveyor of the works1 and architect1 with full authority to change the model1 form1 and structure of the church at pleasure1 and to dismiss and remove the working-men and foremen employed upon the same4 ,the ,pope intended to attach a special stipend to the onerous charge1 but ,michelangelo declined this honorarium1 declaring that he meant to labour without recompense1 for the love of ,god and the reverence he felt for the ,prince of the ,apostles4 ,although he might have had money for the asking1 and sums were actually sent as presents by his ,papal master1 he persisted in this resolution1 working steadily at ,s4 ,peter's without pay1 until death gave him rest4 ,michelangelo's career as servant to a ,pope began with the design of that tomb which led ,julius ,,ii4 to destroy the old ,s4 ,peter's4 ,he was now entering1 after forty-two years1 upon the last stage of his long life4 ,before the end came1 he gave final form to the main features of the great basilica1 raising the dome which dominates the ,roman landscape like a stationary cloud upon the sky-line4 ,what had happened to the edifice in the interval between #aeje and #aedg must be briefly narrated1 although it is not within the scope of this work to give a complete history of the building4 ,bramante's original design had been to construct the church in the form of a ,greek cross1 with four large semi-circular apses4 ,the four angles made by the projecting arms of the cross were to be filled in with a complex but well-ordered scheme of shrines and chapels1 so that externally the edifice would have presented the aspect of a square4 ,the central piers1 at the point of junction between the arms of the cross1 supported a broad shallow dome1 modelled upon that of the ,pantheon4 ,similar domes of lesser dimensions crowned the out-buildings4 ,he began by erecting the piers which were intended to support the central dome2 but working hastily and without due regard to solid strength1 ,bramante made these piers too weak to sustain the ponderous mass they had to carry4 ,how he would have rectified this error cannot be conjectured4 ,death cut his labours short in #aead1 and only a small portion of his work remains embedded at the present day within the mightier masses raised beneath ,buonarroti's cupola4 ,leo ,x4 commissioned ,raffaello da ,urbino to continue his kinsman's work1 and appointed ,antonio da ,sangallo to assist him in the month of ,january #aeag4 ,whether it was judged impossible to carry out ,bramante's project of the central dome1 or for some other reason unknown to us1 ,raffaello altered the plan so essentially as to design a basilica upon the conventional ground-plan of such churches4 ,he abandoned the ,greek cross1 and adopted the ,latin form by adding an elongated nave4 ,the central piers were left in their places2 the three terminal apses of the choir and transepts were strengthened1 simplified1 reduced to commonplace4 ,bramante's ground-plan is lucid1 luminous1 and exquisitely ordered in its intricacy4 ,the true creation of a builder-poet's brain1 it illustrates ,leo ,battista ,alberti's definition of the charm of architecture1 tutta quella musica1 that melody and music of a graceful edifice4 ,we are able to understand what ,michelangelo meant when he remarked that all subsequent designers1 by departing from it1 had gone wrong4 ,raffaello's plan1 if carried out1 would have been monotonous and tame inside and out4 ,after the death of ,raffaello in #aebj1 ,baldassare ,peruzzi was appointed to be ,sangallo's colleague4 ,this genial architect1 in whose style all the graces were combined with dignity and strength1 prepared a new design at ,leo's request4 ,vasari1 referring to this period of ,peruzzi's life1 says3 ,the ,pope1 thinking ,bramante's scheme too large and not likely to be in keeping1 obtained a new model from ,baldassare2 magnificent and truly full of fine invention1 also so wisely constructed that certain portions have been adopted by subsequent builders4 ,he reverted to ,bramante's main conception of the ,greek cross1 but altered the details in so many important points1 both by thickening the piers and walls1 and also by complicating the internal disposition of the chapels1 that the effect would have been quite different4 ,the ground-plan1 which is all ,i know of ,peruzzi's project1 has always seemed to me by far the most beautiful and interesting of those laid down for ,s4 ,peter's4 ,it is richer1 more imaginative and suggestive1 than ,bramante's4 ,the style of ,bramante1 in spite of its serene simplicity1 had something which might be described as shallow clearness4 ,in comparison with ,peruzzi's style1 it is what ,gluck's melody is to ,mozart's4 ,the course of public events prevented this scheme from being carried out4 ,first came the pontificate of ,adrian ,,vi41 so sluggish in art-industry2 then the pontificate of ,clement ,,vii41 so disastrous for ,italy and ,rome4 ,many years elapsed before art and literature recovered from the terror and the torpor of #aebg4 ,peruzzi indeed returned to his office at ,s4 ,peter's in #aece1 but his death followed in #aecg1 when ,antonio da ,sangallo remained master of the situation4 ,sangallo had the good sense to preserve many of ,peruzzi's constructive features1 especially in the apses of the choir and transepts2 but he added a vast vestibule1 which gave the church a length equal to that of ,raffaello's plan4 ,externally1 he designed a lofty central cupola and two flanking spires1 curiously combining the ,gothic spirit with ,classical elements of style4 ,in order to fill in the huge spaces of this edifice1 he superimposed tiers of orders one above the other4 ,church1 cupola1 and spires are built up by a succession of ,vitruvian temples1 ascending from the ground into the air4 ,the total impression produced by the mass1 as we behold it now in the great wooden model at ,s4 ,peter's1 is one of bewildering complexity4 ,of architectural repose it possesses little1 except what belongs to a very original and vast conception on a colossal scale4 ,the extent of the structure is frittered by its multiplicity of parts4 ,internally1 as ,michelangelo pointed out1 the church would have been dark1 inconvenient1 and dangerous to public morals4 ,,vii ,whatever we may think of ,michelangelo's failings as an architect1 there is no doubt that at this period of his life he aimed at something broad and heroic in style4 ,he sought to attain grandeur by greatness in the masses and by economy of the constituent parts4 ,his method of securing amplitude was exactly opposite to that of ,sangallo1 who relied upon the multiplication rather than the simplification of details4 ,a kind of organic unity was what ,michelangelo desired4 ,for this reason1 he employed in the construction of ,s4 ,peter's those stupendous orders which out-soar the columns of ,baalbec1 and those grandiose curves which make the cupola majestic4 ,a letter written to the ,cardinal ,ridolfo ,pio of ,carpi contains this explanation of his principles4 ,the last two sentences are highly significant3-- ,most ,reverend ,monsignor1--,if a plan has divers parts1 those which are of one type in respect to quality and quantity have to be decorated in the same way and the same fashion4 ,the like is true of their counterparts4 ,but when the plan changes form entirely1 it is not only allowable1 but necessary1 to change the decorative appurtenances1 as also with their counterparts4 ,the intermediate parts are always free1 left to their own bent4 ,the nose1 which stands in the middle of the forehead1 is not bound to correspond with either of the eyes2 but one hand must balance the other1 and one eye be like its fellow4 ,therefore it may be assumed as certain that the members of an architectural structure follow the laws exemplified in the human body4 ,he who has not been or is not a good master of the nude1 and especially of anatomy1 cannot understand the principles of architecture4 ,it followed that ,michelangelo's first object1 when he became ,papal architect-in-chief1 was to introduce order into the anarchy of previous plans1 and to return1 so far as this was now possible1 to ,bramante's simpler scheme4 ,he adopted the ,greek cross1 and substituted a stately portico for the long vestibule invented by ,sangallo4 ,it was not1 however1 in his nature1 nor did the changed taste of the times permit him to reproduce ,bramante's manner4 ,so far as ,s4 ,peter's bears the mark of ,michelangelo at all1 it represents his own peculiar genius4 ,the ,pope1 says ,vasari1 approved his model1 which reduced the cathedral to smaller dimensions1 but also to a more essential greatness4 ,he discovered that four principal piers1 erected by ,bramante and left standing by ,antonio da ,sangallo1 which had to bear the weight of the tribune1 were feeble4 ,these he fortified in part1 constructing two winding staircases at the side1 with gently sloping steps1 up which beasts of burden ascend with building material1 and one can ride on horseback to the level above the arches4 ,he carried the first cornice1 made of travertine1 round the arches3 a wonderful piece of work1 full of grace1 and very different from the others2 nor could anything be better done in its kind4 ,he began the two great apses of the transept2 and whereas ,bramante ,raffaello1 and ,peruzzi had designed eight tabernacles toward the ,campo ,santo1 which arrangement ,sangallo adhered to1 he reduced them to three1 with three chapels inside4 ,suffice it to say that he began at once to work with diligence and accuracy at all points where the edifice required alteration2 to the end that its main features might be fixed1 and that no one might be able to change what he had planned4 ,vasari adds that this was the provision of a wise and prudent mind4 ,so it was2 but it did not prevent ,michelangelo's successors from defeating his intentions in almost every detail1 except the general effect of the cupola4 ,this will appear in the sequel4 ,antonio da ,sangallo had controlled the building of ,s4 ,peter's for nearly thirty years before ,michelangelo succeeded to his office4 ,during that long space of time he formed a body of architects and workmen who were attached to his person and interested in the execution of his plans4 ,there is good reason to believe that in ,sangallo's days1 as earlier in ,bramante's1 much money of the ,church had been misappropriated by a gang of fraudulent and mutually indulgent craftsmen4 ,it was not to be expected that these people should tamely submit to the intruder who put their master's cherished model on the shelf1 and set about1 in his high-handed way1 to refashion the whole building from the bottom to the top4 ,during ,sangallo's lifetime no love had been lost between him and ,buonarroti1 and after his death it is probable that the latter dealt severely with the creatures of his predecessor4 ,the ,pope had given him unlimited powers of appointing and dismissing subordinates1 controlling operations1 and regulating expenditure4 ,he was a man who abhorred jobs and corruption4 ,a letter written near the close of his life1 when he was dealing only with persons nominated by himself1 proves this4 ,he addressed the ,superintendents of the ,fabric of ,s4 ,peter's as follows3 ,you know that ,i told ,balduccio not to send his lime unless it were good4 ,he has sent bad quality1 and does not seem to think he will be forced to take it back2 which proves that he is in collusion with the person who accepted it4 ,this gives great encouragement to the men ,i have dismissed for similar transactions4 ,one who accepts bad goods needed for the fabric1 when ,i have forbidden them1 is doing nothing else but making friends of people whom ,i have turned into enemies against myself4 ,i believe there will be a new conspiracy4 ,promises1 fees1 presents1 corrupt justice4 ,therefore ,i beg you from this time forward1 by the authority ,i hold from the ,pope1 not to accept anything which is not suitable1 even though it comes to you from heaven4 ,i must not be made to appear1 what ,i am not1 partial in my dealings4 ,this fiery despatch1 indicating not only ,michelangelo's probity1 but also his attention to minute details at the advanced age of eighty-six1 makes it evident that he must have been a stern overseer in the first years of his office1 terrible to the sect of ,sangallo1 who were bent1 on their part1 to discredit him4 ,the sect began to plot and form conspiracies1 feeling the violent old man's bit and bridle on their mouths1 and seeing the firm seat he took upon the saddle4 ,for some reason1 which is not apparent1 they had the ,superintendents of the ,fabric 7a committee1 including cardinals1 appointed by the ,pope7 on their side4 ,probably these officials1 accustomed to ,sangallo and the previous course of things1 disliked to be stirred up and sent about their business by the masterful new-comer4 ,michelangelo's support lay1 as we shall see1 in the four ,popes who followed ,paul ,,iii4 ,they1 with the doubtful exception of ,marcellus ,,ii41 accepted him on trust as a thoroughly honest servant1 and the only artist capable of conducting the great work to its conclusion4 ,in the last resort1 when he was driven to bay1 he offered to resign1 and was invariably coaxed back by the final arbiter4 ,the disinterested spirit in which he fulfilled his duties1 accepting no pay while he gave his time and energy to their performance1 stood him in good stead4 ,nothing speaks better for his perfect probity than that his enemies were unable to bring the slightest charge of peculation or of partiality against him4 ,michelangelo's conduct of affairs at ,s4 ,peter's reflects a splendid light upon the tenor of his life1 and confutes those detractors who have accused him of avarice4 ,the duel between ,michelangelo and the sect opened in #aedg4 ,a letter written by a friend in ,florence on the #adth of ,may proves that his antagonists had then good hopes of crushing him4 ,giovan ,francesco ,ughi begins by saying that he has been silent because he had nothing special to report4 ,but now ,jacopo del ,conte has come here with the wife of ,nanni di ,baccio ,bigio1 alleging that he has brought her because ,nanni is so occupied at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,among other things1 he says that ,nanni means to make a model for the building which will knock yours to nothing4 ,he declares that what you are about is mad and babyish4 ,he means to fling it all down1 since he has quite as much credit with the ,pope as you have4 ,you throw oceans of money away and work by night1 so that nobody may see what you are doing4 ,you follow in the footsteps of a ,spaniard1 having no knowledge of your own about the art of building1 and he less than nothing4 ,nanni stays there in your despite3 you did everything to get him removed2 but the ,pope keeps him1 being convinced that nothing good can be done without him4 ,after this ,ughi goes on to relate how ,michelangelo's enemies are spreading all kinds of reports against his honour and good fame1 criticising the cornice of the ,palazzo ,farnese1 and hoping that its weight will drag the walls down4 ,at the end he adds1 that although he knows one ought not to write about such matters1 yet the man's insolence and blackguardly shamelessness of speech compel him to put his friend on his guard against such calumnies4 ,after the receipt of this letter1 ,michelangelo sent it to one of the ,superintendents of the ,fabric1 on whose sympathy he could reckon1 with the following indorsement in his own handwriting3 ,messer ,bartolommeo 7,ferrantino71 please read this letter1 and take thought who the two rascals are who1 lying thus about what ,i did at the ,palazzo ,farnese1 are now lying in the matter of the information they are laying before the deputies of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,it comes upon me in return for the kindness ,i have shown them4 ,but what else can one expect from a couple of the basest scoundrelly villains8 ,nanni di ,baccio ,bigio had1 as it seems1 good friends at court in ,rome4 ,he was an open enemy of ,michelangelo1 who1 nevertheless1 found it difficult to shake him off4 ,in the history of ,s4 ,peter's the man's name will frequently occur4 ,three years elapsed4 ,paul ,,iii4 died1 and ,michelangelo wrote to his nephew ,lionardo on the occasion3 ,it is true that ,i have suffered great sorrow1 and not less loss1 by the ,pope's death4 ,i received benefits from his ,holiness1 and hoped for more and better4 ,god willed it so1 and we must have patience4 ,his passage from this life was beautiful1 in full possession of his faculties up to the last word4 ,god have mercy on his soul4 ,the ,cardinal ,giovan ,maria ,ciocchi1 of ,monte ,san ,savino1 was elected to succeed ,paul1 and took the title of ,julius ,,iii4 ,this change of masters was duly noted by ,michelangelo in a letter to his dearest friend1 ,giovan ,francesco ,fattucci at ,florence4 ,it breathes so pleasant and comradely a spirit1 that ,i will translate more than bears immediately on the present topic3 ,dear friend1 although we have not exchanged letters for many months past1 still our long and excellent friendship has not been forgotten4 ,i wish you well1 as ,i have always done1 and love you with all my heart1 for your own sake1 and for the numberless pleasant things in life you have afforded me4 ,as regards old age1 which weighs upon us both alike1 ,i should be glad to know how yours affects you2 mine1 ,i must say1 does not make me very happy4 ,i beg you1 then1 to write me something about this4 ,you know1 doubtless1 that we have a new ,pope1 and who he is4 ,all ,rome is delighted1 ,god be thanked2 and everybody expects the greatest good from his reign1 especially for the poor1 his generosity being so notorious4 ,michelangelo had good reason to rejoice over this event1 for ,julius ,,iii4 felt a real attachment to his person1 and thoroughly appreciated both his character and his genius4 ,nevertheless1 the enemies he had in ,rome now made a strong effort to dislodge ,buonarroti from his official position at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,it was probably about this time that the ,superintendents of the ,fabric drew up a memorial expressive of their grievances against him4 ,we possess a document in ,latin setting forth a statement of accounts in rough4 ,from the year #aedj1 when expenditures began to be made regularly and in order1 from the very commencement as it were1 up to the year #aedg1 when ,michelangelo1 at his own will and pleasure1 undertook partly to build and partly to destroy1 #afb1fbd ducats were expended4 ,since the latter date on to the present1 during which time the deputies have served like the pipe at the organ1 knowing nothing1 nor what1 nor how moneys were spent1 but only at the orders of the said ,michelangelo1 such being the will of ,paul ,,iii4 of blessed memory1 and also of the reigning ,pontiff1 #acf1hha ducats have been paid out1 as can be seen from our books4 ,with regard to the edifice1 what it is going to be1 the deputies can make no statement1 all things being hidden from them1 as though they were outsiders4 ,they have only been able to protest at several times1 and do now again protest1 for the easement of their conscience1 that they do not like the ways used by ,michelangelo1 especially in what he keeps on pulling down4 ,the demolition has been1 and to-day is so great1 that all who witness it are moved to an extremity of pity4 ,nevertheless1 if his ,holiness be satisfied1 we1 his deputies1 shall have no reason to complain4 ,it is clear that ,michelangelo was carrying on with a high hand at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,although the date of this document is uncertain1 ,i think it may be taken in connection with a general meeting called by ,julius ,,iii41 the incidents of which are recorded by ,vasari4 ,michelangelo must have demonstrated his integrity1 for he came out of the affair victorious1 and obtained from the ,pope a brief confirming him in his office of architect-in-chief1 with even fuller powers than had been granted by ,paul ,,iii4 ,,viii ,vasari at this epoch becomes one of our most reliable authorities regarding the life of ,michelangelo4 ,he corresponded and conversed with him continuously1 and enjoyed the master's confidence4 ,we may therefore accept the following narrative as accurate3 ,it was some little while before the beginning of #aeea1 when ,vasari1 on his return from ,florence to ,rome1 found that the sect of ,sangallo were plotting against ,michelangelo2 they induced the ,pope to hold a meeting in ,s4 ,peter's1 where all the overseers and workmen connected with the building should attend1 and his ,holiness should be persuaded by false insinuations that ,michelangelo had spoiled the fabric4 ,he had already walled in the apse of the ,king where the three chapels are1 and carried out the three upper windows4 ,but it was not known what he meant to do with the vault4 ,they then1 misled by their shallow judgment1 made ,cardinal ,salviati the elder1 and ,marcello ,cervini1 who was afterwards ,pope1 believe that ,s4 ,peter's would be badly lighted4 ,when all were assembled1 the ,pope told ,michelangelo that the deputies were of opinion the apse would have but little light4 ,he answered3 ',i should like to hear these deputies speak4' ,the ,cardinal ,marcello rejoined3 ',here we are4' ,michelangelo then remarked3 ',my lord1 above these three windows there will be other three in the vault1 which is to be built of travertine4' ',you never told us anything about this1' said the ,cardinal4 ,michelangelo responded3 ',i am not1 nor do ,i mean to be obliged to tell your lordship or anybody what ,i ought or wish to do4 ,it is your business to provide money1 and to see that it is not stolen4 ,as regards the plans of the building1 you have to leave those to me4' ,then he turned to the ,pope and said3 ',holy ,father1 behold what gains are mine6 ,unless the hardships ,i endure prove beneficial to my soul1 ,i am losing time and labour4' ,the ,pope1 who loved him1 laid his hands upon his shoulders and exclaimed3 ',you are gaining both for soul and body1 have no fear6' ,michelangelo's spirited self-defence increased the ,pope's love1 and he ordered him to repair next day with ,vasari to the ,vigna ,giulia1 where they held long discourses upon art4 ,it is here that ,vasari relates how ,julius ,,iii4 was in the habit of seating ,michelangelo by his side while they talked together4 ,julius then maintained the cause of ,michelangelo against the deputies4 ,it was during his pontificate that a piece of engineering work committed to ,buonarroti's charge by ,paul ,,iii4 fell into the hands of ,nanni di ,baccio ,bigio4 ,the old bridge of ,santa ,maria had long shown signs of giving way1 and materials had been collected for rebuilding it4 ,nanni's friends managed to transfer the execution of this work to him from ,michelangelo4 ,the man laid bad foundations1 and ,buonarroti riding over the new bridge one day with ,vasari1 cried out3 ,george1 the bridge is quivering beneath us2 let us spur on1 before it gives way with us upon it4 ,eventually1 the bridge did fall to pieces1 at the time of a great inundation4 ,its ruins have long been known as the ,ponte ,rotto4 ,on the death of ,julius ,,iii4 in #aeee1 ,cardinal ,cervini was made ,pope1 with the title of ,marcellus ,,ii4 ,this event revived the hopes of the sect1 who once more began to machinate against ,michelangelo4 ,the ,duke of ,tuscany at this time was exceedingly anxious that he should take up his final abode at ,florence2 and ,buonarroti1 feeling he had now no strong support in ,rome1 seems to have entertained these proposals with alacrity4 ,the death of ,marcellus after a few weeks1 and the election of ,paul ,,iv41 who besought the great architect not to desert ,s4 ,peter's1 made him change his mind4 ,several letters written to ,vasari and the ,grand ,duke in this and the next two years show that his heart was set on finishing ,s4 ,peter's1 however much he wished to please his friends and longed to end his days in peace at home4 ,i was set to work upon ,s4 ,peter's against my will1 and ,i have served now eight years gratis1 and with the utmost injury and discomfort to myself4 ,now that the fabric has been pushed forward and there is money to spend1 and ,i am just upon the point of vaulting in the cupola1 my departure from ,rome would be the ruin of the edifice1 and for me a great disgrace throughout all ,christendom1 and to my soul a grievous sin4 ,pray ask his lordship to give me leave of absence till ,s4 ,peter's has reached a point at which it cannot be altered in its main features4 ,should ,i leave ,rome earlier1 ,i should be the cause of a great ruin1 a great disgrace1 and a great sin4 ,to the ,duke he writes in #aeeg that his special reasons for not wishing to abandon ,s4 ,peter's were1 first1 that the work would fall into the hands of thieves and rogues2 secondly1 that it might probably be suspended altogether2 thirdly1 that he owned property in ,rome to the amount of several thousand crowns1 which1 if he left without permission1 would be lost2 fourthly1 that he was suffering from several ailments4 ,he also observed that the work had just reached its most critical stage 7i4e41 the erection of the cupola71 and that to desert it at the present moment would be a great disgrace4 ,the vaulting of the cupola had now indeed become the main preoccupation of ,michelangelo's life4 ,early in #aeeg a serious illness threatened his health1 and several friends1 including the ,cardinal of ,carpi1 ,donato ,giannotti1 ,tommaso ,cavalieri1 ,francesco ,bandini1 and ,lottino1 persuaded him that he ought to construct a large model1 so that the execution of this most important feature of the edifice might not be impeded in the event of his death4 ,it appears certain that up to this date no models of his on anything like a large intelligible scale had been provided for ,s4 ,peter's2 and the only extant model attributable to ,michelangelo's own period is that of the cupola4 ,this may help to account for the fact that1 while the cupola was finished much as he intended1 the rest of his scheme suffered a thorough and injurious remodelling4 ,he wrote to his nephew ,lionardo on the #acth of ,february #aeeg about the impossibility of meeting the ,grand ,duke's wishes and leaving ,rome4 ,i told his ,lordship that ,i was obliged to attend to ,s4 ,peter's until ,i could leave the work there at such a point that my plans would not be subsequently altered4 ,this point has not been reached2 and in addition1 ,i am now obliged to construct a large wooden model for the cupola and lantern1 in order that ,i may secure its being finished as it was meant to be4 ,the whole of ,rome1 and especially the ,cardinal of ,carpi1 puts great pressure on me to do this4 ,accordingly1 ,i reckon that ,i shall have to remain here not less than a year2 and so much time ,i beg the ,duke to allow me for the love of ,christ and ,s4 ,peter1 so that ,i may not come home to ,florence with a pricking conscience1 but a mind easy about ,rome4 ,the model took about a year to make4 ,it was executed by a ,french master named ,jean4 ,all this while ,michelangelo's enemies1 headed by ,nanni di ,baccio ,bigio1 continued to calumniate and backbite4 ,in the end they poisoned the mind of his old friend the ,cardinal of ,carpi4 ,we gather this from a haughty letter written on the #acth of ,february #aefj3 ,messer ,francesco ,bandini informed me yesterday that your most illustrious and reverend lordship told him that the building of ,s4 ,peter's could not possibly go on worse than it is doing4 ,this has grieved me deeply1 partly because you have not been informed of the truth1 and also because ,i1 as my duty is1 desire more than all men living that it should proceed well4 ,unless ,i am much deceived1 ,i think ,i can assure you that it could not possibly go on better than it now is doing4 ,it may1 however1 happen that my own interests and old age expose me to self-deception1 and consequently expose the fabric of ,s4 ,peter's to harm or injury against my will4 ,i therefore intend to ask permission on the first occasion from his ,holiness to resign my office4 ,or rather1 to save time1 ,i wish to request your most illustrious and reverend lordship by these present to relieve me of the annoyance to which ,i have been subject seventeen years1 at the orders of the ,popes1 working without remuneration4 ,it is easy enough to see what has been accomplished by my industry during this period4 ,i conclude by repeating my request that you will accept my resignation4 ,you could not confer on me a more distinguished favour4 ,giovanni ,angelo ,medici1 of an obscure ,milanese family1 had succeeded to ,paul ,,iv4 in #aeei4 ,pius ,,iv4 felt a true admiration for ,michelangelo4 ,he confirmed the aged artist in his office by a brief which granted him the fullest authority in life1 and strictly forbade any departure from his designs for ,s4 ,peter's after death4 ,notwithstanding this powerful support1 ,nanni di ,baccio ,bigio kept trying to eject him from his post4 ,he wrote to the ,grand ,duke in #aefb1 arguing that ,buonarroti was in his dotage1 and begging ,cosimo to use his influence to obtain the place for himself4 ,in reply the ,grand ,duke told ,nanni that he could not think of doing such a thing during ,michelangelo's lifetime1 but that after his death he would render what aid was in his power4 ,an incident happened in #aefc which enabled ,nanni to give his enemy some real annoyance4 ,michelangelo was now so old that he felt obliged to leave the personal superintendence of the operations at ,s4 ,peter's to a clerk of the works4 ,the man employed at this time was a certain ,cesare da ,castel ,durante1 who was murdered in ,august under the following circumstances1 communicated by ,tiberio ,calcagni to ,lionardo ,buonarroti on the #adth of that month3 ,i have only further to speak about the death of ,cesare1 clerk of the works1 who was found by the cook of the ,bishop of ,forli with his wife4 ,the man gave ,cesare thirteen stabs with his poignard1 and four to his wife4 ,the old man 7i4e41 ,michelangelo7 is in much distress1 seeing that he wished to give the post to that ,pier ,luigi1 and has been unable to do so owing to the refusal of the deputies4 ,this ,pier ,luigi1 surnamed ,gaeta1 had been working since ,november #aefa as subordinate to ,cesare2 and we have a letter from ,michelangelo to the deputies recommending him very warmly in that capacity4 ,he was also the house-servant and personal attendant of the old master1 running errands for him and transacting ordinary business1 like ,pietro ,urbano and ,stefano in former years4 ,the deputies would not consent to nominate ,pier ,luigi as clerk of the works4 ,they judged him to be too young1 and were1 moreover1 persuaded that ,michelangelo's men injured the work at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,accordingly they appointed ,nanni di ,baccio ,bigio1 and sent in a report1 inspired by him1 which severely blamed ,buonarroti4 ,pius ,,iv41 after the receipt of this report1 had an interview with ,michelangelo1 which ended in his sending his own relative1 ,gabrio ,serbelloni1 to inspect the works at ,s4 ,peter's4 ,it was decided that ,nanni had been calumniating the great old man4 ,accordingly he was dismissed with indignity4 ,immediately after the death of ,michelangelo1 however1 ,nanni renewed his applications to the ,grand ,duke4 ,he claimed nothing less than the post of architect-in-chief4 ,his petition was sent to ,florence under cover of a despatch from the ,duke's envoy1 ,averardo ,serristori4 ,the ambassador related the events of ,michelangelo's death1 and supported ,nanni as a worthy man1 your vassal and true servant4 ,,ix ,down to the last days of his life1 ,michelangelo was thus worried with the jealousies excited by his superintendence of the building at ,s4 ,peter's2 and when he passed to the majority1 he had not secured his heart's desire1 to wit1 that the fabric should be forced to retain the form he had designed for it4 ,this was his own fault4 ,popes might issue briefs to the effect that his plans should be followed2 but when it was discovered that1 during his lifetime1 he kept the builders in ignorance of his intentions1 and that he left no working models fit for use1 except in the case of the cupola1 a free course was opened for every kind of innovation4 ,so it came to pass that subsequent architects changed the essential features of his design by adding what might be called a nave1 or1 in other words1 by substituting the ,latin for the ,greek cross in the ground-plan4 ,he intended to front the mass of the edifice with a majestic colonnade1 giving externally to one limb of the ,greek cross a rectangular salience corresponding to its three semicircular apses4 ,from this decastyle colonnade projected a tetrastyle portico1 which introduced the people ascending from a flight of steps to a gigantic portal4 ,the portal opened on the church1 and all the glory of the dome was visible when they approached the sanctuary4 ,externally1 according to his conception1 the cupola dominated and crowned the edifice when viewed from a moderate or a greater distance4 ,the cupola was the integral and vital feature of the structure4 ,by producing one limb of the cross into a nave1 destroying the colonnade and portico1 and erecting a huge faade of barocco design1 his followers threw the interior effect of the cupola into a subordinate position1 and externally crushed it out of view1 except at a great distance4 ,in like manner they dealt with every particular of his plan4 ,as an old writer has remarked3 ,the cross which ,michelangelo made ,greek is now ,latin2 and if it be thus with the essential form1 judge ye of the details6 ,it was not exactly their fault1 but rather that of the master1 who chose to work by drawings and small clay models1 from which no accurate conception of his thought could be derived by lesser craftsmen4 ,we cannot1 therefore1 regard ,s4 ,peter's in its present state as the creation of ,buonarroti's genius4 ,as a building1 it is open to criticism at every point4 ,in spite of its richness and overwhelming size1 no architect of merit gives it approbation4 ,it is vast without being really great1 magnificent without touching the heart1 proudly but not harmoniously ordered4 ,the one redeeming feature in the structure is the cupola2 and that is the one thing which ,michelangelo bequeathed to the intelligence of his successors4 ,the curve which it describes finds no phrase of language to express its grace4 ,it is neither ellipse nor parabola nor section of the circle1 but an inspiration of creative fancy4 ,it outsoars in vital force1 in elegance of form1 the dome of the ,pantheon and the dome of ,brunelleschi1 upon which it was actually modelled4 ,as a ,french architect1 adverse to ,michelangelo1 has remarked3 ,this portion is simple1 noble1 grand4 ,it is an unparalleled idea1 and the author of this marvellous cupola had the right to be proud of the thought which controlled his pencil when he traced it4 ,an ,english critic1 no less adverse to the ,italian style1 is forced to admit that architecture has seldom produced a more magnificent object than the cupola1 if its bad connection with the building is overlooked4 ,he also adds that1 internally1 the sublime concave of this immense dome is the one redeeming feature of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,michelangelo's reputation1 not only as an imaginative builder1 but also as a practical engineer in architecture1 depends in a very large measure upon the cupola of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,it is1 therefore1 of great importance to ascertain exactly how far the dome in its present form belongs to his conception4 ,fortunately for his reputation1 we still possess the wooden model constructed under his inspection by a man called ,giovanni ,franzese4 ,it shows that subsequent architects1 especially ,giacomo della ,porta1 upon whom the task fell of raising the vaults and lantern from the point where ,michelangelo left the building1 that is1 from the summit of the drum1 departed in no essential particular from his design4 ,della ,porta omitted one feature1 however1 of ,michelangelo's plan1 which would have added greatly to the dignity and elegance of the exterior4 ,the model shows that the entablature of the drum broke into projections above each of the buttresses4 ,upon these projections or consoles ,buonarroti intended to place statues of saints4 ,he also connected their pedestals with the spring of the vault by a series of inverted curves sweeping upwards along the height of the shallow attic4 ,the omission of these details not only weakened the support given to the arches of the dome1 but it also lent a stilted effect to the cupola by abruptly separating the perpendicular lines of the drum and attic from the segment of the vaulting4 ,this is an error which could even now be repaired1 if any enterprising ,pope undertook to complete the plan of the model4 ,it may1 indeed1 be questioned whether the omission was not due to the difficulty of getting so many colossal statues adequately finished at a period when the fabric still remained imperfect in more essential parts4 ,vasari1 who lived in close intimacy with ,michelangelo1 and undoubtedly was familiar with the model1 gives a confused but very minute description of the building4 ,it is clear from this that the dome was designed with two shells1 both of which were to be made of carefully selected bricks1 the space between them being applied to the purpose of an interior staircase4 ,the dormer windows in the outer sheath not only broke the surface of the vault1 but also served to light this passage to the lantern4 ,vasari's description squares with the model1 now preserved in a chamber of the ,vatican basilica1 and also with the present fabric4 ,it would not have been necessary to dwell at greater length upon the vaulting here but for difficulties which still surround the criticism of this salient feature of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,gotti published two plans of the cupola1 which were made for him1 he says1 from accurate measurements of the model taken by ,cavaliere ,cesare ,castelli1 ,lieut4-,col4 of ,engineers4 ,the section drawing shows three shells instead of two1 the innermost or lowest being flattened out like the vault of the ,pantheon4 ,professor ,josef ,durm1 in his essay upon the ,domes of ,florence and ,s4 ,peter's1 gives a minute description of the model for the latter1 and prints a carefully executed copperplate engraving of its section4 ,it is clear from this work that at some time or other a third semi-spherical vault1 corresponding to that of the ,pantheon1 had been contemplated4 ,this would have been structurally of no value1 and would have masked the two upper shells1 which at present crown the edifice4 ,the model shows that the dome itself was from the first intended to be composed of two solid vaults of masonry1 in the space between which ran the staircase leading to the lantern4 ,the lower and flatter shell1 which appears also in the model1 had no connection with the substantial portions of the edifice4 ,it was an addition1 perhaps an afterthought1 designed possibly to serve as a ground for surface-decoration1 or to provide an alternative scheme for the completion of the dome4 ,had ,michelangelo really planned this innermost sheath1 we could not credit him with the soaring sweep upwards of the mighty dome1 its height and lightness1 luminosity and space4 ,the roof that met the eye internally would have been considerably lower and tamer1 superfluous in the construction of the church1 and bearing no right relation to the external curves of the vaulting4 ,there would1 moreover1 have been a long dark funnel leading to the lantern4 ,heath ,wilson would then have been justified in certain critical conclusions which may here be stated in his own words4 ,according to ,michelangelo's idea1 the cupola was formed of three vaults over each other4 ,apparently the inner one was intended to repeat the curves of the ,pantheon1 whilst the outer one was destined to give height and majesty to the building externally4 ,the central vault1 more pyramidal in form1 was constructed to bear the weight of the lantern1 and approached in form the dome of the ,cathedral at ,florence by ,brunelleschi4 ,judging by the model1 he meant the outer dome to be of wood1 thus anticipating the construction of ,sir ,christopher ,wren4 ,farther on1 he adds that the architects who carried out the work omitted entirely the inner lower vault1 evidently to give height internally1 and made the external cupola of brick as well as the internal2 and1 to prevent it expanding1 had recourse to encircling chains of iron1 which bind it at the weakest parts of the curve4 ,these chains1 it may be mentioned parenthetically1 were strengthened by ,poleni1 after the lapse of some years1 when the second of the two shells showed some signs of cracking4 ,from ,dr4 ,durm's minute description of the cupola1 there seems to be no doubt about the existence of this third vault in ,michelangelo's wooden model4 ,he says that the two outer shells are carved out of one piece of wood1 while the third or innermost is made of another piece1 which has been inserted4 ,the sunk or hollow compartments1 which form the laquear of this depressed vault1 differ considerably in shape and arrangement from those which were adopted when it was finally rejected4 ,the question now remains1 whether the semi-spherical shell was abandoned during ,michelangelo's lifetime and with his approval4 ,there is good reason to believe that this may have been the case3 first1 because the tambour1 which he executed1 differs from the model in the arching of its windows2 secondly1 because ,fontana and other early writers on the cupola insist strongly on the fact that ,michelangelo's own plans were strictly followed1 although they never allude to the third or innermost vault4 ,it is almost incredible that if ,della ,porta departed in so vital a point from ,michelangelo's design1 no notice should have been taken of the fact4 ,on the other hand1 the tradition that ,della ,porta improved the curve of the cupola by making the spring upward from the attic more abrupt1 is due probably to the discrepancy between the internal aspects of the model and the dome itself4 ,the actual truth is that the cupola in its curve and its dimensions corresponds accurately to the proportions of the double outer vaulting of the model4 ,taking1 then1 ,vasari's statement in conjunction with the silence of ,fontana1 ,poleni1 and other early writers1 and duly observing the care with which the proportions of the dome have been preserved1 ,i think we may safely conclude that ,michelangelo himself abandoned the third or semi-spherical vault1 and that the cupola1 as it exists1 ought to be ascribed entirely to his conception4 ,it is1 in fact1 the only portion of the basilica which remains as he designed it4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,i ,there is great difficulty in dealing chronologically with the last twenty years of ,michelangelo's life4 ,this is due in some measure to the multiplicity of his engagements1 but more to the tardy rate at which his work1 now almost wholly architectural1 advanced4 ,i therefore judged it best to carry the history of his doings at ,s4 ,peter's down to the latest date2 and ,i shall take the same course now with regard to the lesser schemes which occupied his mind between #aede and #aefd1 reserving for the last the treatment of his private life during this period4 ,a society of gentlemen and artists1 to which ,buonarroti belonged1 conceived the plan of erecting buildings of suitable size and grandeur on the ,campidoglio4 ,this hill had always been dear to the ,romans1 as the central point of urban life since the foundation of their city1 through the days of the ,republic and the ,empire1 down to the latest ,middle ,ages4 ,but it was distinguished only by its ancient name and fame4 ,no splendid edifices and majestic squares reminded the spectator that here once stood the shrine of ,jupiter ,capitolinus1 to which conquering generals rode in triumph with the spoils and captives of the habitable world behind their laurelled chariots4 ,paul ,,iii4 approved of the design1 and ,michelangelo1 who had received the citizenship of ,rome on ,march #bj1 #aedf1 undertook to provide a scheme for its accomplishment4 ,we are justified in believing that the disposition of the parts which now compose the ,capitol is due to his conception3 the long steep flight of steps leading up from the ,piazza ,araceli2 the irregular open square1 flanked on the left hand by the ,museum of ,sculpture1 on the right by the ,palazzo dei ,conservatori1 and closed at its farther end by the ,palazzo del ,senatore4 ,he also placed the equestrian statue of ,marcus ,aurelius ,antoninus on its noble pedestal1 and suggested the introduction of other antique specimens of sculpture into various portions of the architectural plan4 ,the splendid double staircase leading to the entrance hall of the ,palazzo del ,senatore1 and part of the ,palazzo dei ,conservatori1 were completed during ,michelangelo's lifetime4 ,when ,vasari wrote in #aefh1 the dead sculptor's friend1 ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri1 was proceeding with the work4 ,there is every reason1 therefore1 to assume that the latter building1 at any rate1 fairly corresponds to his intention4 ,vignola and ,giacomo della ,porta1 both of them excellent architects1 carried out the scheme1 which must have been nearly finished in the pontificate of ,innocent ,x4 7#afdd-afee74 ,like the cupola of ,s4 ,peter's1 the ,campidoglio has always been regarded as one of ,michelangelo's most meritorious performances in architecture4 ,his severe critic1 ,m4 ,charles ,garnier1 says of the ,capitol3 ,the general composition of the edifice is certainly worthy of ,buonarroti's powerful conception4 ,the balustrade which crowns the faade is indeed bad and vulgar2 the great pilasters are very poor in invention1 and the windows of the first story are extremely mediocre in style4 ,nevertheless1 there is a great simplicity of lines in these palaces2 and the porticoes of the ground-floor might be selected for the beauty of their leading motive4 ,the opposition of the great pilasters to the little columns is an idea at once felicitous and original4 ,the whole has a fine effect2 and though ,i hold the proportions of the ground-floor too low in relation to the first story1 ,i consider this faade of the ,capitol not only one of ,michelangelo's best works1 but also one of the best specimens of the building of that period4 ,deduction must1 of course1 be made for heaviness and improprieties of taste1 which are not rare4 ,next to these designs for the ,capitol1 the most important architectural work of ,michelangelo's old age was the plan he made of a new church to be erected by the ,florentines in ,rome to the honour of their patron1 ,s4 ,giovanni4 ,we find him writing to his nephew on the #aeth of ,july #aeei3 ,the ,florentines are minded to erect a great edifice--that is to say1 their church2 and all of them with one accord put pressure on me to attend to this4 ,i have answered that ,i am living here by the ,duke's permission for the fabric of ,s4 ,peter's1 and that unless he gives me leave1 they can get nothing from me4 ,the consul and counsellors of the ,florentine nation in ,rome wrote upon this to the ,duke1 who entered with enthusiasm into their scheme1 not only sending a favourable reply1 but also communicating personally upon the subject with ,buonarroti4 ,three of ,michelangelo's letters on the subject to the ,duke have been preserved4 ,after giving a short history of the project1 and alluding to the fact that ,leo ,x4 began the church1 he says that the ,florentines had appointed a building committee of five men1 at whose request he made several designs4 ,one of these they selected1 and according to his own opinion it was the best4 ,this ,i will have copied and drawn out more clearly than ,i have been able to do it1 on account of old age1 and will send it to your ,most ,illustrious ,lordship4 ,the drawings were executed and carried to ,florence by the hand of ,tiberio ,calcagni4 ,vasari1 who has given a long account of this design1 says that ,calcagni not only drew the plans1 but that he also completed a clay model of the whole church within the space of two days1 from which the ,florentines caused a larger wooden model to be constructed4 ,michelangelo must have been satisfied with his conception1 for he told the building-committee that if they carried it out1 neither the ,romans nor the ,greeks ever erected so fine an edifice in any of their temples4 ,words the like of which neither before nor afterwards issued from his lips2 for he was exceedingly modest4 ,vasari1 who had good opportunities for studying the model1 pronounced it to be superior in beauty1 richness and variety of invention to any temple which was ever seen4 ,the building was begun1 and #ejjj crowns were spent upon it4 ,then money or will failed4 ,the model and drawings perished4 ,nothing remains for certain to show what ,michelangelo's intentions were4 ,the present church of ,s4 ,giovanni dei ,fiorentini in ,strada ,giulia is the work of ,giacomo della ,porta1 with a faade by ,alessandro ,galilei4 ,of ,tiberio ,calcagni1 the young ,florentine sculptor and architect1 who acted like a kind of secretary or clerk to ,michelangelo1 something may here be said4 ,the correspondence of this artist with ,lionardo ,buonarroti shows him to have been what ,vasari calls him1 of gentle manners and discreet behaviour4 ,he felt both veneration and attachment for the aged master1 and was one of the small group of intimate friends who cheered his last years4 ,we have seen that ,michelangelo consigned the shattered ,piet to his care2 and ,vasari tells us that he also wished him to complete the bust of ,brutus1 which had been begun1 at ,donato ,giannotti's request1 for the ,cardinal ,ridolfi4 ,this bust is said to have been modelled from an ancient cornelian in the possession of a certain ,giuliano ,ceserino4 ,michelangelo not only blocked the marble out1 but brought it nearly to completion1 working the surface with very fine-toothed chisels4 ,the sweetness of ,tiberio ,calcagni's nature is proved by the fact that he would not set his own hand to this masterpiece of sculpture4 ,as in the case of the ,piet1 he left ,buonarroti's work untouched1 where mere repairs were not required4 ,accordingly we still can trace the fine-toothed marks of the chisel alluded to by ,vasari1 hatched and cross-hatched with right and left handed strokes in the style peculiar to ,michelangelo4 ,the ,brutus remains one of the finest specimens of his creative genius4 ,it must have been conceived and executed in the plenitude of his vigour1 probably at the time when ,florence fell beneath the yoke of ,alessandro de' ,medici1 or rather when his murderer ,lorenzino gained the name of ,brutus from the exiles 7#aeci74 ,though ,vasari may be right in saying that a ,roman intaglio suggested the stamp of face and feature1 yet we must regard this ,brutus as an ideal portrait1 intended to express the artist's conception of resolution and uncompromising energy in a patriot eager to sacrifice personal feelings and to dare the utmost for his country's welfare4 ,nothing can exceed the spirit with which a violent temperament1 habitually repressed1 but capable of leaping forth like sudden lightning1 has been rendered4 ,we must be grateful to ,calcagni for leaving it in its suggestively unfinished state4 ,,ii ,during these same years ,michelangelo carried on a correspondence with ,ammanati and ,vasari about the completion of the ,laurentian ,library4 ,his letters illustrate what ,i have more than once observed regarding his unpractical method of commencing great works1 without more than the roughest sketches1 intelligible to himself alone1 and useless to an ordinary craftsman4 ,the ,florentine artists employed upon the fabric wanted very much to know how he meant to introduce the grand staircase into the vestibule4 ,michelangelo had forgotten all about it4 ,with regard to the staircase of the library1 about which so much has been said to me1 you may believe that if ,i could remember how ,i had arranged it1 ,i should not need to be begged and prayed for information4 ,there comes into my mind1 as in a dream1 the image of a certain staircase2 but ,i do not think this can be the one ,i then designed1 for it seems so stupid4 ,however1 ,i will describe it4 ,later on he sends a little clay model of a staircase1 just enough to indicate his general conception1 but not to determine details4 ,he suggests that the work would look better if carried out in walnut4 ,we have every reason to suppose that the present stone flight of steps is far from being representative of his idea4 ,he was now too old to do more than furnish drawings when asked to design some monument4 ,accordingly1 when ,pius ,,iv4 resolved to erect a tomb in ,milan ,cathedral to the memory of his brother1 ,giangiacomo de' ,medici1 ,marquis of ,marignano1 commonly called ,il ,medeghino1 he requested ,michelangelo to supply the bronze-sculptor ,leone ,leoni of ,menaggio with a design4 ,this must have been insufficient for the sculptor's purpose--a mere hand-sketch not drawn to scale4 ,the monument1 though imposing in general effect1 is very defective in its details and proportions4 ,the architectural scheme has not been comprehended by the sculptor1 who enriched it with a great variety of figures1 excellently wrought in bronze1 and faintly suggesting ,michelangelo's manner4 ,the grotesque barocco style of the ,porta ,pia1 strong in its total outline1 but whimsical and weak in decorative detail1 may probably be ascribed to the same cause4 ,it was sketched out by ,michelangelo during the pontificate of ,pius ,,iv41 and can hardly have been erected under his personal supervision4 ,vasari says3 ,he made three sketches1 extravagant in style and most beautiful1 of which the ,pope selected the least costly2 this was executed much to his credit1 as may now be seen4 ,to what extent he was responsible for the other sixteenth-century gates of ,rome1 including the ,porta del ,popolo1 which is commonly ascribed to him1 cannot be determined2 though ,vasari asserts that ,michelangelo supplied the ,pope with many other models for the restoration of the gates4 ,indeed it may be said of all his later work that we are dealing with uncertain material1 the original idea emanating perhaps from ,buonarroti's mind1 but the execution having devolved upon journeymen4 ,pius ,,iv4 charged ,michelangelo with another great undertaking1 which was the restoration of the ,baths of ,diocletian in the form of a ,christian church4 ,criticism is reduced to silence upon his work in this place1 because ,s4 ,maria degli ,angeli underwent a complete remodelling by the architect ,vanvitelli in #agdi4 ,this man altered the ground-plan from the ,latin to the ,greek type1 and adopted the decorative style in vogue at the beginning of the eighteenth century4 ,all that appears certain is that ,michelangelo had very considerable remains of the ,roman building to make use of4 ,we may also perhaps credit tradition1 when it tells us that the vast ,carthusian cloister belongs to him1 and that the three great cypress-trees were planted by his hand4 ,henri the ,second's death occurred in #aeei2 and his widow1 ,catherine de' ,medici1 resolved to erect an equestrian statue to his memory4 ,she bethought her of the aged sculptor1 who had been bred in the palace of her great-grandfather1 who had served two ,pontiffs of her family1 and who had placed the mournful image of her father on the tomb at ,san ,lorenzo4 ,accordingly she wrote a letter on the #adth of ,november in that year1 informing ,michelangelo of her intention1 and begging him to supply at least a design upon which the best masters in the realm of ,france might work4 ,the statue was destined for the courtyard of the royal chteau at ,blois1 and was to be in bronze4 ,ruberto degli ,strozzi1 the ,queen's cousin1 happened about this time to visit ,rome4 ,michelangelo having agreed to furnish a sketch1 it was decided between them that the execution should be assigned to ,daniele da ,volterra4 ,after nearly a year's interval1 ,catherine wrote again1 informing ,michelangelo that she had deposited a sum of #fjjj golden crowns at the bank of ,gianbattista ,gondi for the work1 adding3 ,consequently1 since on my side nothing remains to be done1 ,i entreat you by the affection you have always shown to my family1 to our ,florence1 and lastly to art1 that you will use all diligence and assiduity1 so far as your years permit1 in pushing forward this noble work1 and making it a living likeness of my lord1 as well as worthy of your own unrivalled genius4 ,it is true that this will add nothing to the fame you now enjoy2 yet it will at least augment your reputation for most acceptable and affectionate devotion toward myself and my ancestors1 and prolong through centuries the memory of my lawful and sole love2 for the which ,i shall be eager and liberal to reward you4 ,it is probable that by this time 7,october #cj1 #aefj7 ,michelangelo had forwarded his sketch to ,france1 for the ,queen criticised some details relating to the portrait of her husband4 ,she may have remembered with what idealistic freedom the statues of the ,dukes of ,nemours and ,urbino had been treated in the ,medicean ,sacristy4 ,anyhow1 she sent a picture1 and made her agent1 ,baccio del ,bene1 write a postscript to her letter1 ordering ,michelangelo to model the ,king's head without curls1 and to adopt the rich modern style for his armour and the trappings of his charger4 ,she particularly insisted upon the likeness being carefully brought out4 ,michelangelo died before the equestrian statue of ,henri ,,ii4 was finished4 ,cellini1 in his ,memoirs1 relates that ,daniele da ,volterra worked slowly1 and caused much annoyance to the ,queen-mother of ,france4 ,in #aefb her agent1 ,baccio del ,bene1 came to ,florence on financial business with the ,duke4 ,he then proposed that ,cellini should return to ,paris and undertake the ornamental details of the tomb4 ,the ,duke would not consent1 and ,catherine de' ,medici did not choose to quarrel with her cousin about an artist4 ,so this arrangement1 which might have secured the completion of the statue on a splendid scale1 fell through4 ,when ,daniele died in #aeff1 only the horse was cast2 and this part served finally for ,biard's statue of ,louis ,,xiii4 ,,iii ,the sculptor ,leone ,leoni1 who was employed upon the statue of ,giangiacomo de' ,medici in ,milan1 wrote frequently to ,michelangelo1 showing by his letters that a warm friendship subsisted between them1 which was also shared by ,tommaso ,cavalieri4 ,in the year #aefj1 according to ,vasari1 ,leoni modelled a profile portrait of the great master1 which he afterwards cast in medal form4 ,this is almost the most interesting1 and it is probably the most genuine contemporary record which we possess regarding ,michelangelo's appearance in the body4 ,i may therefore take it as my basis for inquiring into the relative value of the many portraits said to have been modelled1 painted1 or sketched from the hero in his lifetime4 ,so far as ,i am hitherto aware1 no claim has been put in for the authenticity of any likeness1 except ,bonasoni's engraving1 anterior to the date we have arrived at4 ,while making this statement1 ,i pass over the prostrate old man in the ,victory1 and the ,nicodemus of the ,florentine ,piet1 both of which1 with more or less reason1 have been accepted as efforts after self-portraiture4 ,after making due allowance for ,vasari's too notorious inaccuracies1 deliberate misstatements1 and random jumpings at conclusions1 we have the right to accept him here as a first-rate authority4 ,he was living at this time in close intimacy with ,buonarroti1 enjoyed his confidence1 plumed himself upon their friendship1 and had no reason to distort truth1 which must have been accessible to one in his position4 ,he says1 then3 ,at this time the ,cavaliere ,leoni made a very lively portrait of ,michelangelo upon a medal1 and to meet his wishes1 modelled on the reverse a blind man led by a dog1 with this legend round the rim3 ,,docebo ,,iniquos ,,vias ,,tuas1 ,,et ,,impii ,,ad ,,te ,,convertentur4 ,it pleased ,michelangelo so much that he gave him a wax model of a ,hercules throttling ,antaeus1 by his own hand1 together with some drawings4 ,of ,michelangelo there exist no other portraits1 except two in painting--one by ,bugiardini1 the other by ,jacopo del ,conte2 and one in bronze1 in full relief1 made by ,daniele da ,volterra3 these1 and ,leoni's medal1 from which 7in the plural7 many copies have been made1 and a great number of them have been seen by me in several parts of ,italy and abroad4 ,leoni's medal1 on the obverse1 shows the old artist's head in profile1 with strong lines of drapery rising to the neck and gathering around the shoulders4 ,it carries this legend3 ,,michelangelus ,,buonarrotus1 ,,flo4 ,r4,a4,e4,t4,s4 ,,ann4 #hh1 and is signed ,,leo4 ,leoni then assumed that ,michelangelo was eighty-eight years of age when he cast the die4 ,but if this was done in #aefj1 the age he had then attained was eighty-five4 ,we possess a letter from ,leoni in ,milan to ,buonarroti in ,rome1 dated ,march #ad1 #aefa4 ,in it he says3 ,i am sending to your lordship1 by the favour of ,lord ,carlo ,visconti1 a great man in this city1 and beloved by his ,holiness1 four medals of your portrait3 two in silver1 and two in bronze4 ,i should have done so earlier but for my occupation with the monument 7of ,medeghino71 and for the certainty ,i feel that you will excuse my tardiness1 if not a sin of ingratitude in me4 ,the one enclosed within the little box has been worked up to the finest polish4 ,i beg you to accept and keep this for the love of me4 ,with the other three you will do as you think best4 ,i say this because ambition has prompted me to send copies into ,spain and ,flanders1 as ,i have also done to ,rome and other places4 ,i call it ambition1 forasmuch as ,i have gained an overplus of benefits by acquiring the good-will of your lordship1 whom ,i esteem so highly4 ,have ,i not received in little less than three months two letters written to me by you1 divine man2 and couched not in terms fit for a servant of good heart and will1 but for one beloved as a son8 ,i pray you to go on loving me1 and when occasion serves1 to favour me2 and to ,signer ,tomao dei ,cavalieri say that ,i shall never be unmindful of him4 ,it is clear1 then1 ,i think1 that ,leoni's model was made at ,rome in #aefj1 cast at ,milan1 and sent early in the spring of #aefa to ,michelangelo4 ,the wide distribution of the medals1 two of which exist still in silver1 while several in bronze may be found in different collections1 is accounted for by what ,leoni says about his having given them away to various parts of ,europe4 ,we are bound to suppose that ,,aet4 #hh in the legend on the obverse is due to a misconception concerning ,michelangelo's age4 ,old men are often ignorant or careless about the exact tale of years they have performed4 ,there is reason to believe that ,leoni's original model of the profile1 the likeness he shaped from life1 and which he afterwards used for the medallion1 is extant and in excellent preservation4 ,mr4 ,c4 ,drury ,e4 ,fortnum 7to whose monographs upon ,michelangelo's portraits1 kindly communicated by himself1 ,i am deeply indebted at this portion of my work71 tells us how he came into possession of an exquisite cameo1 in flesh-coloured wax upon a black oval ground4 ,this fragile work of art is framed in gilt metal and glazed1 carrying upon its back an ,italian inscription1 which may be translated3 ,portrait of ,michelangelo ,buonarroti1 taken from the life1 by ,leone ,aretino1 his friend4 ,comparing the relief in wax with the medal1 we cannot doubt that both represent the same man2 and only cavillers will raise the question whether both were fashioned by one hand4 ,such discrepancies as occur between them are just what we should expect in the work of a craftsman who sought first to obtain an accurate likeness of his subject1 and then treated the same subject on the lines of numismatic art4 ,the wax shows a lean and subtly moulded face--the face of a delicate old man1 wiry and worn with years of deep experience4 ,the hair on head and beard is singularly natural2 one feels it to be characteristic of the person4 ,transferring this portrait to bronze necessitated a general broadening of the masses1 with a coarsening of outline to obtain bold relief4 ,something of the purest truth has been sacrificed to plastic effect by thickening the shrunken throat2 and this induced a corresponding enlargement of the occiput for balance4 ,writing with photographs of these two models before me1 ,i feel convinced that in the wax we have a portrait from the life of the aged ,buonarroti as ,leoni knew him1 and in the bronze a handling of that portrait as the craftsman felt his art of metal-work required its execution4 ,there was a grand manner of medallion-portraiture in ,italy1 deriving from the times of ,pisanello2 and ,leoni's bronze is worthy of that excellent tradition4 ,he preserved the salient features of ,buonarroti in old age4 ,but having to send down to posterity a monumental record of the man1 he added1 insensibly or wilfully1 both bulk and mass to the head he had so keenly studied4 ,what confirms me in the opinion that ,mr4 ,fornum's cameo is the most veracious portrait we possess of ,michelangelo in old age1 is that its fragility of structure1 the tenuity of life vigorous but infinitely refined1 reappears in the weak drawing made by ,francesco d',olanda of ,buonarroti in hat and mantle4 ,this is a comparatively poor and dreamy sketch4 ,yet it has an air of veracity2 and what the ,flemish painter seized in the divine man he so much admired1 was a certain slender grace and dignity of person--exactly the quality which ,mr4 ,fortnum's cameo possesses4 ,before leaving this interesting subject1 ,i ought to add that the blind man on the reverse of ,leoni's medal is clearly a rough and ready sketch of ,michelangelo1 not treated like a portrait1 but with indications sufficient to connect the figure with the highly wrought profile on the obverse4 ,returning now to the passage cited from ,vasari1 we find that he reckons only two authentic portraits in painting of ,michelangelo1 one by ,bugiardini1 the other by ,jacopo del ,conte4 ,he has neglected to mention two which are undoubtedly attempts to reproduce the features of the master by scholars he had formed4 ,probably ,vasari overlooked them1 because they did not exist as easel-pictures1 but were introduced into great compositions as subordinate adjuncts4 ,one of them is the head painted by ,daniele da ,volterra in his picture of the ,assumption at the church of the ,trinit de' ,monti in ,rome4 ,it belongs to an apostle1 draped in red1 stretching arms aloft1 close to a column1 on the right hand of the painting as we look at it4 ,this must be reckoned among the genuine likenesses of the great man by one who lived with him and knew him intimately4 ,the other is a portrait placed by ,marcello ,venusti in the left-hand corner of his copy of the ,last ,judgment1 executed1 under ,michelangelo's direction1 for the ,cardinal ,farnese4 ,it has value for the same reasons as those which make us dwell upon ,daniele da ,volterra's picture4 ,moreover1 it connects itself with a series of easel-paintings4 ,one of these1 ascribed to ,venusti1 is preserved in the ,museo ,buonarroti at ,florence2 another at the ,capitol in ,rome4 ,several repetitions of this type exist3 they look like studies taken by the pupil from his master1 and reproduced to order when death closed the scene1 making friends wish for mementoes of the genius who had passed away4 ,the critique of such works will always remain obscure4 ,what has become of the portrait of ,del ,conte mentioned by ,vasari cannot now be ascertained4 ,we have no external evidence to guide us4 ,on the other hand1 certain peculiarities about the portrait in the ,uffizi1 especially the exaggeration of one eye1 lend some colouring to the belief that we here possess the picture ascribed by ,vasari to ,bugiardini4 ,michelangelo's type of face was well accentuated1 and all the more or less contemporary portraits of him reproduce it4 ,time is wasted in the effort to assign to little men their special part in the creation of a prevalent tradition4 ,it seems to me1 therefore1 the function of sane criticism not to be particular about the easel-pictures ascribed to ,venusti1 ,del ,conte1 and ,bugiardini4 ,the case is different with a superb engraving by ,giulio ,bonasoni1 a profile in a circle1 dated #aedf1 and giving ,buonarroti's age as seventy-two4 ,this shows the man in fuller vigour than the portraits we have hitherto been dealing with4 ,from other prints which bear the signature of ,bonasoni1 we see that he was interested in faithfully reproducing ,michelangelo's work4 ,what the relations between the two men were remains uncertain1 but ,bonasoni may have had opportunities of studying the master's person4 ,at any rate1 as a product of the burin1 this profile is comparable for fidelity and veracity with ,leoni's model1 and is executed in the same medallion spirit4 ,so far1 then1 as ,i have yet pursued the analysis of ,michelangelo's portraits1 ,i take ,bonasoni's engraving to be decisive for ,michelangelo's appearance at the age of seventy2 ,leoni's model as of equal or of greater value at the age of eighty2 ,venusti's and ,da ,volterra's paintings as of some importance for this later period2 while ,i leave the attribution of minor easel-pictures to ,del ,conte or to ,bugiardini open4 ,it remains to speak of that full relief in bronze made by ,daniele da ,volterra1 which ,vasari mentions among the four genuine portraits of ,buonarroti4 ,from the context we should gather that this head was executed during the lifetime of ,michelangelo1 and the conclusion is supported by the fact that only a few pages later on ,vasari mentions two other busts modelled after his death4 ,describing the catafalque erected to his honour in ,s4 ,lorenzo1 he says that the pyramid which crowned the structure exhibited within two ovals 7one turned toward the chief door1 and the other toward the high altar7 the head of ,michelangelo in relief1 taken from nature1 and very excellently carried out by ,santi ,buglioni4 ,the words ritratta dal naturale do not1 ,i think1 necessarily imply that it was modelled from the life4 ,owing to the circumstances under which ,michelangelo's obsequies were prepared1 there was not time to finish it in bronze of stone2 it may therefore have been one of those ,florentine terra-cotta effigies which artists elaborated from a cast taken after death4 ,that there existed such a cast is proved by what we know about the monument designed by ,vasari in ,s4 ,croce4 ,one of the statues was assigned to ,battista ,lorenzi1 an able sculptor1 together with the head of ,michelangelo4 ,we learn from another source that this bust in marble was taken from the mask cast after his death4 ,the custom of taking plaster casts from the faces of the illustrious dead1 in order to perpetuate their features1 was so universal in ,italy1 that it could hardly have been omitted in the case of ,michelangelo4 ,the question now arises whether the bronze head ascribed by ,vasari to ,daniele da ,volterra was executed during ,michelangelo's lifetime or after his decease1 and whether we possess it4 ,there are eight heads of this species known to students of ,michelangelo1 which correspond so nicely in their measurements and general features as to force the conclusion that they were all derived from an original moulded by one masterly hand4 ,three of these heads are unmounted1 namely1 those at ,milan1 ,oxford1 and ,m4 ,piot's house in ,paris4 ,one1 that of the ,capitoline ,museum1 is fixed upon a bust of bigio morato marble4 ,the remaining four examples are executed throughout in bronze as busts1 agreeing in the main as to the head1 but differing in minor details of drapery4 ,they exist respectively in the ,museo ,buonarroti1 the ,accademia1 and the ,bargello at ,florence1 and in the private collection of ,m4 ,cottier of ,paris4 ,it is clear1 then1 that we are dealing with bronze heads cast from a common mould1 worked up afterwards according to the fancy of the artist4 ,that this original head was the portrait ascribed to ,daniele da ,volterra will be conceded by all who care to trace the history of the bust2 but whether he modelled it after ,michelangelo's death cannot be decided4 ,professional critics are of the opinion that a mask was followed by the master2 and this may have been the case4 ,michelangelo died upon the #agth of ,february #aefd4 ,his face was probably cast in the usual course of things1 and copies may have been distributed among his friends in ,rome and ,florence4 ,lionardo ,buonarroti showed at once a great anxiety to obtain his uncle's bust from ,daniele da ,volterra4 ,possibly he ordered it while resident in ,rome1 engaged in winding up ,michelangelo's affairs4 ,at any rate1 ,daniele wrote on ,june #aa to this effect3 ,as regards the portraits in metal1 ,i have already completed a model in wax1 and the work is going on as fast as circumstances permit2 you may rely upon its being completed with due despatch and all the care ,i can bestow upon it4 ,nearly four months had elapsed since ,michelangelo's decease1 and this was quite enough time for the wax model to be made4 ,the work of casting was begun1 but ,daniele's health at this time became so wretched that he found it impossible to work steadily at any of his undertakings4 ,he sank slowly1 and expired in the early spring of #aeff4 ,what happened to the bronze heads in the interval between ,june #aefd and ,april #aeff may be partly understood from ,diomede ,leoni's correspondence4 ,this man1 a native of ,san ,quirico1 was ,daniele's scholar1 and an intimate friend of the ,buonarroti family4 ,on the #ith of ,september #aefd he wrote to ,lionardo3 ,your two heads of that sainted man are coming to a good result1 and ,i am sure you will be satisfied with them4 ,it appears1 then1 that ,lionardo had ordered two copies from ,daniele4 ,on the #bast of ,april #aefe ,diomede writes again3 ,i delivered your messages to ,messer ,daniele1 who replies that you are always in his mind1 as also the two heads of your lamented uncle4 ,they will soon be cast1 as also will my copy1 which ,i mean to keep by me for my honour4 ,the casting must have taken place in the summer of #aefe1 for ,diomede writes upon the #fth of ,october3 ,i will remind him 7,daniele7 of your two heads2 and he will find mine well finished1 which will make him wish to have yours chased without further delay4 ,the three heads had then been cast2 ,diomede was polishing his up with the file2 ,daniele had not yet begun to do this for ,lionardo's4 ,we hear nothing more until the death of ,daniele da ,volterra4 ,after this event occurred1 ,lionardo ,buonarroti received a letter from ,jacopo del ,duca1 a ,sicilian bronze-caster of high merit1 who had enjoyed ,michelangelo's confidence and friendship4 ,he was at present employed upon the metal-work for ,buonarroti's monument in the ,church of the ,,ss4 ,apostoli in ,rome1 and on the #ahth of ,april he sent important information respecting the two heads left by ,daniele4 ,messer ,danielo had cast them1 but they are in such a state as to require working over afresh with chisels and files4 ,i am not sure1 then1 whether they will suit your purpose2 but that is your affair4 ,i1 for my part1 should have liked you to have the portrait from the hand of the lamented master himself1 and not from any other4 ,your lordship must decide3 appeal to some one who can inform you better than ,i do4 ,i know that ,i am speaking from the love ,i bear you2 and perhaps1 if ,danielo had been alive1 he would have had them brought to proper finish4 ,as for those men of his1 ,i do not know what they will do4 ,on the same day1 a certain ,michele ,alberti wrote as follows3 ,messer ,jacopo1 your gossip1 has told me that your lordship wished to know in what condition are the heads of the late lamented ,michelangelo4 ,i inform you that they are cast1 and will be chased within the space of a month1 or rather more4 ,so your lordship will be able to have them2 and you may rest assured that you will be well and quickly served4 ,alberti1 we may conjecture1 was one of ,daniele's men alluded to by ,jacopo del ,duca4 ,it is probable that just at this time they were making several replicas from their deceased master's model1 in order to dispose of them at an advantage while ,michelangelo's memory was still fresh4 ,lionardo grew more and more impatient4 ,he appealed again to ,diomede ,leoni1 who replied from ,san ,quirico upon the #dth of ,june3 ,the two heads were in existence when ,i left ,rome1 but not finished up4 ,i imagine you have given orders to have them delivered over to yourself4 ,as for the work of chasing them1 if you can wait till my return1 we might intrust them to a man who succeeded very well with my own copy4 ,three years later1 on ,september #ag1 #aefi1 ,diomede wrote once again about his copy of ,da ,volterra's model3 ,i enjoy the continual contemplation of his effigy in bronze1 which is now perfectly finished and set up in my garden1 where you will see it1 if good fortune favours me with a visit from you4 ,the net result of this correspondence seems to be that certainly three bronze heads1 and probably more1 remained unfinished in ,daniele da ,volterra's workshop after his death1 and that these were gradually cleaned and polished by different craftsmen1 according to the pleasure of their purchasers4 ,the strong resemblance of the eight bronze heads at present known to us1 in combination with their different states of surface-finish1 correspond entirely to this conclusion4 ,mr4 ,fortnum1 in his classification1 describes four as being not chased1 one as rudely and broadly chased1 three as more or less chased4 ,of these variants upon the model common to them all1 we can only trace one with relative certainty4 ,it is the bust at present in the ,bargello ,palace1 whither it came from the ,grand ,ducal villa of ,poggio ,imperiale4 ,by the marriage of the heiress of the ducal house of ,della ,rovere with a ,duke of ,tuscany1 this work of art passed1 with other art treasures1 notably with a statuette of ,michelangelo's ,moses1 into the possession of the ,medici4 ,a letter written in #aegj to the ,duke of ,urbino by ,buonarroti's house-servant1 ,antonio del ,franzese of ,castel ,durante1 throws light upon the matter4 ,he begins by saying that he is glad to hear the ,duke will accept the little ,moses1 though the object is too slight in value to deserve his notice4 ,then he adds3 ,the head of which your ,excellency spoke in the very kind letter addressed to me at your command is the true likeness of ,michelangelo ,buonarroti1 my old master2 and it is of bronze1 designed by himself4 ,i keep it here in ,rome1 and now present it to your ,excellency4 ,antonio then1 in all probability1 obtained one of the ,daniele da ,volterra bronzes2 for it is wholly incredible that what he writes about its having been made by ,michelangelo should be the truth4 ,had ,michelangelo really modelled his own portrait and cast it in bronze1 we must have heard of this from other sources4 ,moreover1 the ,medicean bust of ,michelangelo which is now placed in the ,bargello1 and which we believe to have come from ,urbino1 belongs indubitably to the series of portraits made from ,daniele da ,volterra's model4 ,to sum up this question of ,michelangelo's authentic portraits3 ,i repeat that ,bonasoni's engraving represents him at the age of seventy2 ,leoni's wax model and medallions at eighty2 the eight bronze heads1 derived from ,daniele's model1 at the epoch of his death4 ,in painting1 ,marco ,venusti and ,daniele da ,volterra helped to establish a traditional type by two episodical likenesses1 the one worked into ,venusti's copy of the ,last ,judgment 7at ,naples71 the other into ,volterra's original picture of the ,assumption 7at ,trinit de' ,monti1 ,rome74 ,for the rest1 the easel-pictures1 which abound1 can hardly now be distributed1 by any sane method of criticism1 between ,bugiardini1 ,jacopo del ,conte1 and ,venusti4 ,they must be taken en masse1 as contributions to the study of his personality2 and1 as ,i have already said1 the oil-painting of the ,uffizi may perhaps be ascribed with some show of probability to ,bugiardini4 ,,iv ,michelangelo's correspondence with his nephew ,lionardo gives us ample details concerning his private life and interests in old age4 ,it turns mainly upon the following topics3 investment of money in land near ,florence1 the purchase of a mansion in the city1 ,lionardo's marriage1 his own illnesses1 the ,duke's invitation1 and the project of making a will1 which was never carried out4 ,much as ,michelangelo loved his nephew1 he took frequent occasions of snubbing him4 ,for instance1 news reached ,rome that the landed property of a certain ,francesco ,corboli was going to be sold4 ,michelangelo sent to ,lionardo requesting him to make inquiries2 and because the latter showed some alacrity in doing so1 his uncle wrote him the following querulous epistle3 ,you have been very hasty in sending me information regarding the estates of the ,corboli4 ,i did not think you were yet in ,florence4 ,are you afraid lest ,i should change my mind1 as some one may perhaps have put it into your head8 ,i tell you that ,i want to go slowly in this affair1 because the money ,i must pay has been gained here with toil and trouble unintelligible to one who was born clothed and shod as you were4 ,about your coming post-haste to ,rome1 ,i do not know that you came in such a hurry when ,i was a pauper and lacked bread4 ,enough for you to throw away the money that you did not earn4 ,the fear of losing what you might inherit on my death impelled you4 ,you say it was your duty to come1 by reason of the love you bear me4 ,the love of a woodworm6 ,if you really loved me1 you would have written now3 ',michelangelo1 spend those #cjjj ducats there upon yourself1 for you have given us enough already3 your life is dearer to us than your money4' ,you have all of you lived forty years upon me1 and ,i have never had from you so much as one good word4 ',tis true that last year ,i scolded and rebuked you so that for very shame you sent me a load of trebbiano4 ,i almost wish you hadn't6 ,i do not write this because ,i am unwilling to buy4 ,indeed ,i have a mind to do so1 in order to obtain an income for myself1 now that ,i cannot work more4 ,but ,i want to buy at leisure1 so as not to purchase some annoyance4 ,therefore do not hurry4 ,lionardo was careless about his handwriting1 and this annoyed the old man terribly4 ,do not write to me again4 ,each time ,i get one of your letters1 a fever takes me with the trouble ,i have in reading it4 ,i do not know where you learned to write4 ,i think that if you were writing to the greatest donkey in the world you would do it with more care4 ,therefore do not add to the annoyances ,i have1 for ,i have already quite enough of them4 ,he returns to the subject over and over again1 and once declares that he has flung a letter of ,lionardo's into the fire unread1 and so is incapable of answering it4 ,this did not prevent a brisk interchange of friendly communications between the uncle and nephew4 ,lionardo was now living in the ,buonarroti house in ,via ,ghibellina4 ,michelangelo thought it advisable that he should remove into a more commodious mansion1 and one not subject to inundations of the basement4 ,he desired1 however1 not to go beyond the quarter of ,s4 ,croce1 where the family had been for centuries established4 ,the matter became urgent1 for ,lionardo wished to marry1 and could not marry until he was provided with a residence4 ,eventually1 after rejecting many plans and proffers of houses1 they decided to enlarge and improve the original ,buonarroti mansion in ,via ,ghibellina4 ,this house continued to be their town-mansion until the year #aheb1 when it passed by testamentary devise to the city of ,florence4 ,it is now the ,museo ,buonarroti4 ,lionardo was at this time thirty1 and was the sole hope of the family1 since ,michelangelo and his two surviving brothers had no expectation of offspring4 ,his uncle kept reminding the young man that1 if he did not marry and get children1 the whole property of the ,buonarroti would go to the ,hospital or to ,s4 ,martino4 ,this made his marriage imperative2 and ,michelangelo's letters between ,march #e1 #aedg1 and ,may #af1 #aeec1 when the desired event took place1 are full of the subject4 ,he gives his nephew excellent advice as to the choice of a wife4 ,she ought to be ten years younger than himself1 of noble birth1 but not of a very rich or powerful family2 ,lionardo must not expect her to be too handsome1 since he is no miracle of manly beauty2 the great thing is to obtain a good1 useful1 and obedient helpmate1 who will not try to get the upper hand in the house1 and who will be grateful for an honourable settlement in life4 ,the following passages may be selected1 as specimens of ,michelangelo's advice3 ,you ought not to look for a dower1 but only to consider whether the girl is well brought up1 healthy1 of good character and noble blood4 ,you are not yourself of such parts and person as to be worthy of the first beauty of ,florence4 ,you have need of a wife who would stay with you1 and whom you could command1 and who would not want to live in grand style or to gad about every day to marriages and banquets4 ,where a court is1 it is easy to become a woman of loose life2 especially for one who has no relatives4 ,numerous young ladies were introduced by friends or matrimonial agents4 ,six years1 however1 elapsed before the suitable person presented herself in the shape of ,cassandra1 daughter of ,donato ,ridolfi4 ,meanwhile1 in #aedh1 ,michelangelo lost the elder of his surviving brothers4 ,giovan ,simone died upon the #ith of ,january2 and though he had given but little satisfaction in his lifetime1 his death was felt acutely by the venerable artist4 ,i received news in your last of ,giovan ,simone's death4 ,it has caused me the greatest sorrow2 for though ,i am old1 ,i had yet hoped to see him before he died1 and before ,i died4 ,god has willed it so4 ,patience6 ,i should be glad to hear circumstantially what kind of end he made1 and whether he confessed and communicated with all the sacraments of the ,church4 ,if he did so1 and ,i am informed of it1 ,i shall suffer less4 ,a few days after the date of this letter1 ,michelangelo writes again1 blaming ,lionardo pretty severely for negligence in giving particulars of his uncle's death and affairs4 ,later on1 it seems that he was satisfied regarding ,giovan ,simone's manner of departure from this world4 ,a grudge remained against ,lionardo because he had omitted to inform him about the property4 ,i heard the details from other persons before you sent them1 which angered me exceedingly4 ,v ,the year #aedi is marked by an exchange of civilities between ,michelangelo and ,benedetto ,varchi4 ,the learned man of letters and minute historiographer of ,florence probably enjoyed our great sculptor's society in former years3 recently they had been brought into closer relations at ,rome4 ,varchi1 who was interested in critical and academical problems1 started the question whether sculpture or painting could justly claim a priority in the plastic arts4 ,he conceived the very modern idea of collecting opinions from practical craftsmen1 instituting1 in fact1 what would now be called a ,symposium upon the subject4 ,a good number of the answers to his query have been preserved1 and among them is a letter from ,michelangelo4 ,it contains the following passage1 which proves in how deep a sense ,buonarroti was by temperament and predilection a sculptor3 ,my opinion is that all painting is the better the nearer it approaches to relief1 and relief is the worse in proportion as it inclines to painting4 ,and so ,i have been wont to think that sculpture is the lamp of painting1 and that the difference between them might be likened to the difference between the sun and moon4 ,now that ,i have read your essay1 in which you maintain that1 philosophically speaking1 things which fulfil the same purpose are essentially the same1 ,i have altered my view4 ,therefore ,i say that1 if greater judgment and difficulty1 impediment and labour1 in the handling of material do not constitute higher nobility1 then painting and sculpture form one art4 ,this being granted1 it follows that no painter should underrate sculpture1 and no sculptor should make light of painting4 ,by sculpture ,i understand an art which operates by taking away superfluous material2 by painting1 one that attains its result by laying on4 ,it is enough that both emanate from the same human intelligence1 and consequently sculpture and painting ought to live in amity together1 without these lengthy disputations4 ,more time is wasted in talking about the problem than would go to the making of figures in both species4 ,the man who wrote that painting was superior to sculpture1 if he understood the other things he says no better1 might be called a writer below the level of my maid-servant4 ,there are infinite points not yet expressed which might be brought out regarding these arts2 but1 as ,i have said1 they want too much time2 and of time ,i have but little1 being not only old1 but almost numbered with the dead4 ,therefore1 ,i pray you to have me excused4 ,i recommend myself to you1 and thank you to the best of my ability for the too great honour you have done me1 which is more than ,i deserve4 ,varchi printed this letter in a volume which he published at ,florence in #aedi1 and reissued through another firm in #aeij4 ,it contained the treatise alluded to above1 and also a commentary upon one of ,michelangelo's sonnets1 ,non ha l'ottimo artista alcun concetto4 ,the book was duly sent to ,michelangelo by the favour of a noble ,florentine gentleman1 ,luca ,martini4 ,he responded to the present in a letter which deserves here to be recited4 ,it is an eminent example of the urbanity observed by him in the interchange of these and similar courtesies3-- ,i have received your letter1 together with a little book containing a commentary on a sonnet of mine4 ,the sonnet does indeed proceed from me1 but the commentary comes from heaven4 ,in truth it is a marvellous production2 and ,i say this not on my own judgment only1 but on that of able men1 especially of ,messer ,donato ,giannotti1 who is never tired of reading it4 ,he begs to be remembered to you4 ,about the sonnet1 ,i know very well what that is worth4 ,yet be it what it may1 ,i cannot refrain from piquing myself a little on having been the cause of so beautiful and learned a commentary4 ,the author of it1 by his words and praises1 shows clearly that he thinks me to be other than ,i am2 so ,i beg you to express me to him in terms corresponding to so much love1 affection1 and courtesy4 ,i entreat you to do this1 because ,i feel myself inadequate1 and one who has gained golden opinions ought not to tempt fortune2 it is better to keep silence than to fall from that height4 ,i am old1 and death has robbed me of the thoughts of my youth4 ,he who knows not what old age is1 let him wait till it arrives3 he cannot know beforehand4 ,remember me1 as ,i said1 to ,varchi1 with deep affection for his fine qualities1 and as his servant wherever ,i may be4 ,three other letters belonging to the same year show how deeply ,michelangelo was touched and gratified by the distinguished honour ,varchi paid him4 ,in an earlier chapter of this book ,i have already pointed out how this correspondence bears upon the question of his friendship with ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri1 and also upon an untenable hypothesis advanced by recent ,florentine students of his biography4 ,the incident is notable in other ways because ,buonarroti was now adopted as a poet by the ,florentine ,academy4 ,with a width of sympathy rare in such bodies1 they condoned the ruggedness of his style and the uncouthness of his versification in their admiration for the high quality of his meditative inspiration4 ,to the triple crown of sculptor1 painter1 architect1 he now added the laurels of the bard2 and this public recognition of his genius as a writer gave him well-merited pleasure in his declining years4 ,while gathering up these scattered fragments of ,buonarroti's later life1 ,i may here introduce a letter addressed to ,benvenuto ,cellini1 which illustrates his glad acceptance of all good work in fellow-craftsmen3-- ,my ,benvenuto1--,i have known you all these years as the greatest goldsmith of whom the world ever heard1 and now ,i am to know you for a sculptor of the same quality4 ,messer ,bindo ,altoviti took me to see his portrait bust in bronze1 and told me it was by your hand4 ,i admired it much1 but was sorry to see that it has been placed in a bad light4 ,if it had a proper illumination1 it would show itself to be the fine work it is4 ,,vi ,lionardo ,buonarroti was at last married to ,cassandra1 the daughter of ,donato ,ridolfi1 upon the #afth of ,may #aeec4 ,one of the dearest wishes which had occupied his uncle's mind so long1 came thus to its accomplishment4 ,his letters are full of kindly thoughts for the young couple1 and of prudent advice to the husband1 who had not arranged all matters connected with the settlements to his own satisfaction4 ,michelangelo congratulated ,lionardo heartily upon his happiness1 and told him that he was minded to send the bride a handsome present1 in token of his esteem4 ,i have not been able to do so yet1 because ,urbino was away4 ,now that he has returned1 ,i shall give expression to my sentiments4 ,they tell me that a fine pearl necklace of some value would be very proper4 ,i have sent a goldsmith1 ,urbino's friend1 in search of such an ornament1 and hope to find it2 but say nothing to her1 and if you would like me to choose another article1 please let me know4 ,this letter winds up with a strange admonition3 ,look to living1 reflect and weigh things well2 for the number of widows in the world is always larger than that of the widowers4 ,ultimately he decided upon two rings1 one a diamond1 the other a ruby4 ,he tells ,lionardo to have the stones valued in case he has been cheated1 because he does not understand such things2 and is glad to hear in due course that the jewels are genuine4 ,after the proper interval1 ,cassandra expected her confinement1 and ,michelangelo corresponded with his nephew as to the child's name in case it was a boy4 ,i shall be very pleased if the name of ,buonarroto does not die out of our family1 it having lasted three hundred years with us4 ,the child was born upon the #afth of ,may #aedd1 turned out a boy1 and received the name of ,buonarroto4 ,though ,lionardo had seven other children1 including ,michelangelo the younger 7born ,november #d1 #aefh71 this ,buonarroto alone continued the male line of the family4 ,the old man in ,rome remarked resignedly during his later years1 when he heard the news of a baby born and dead1 that ,i am not surprised2 there was never in our family more than one at a time to keep it going4 ,buonarroto was christened with some pomp1 and ,vasari wrote to ,michelangelo describing the festivities4 ,in the year #aeed1 ,cosimo de' ,medici had thrown his net round ,siena4 ,the ,marquis of ,marignano reduced the city first to extremities by famine1 and finally to enslavement by capitulation4 ,these facts account for the tone of ,michelangelo's answer to ,vasari's letter3 ,yours has given me the greatest pleasure1 because it assures me that you remember the poor old man2 and more perhaps because you were present at the triumph you narrate1 of seeing another ,buonarroto reborn4 ,i thank you heartily for the information4 ,but ,i must say that ,i am displeased with so much pomp and show4 ,man ought not to laugh when the whole world weeps4 ,so ,i think that ,lionardo has not displayed great judgment1 particularly in celebrating a nativity with all that joy and gladness which ought to be reserved for the decease of one who has lived well4 ,there is what may be called an ,elizabethan note--something like the lyrical interbreathings of our dramatists--in this blending of jubilation and sorrow1 discontent and satisfaction1 birth and death thoughts4 ,we have seen that ,vasari worked for a short time as pupil under ,michelangelo1 and that during the pontificate of ,paul ,,iii4 they were brought into frequent contact at ,rome4 ,with years their friendship deepened into intimacy1 and after the date #aeej their correspondence forms one of our most important sources of information4 ,michelangelo's letters begin upon the #ast of ,august in that year4 ,vasari was then living and working for the ,duke at ,florence2 but he had designed a chapel for ,s4 ,pietro a ,montorio in ,rome1 where ,julius ,,iii4 wished to erect tombs to the memory of his ancestors2 and the work had been allotted to ,bartolommeo ,ammanati under ,michelangelo's direction4 ,this business1 otherwise of no importance in his biography1 necessitated the writing of despatches1 one of which is interesting1 since it acknowledges the receipt of ,vasari's celebrated book3-- ,referring to your three letters which ,i have received1 my pen refuses to reply to such high compliments4 ,i should indeed be happy if ,i were in some degree what you make me out to be1 but ,i should not care for this except that then you would have a servant worth something4 ,however1 ,i am not surprised that you1 who resuscitate the dead1 should prolong the life of the living1 or that you should steal the half-dead from death for an endless period4 ,it seems that on this occasion he also sent ,vasari the sonnet composed upon his ,lives of the ,painters4 ,though it cannot be called one of his poetical masterpieces1 the personal interest attaching to the verses justifies their introduction here3-- ,with pencil and with palette hitherto ,you made your art high ,nature's paragon2 ,nay more1 from ,nature her own prize you won1 ,making what she made fair more fair to view4 ,now that your learned hand with labour new ,of pen and ink a worthier work hath done1 ,what erst you lacked1 what still remained her own1 ,the power of giving life1 is gained for you4 ,if men in any age with ,nature vied ,in beauteous workmanship1 they had to yield ,when to the fated end years brought their name4 ,you1 re-illuming memories that died1 ,in spite of ,time and ,nature have revealed ,for them and for yourself eternal fame4 ,vasari's official position at the ducal court of ,florence brought him into frequent and personal relations with ,cosimo de' ,medici4 ,the ,duke had long been anxious to lure the most gifted of his subjects back to ,florence2 but ,michelangelo1 though he remained a loyal servant to the ,medicean family1 could not approve of ,cosimo's despotic rule4 ,moreover1 he was now engaged by every tie of honour1 interest1 and artistic ambition to superintend the fabric of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,he showed great tact1 through delicate negotiations carried on for many years1 in avoiding the ,duke's overtures without sacrificing his friendship4 ,wishing to found his family in ,florence and to fund the earnings of his life there1 he naturally assumed a courteous attitude4 ,a letter written by the ,bishop ,tornabuoni to ,giovanni ,francesco ,lottini in ,rome shows that these overtures began as early as #aedf4 ,the prelate says the ,duke is so anxious to regain ,michelangelo1 the divine sculptor1 that he promises to make him a member of the forty-eight senators1 and to give him any office he may ask for4 ,the affair was dropped for some years1 but in #aeeb ,cosimo renewed his attempts1 and now began to employ ,vasari and ,cellini as ambassadors4 ,soon after finishing his ,perseus1 ,benvenuto begged for leave to go to ,rome2 and before starting1 he showed the ,duke ,michelangelo's friendly letter on the bust of ,bindo ,altoviti4 ,he read it with much kindly interest1 and said to me3 ',benvenuto1 if you write to him1 and can persuade him to return to ,florence1 ,i will make him a member of the ,forty-eight4' ,accordingly ,i wrote a letter full of warmth1 and offered in the ,duke's name a hundred times more than my commission carried2 but not wanting to make any mistake1 ,i showed this to the ,duke before ,i sealed it1 saying to his most illustrious ,excellency3 ',prince1 perhaps ,i have made him too many promises4' ,he replied3 ',michel ,agnolo deserves more than you have promised1 and ,i will bestow on him still greater favours4' ,to this letter he sent no answer1 and ,i could see that the ,duke was much offended with him4 ,while in ,rome1 ,cellini went to visit ,michelangelo1 and renewed his offers in the ,duke's name4 ,what passed in that interview is so graphically told1 introducing the rustic personality of ,urbino on the stage1 and giving a hint of ,michelangelo's reasons for not returning in person to ,florence1 that the whole passage may be transcribed as opening a little window on the details of our hero's domestic life3-- ,then ,i went to visit ,michel ,agnolo ,buonarroti1 and repeated what ,i had written from ,florence to him in the ,duke's name4 ,he replied that he was engaged upon the fabric of ,s4 ,peter's1 and that this would prevent him from leaving ,rome4 ,i rejoined that1 as he had decided on the model of that building1 he could leave its execution to his man ,urbino1 who would carry out his orders to the letter4 ,i added much about future favours1 in the form of a message from the ,duke4 ,upon this he looked me hard in the face1 and said with a sarcastic smile3 ',and you6 to what extent are you satisfied with him8' ,although ,i replied that ,i was extremely contented and was very well treated by his ,excellency1 he showed that he was acquainted with the greater part of my annoyances1 and gave as his final answer that it would be difficult for him to leave ,rome4 ,to this ,i added that he could not do better than to return to his own land1 which was governed by a prince renowned for justice1 and the greatest lover of the arts and sciences who ever saw the light of this world4 ,as ,i have remarked above1 he had with him a servant of his who came from ,urbino1 and had lived many years in his employment1 rather as valet and housekeeper than anything else2 this indeed was obvious1 because he had acquired no skill in the arts4 ,consequently1 while ,i was pressing ,michel ,agnolo with arguments he could not answer1 he turned round sharply to ,urbino1 as though to ask him his opinion4 ,the fellow began to bawl out in his rustic way3 ',i will never leave my master ,michel ,agnolo's side till ,i shall have flayed him or he shall have flayed me4' ,these stupid words forced me to laugh1 and without saying farewell1 ,i lowered my shoulders and retired4 ,this was in #aeeb4 ,the ,duke was loth to take a refusal1 and for the next eight years he continued to ply ,michelangelo with invitations1 writing letters by his own hand1 employing his agents in ,rome and ,florence1 and working through ,vasari4 ,the letters to ,vasari during this period are full of the subject4 ,michelangelo remains firm in his intention to remain at ,rome and not abandon ,s4 ,peter's4 ,as years went on1 infirmities increased1 and the solicitations of the ,duke became more and more irksome to the old man4 ,his discomfort at last elicited what may be called a real cry of pain in a letter to his nephew3-- ,as regards my condition1 ,i am ill with all the troubles which are wont to afflict old men4 ,the stone prevents me passing water4 ,my loins and back are so stiff that ,i often cannot climb upstairs4 ,what makes matters worse is that my mind is much worried with anxieties4 ,if ,i leave the conveniences ,i have here for my health1 ,i can hardly live three days4 ,yet ,i do not want to lose the favour of the ,duke1 nor should ,i like to fail in my work at ,s4 ,peter's1 nor in my duty to myself4 ,i pray ,god to help and counsel me2 and if ,i were taken ill by some dangerous fever1 ,i would send for you at once4 ,meanwhile1 in spite of his resistance to the ,duke's wishes1 ,michelangelo did not lose the favour of the ,medicean family4 ,the delicacy of behaviour by means of which he contrived to preserve and strengthen it1 is indeed one of the strongest evidences of his sincerity1 sagacity1 and prudence4 ,the ,cardinal ,giovanni1 son of ,cosimo1 travelled to ,rome in ,march #aefj1 in order to be invested with the purple by the ,pope's hands4 ,on this occasion ,vasari1 who rode in the young prince's train1 wrote despatches to ,florence which contain some interesting passages about ,buonarroti4 ,in one of them 7,march #bi7 he says3 ,my friend ,michelangelo is so old that ,i do not hope to obtain much from him4 ,beside the reiterated overtures regarding a return to ,florence1 the ,church of the ,florentines was now in progress1 and ,cosimo also required ,buonarroti's advice upon the decoration of the ,great ,hall in the ,palazzo della ,signoria4 ,in a second letter 7,april #h7 ,vasari tells the ,duke3 ,i reached ,rome1 and immediately after the most reverend and illustrious ,medici had made his entrance and received the hat from our lord's hands1 a ceremony which ,i wished to see with a view to the frescoes in the ,palace1 ,i went to visit my friend1 the mighty ,michelangelo4 ,he had not expected me1 and the tenderness of his reception was such as old men show when lost sons unexpectedly return to them4 ,he fell upon my neck with a thousand kisses1 weeping for joy4 ,he was so glad to see me1 and ,i him1 that ,i have had no greater pleasure since ,i entered the service of your ,excellency1 albeit ,i enjoy so many through your kindness4 ,we talked about the greatness and the wonders which our ,god in heaven has wrought for you1 and he lamented that he could not serve you with his body1 as he is ready to do with his talents at the least sign of your will4 ,he also expressed his sorrow at being unable to wait upon the ,cardinal1 because he now can move about but little1 and is grown so old that he gets small rest1 and is so low in health ,i fear he will not last long1 unless the goodness of ,god preserves him for the building of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,after some further particulars1 ,vasari adds that he hopes to spend ,monday and ,tuesday discussing the model of the ,great ,hall with ,michelangelo1 as well as the composition of the several frescoes4 ,i have all that is necessary with me1 and will do my utmost1 while remaining in his company1 to extract useful information and suggestions4 ,we know from ,vasari's ,life of ,michelangelo that the plans for decorating the ,palace were settled to his own and the ,duke's satisfaction during these colloquies at ,rome4 ,later on in the year1 ,cosimo came in person to ,rome1 attended by the ,duchess ,eleonora4 ,michelangelo immediately waited on their ,highnesses1 and was received with special marks of courtesy by the ,duke1 who bade him to be seated at his side1 and discoursed at length about his own designs for ,florence and certain discoveries he had made in the method of working porphyry4 ,these interviews1 says ,vasari1 were repeated several times during ,cosimo's sojourn in ,rome2 and when the ,crown-,prince of ,florence1 ,don ,francesco1 arrived1 this young nobleman showed his high respect for the great man by conversing with him cap in hand4 ,the project of bringing ,buonarroti back to ,florence was finally abandoned2 but he had the satisfaction of feeling that1 after the lapse of more than seventy years1 his long connection with the ,house of ,medici remained as firm and cordial as it had ever been4 ,it was also consolatory to know that the relations established between himself and the reigning dynasty in ,florence would prove of service to ,lionardo1 upon whom he now had concentrated the whole of his strong family affection4 ,in estimating ,michelangelo as man1 independent of his eminence as artist1 the most singular point which strikes us is this persistent preoccupation with the ancient house he desired so earnestly to rehabilitate4 ,he treated ,lionardo with the greatest brutality4 ,nothing that this nephew did1 or did not do1 was right4 ,yet ,lionardo was the sole hope of the ,buonarroti-,simoni stock4 ,when he married and got children1 the old man purred with satisfaction over him1 but only as a breeder of the race2 and he did all in his power to establish ,lionardo in a secure position4 ,,vii ,returning to the history of ,michelangelo's domestic life1 we have to relate two sad events which happened to him at the end of #aeee4 ,on the #bhth of ,september he wrote to ,lionardo3 ,the bad news about ,gismondo afflicts me deeply4 ,i am not without my own troubles of health1 and have many annoyances besides4 ,in addition to all this1 ,urbino has been ill in bed with me three months1 and is so still1 which causes me much trouble and anxiety4 ,gismondo1 who had been declining all the summer1 died upon the #acth of ,november4 ,his brother in ,rome was too much taken up with the mortal sickness of his old friend and servant ,urbino to express great sorrow4 ,your letter informs me of my brother ,gismondo's death1 which is the cause to me of serious grief4 ,we must have patience2 and inasmuch as he died sound of mind and with all the sacraments of the ,church1 let ,god be praised4 ,i am in great affliction here4 ,urbino is still in bed1 and very seriously ill4 ,i do not know what will come of it4 ,i feel this trouble as though he were my own son1 because he has lived in my service twenty-five years1 and has been very faithful4 ,being old1 ,i have no time to form another servant to my purpose2 and so ,i am sad exceedingly4 ,if then1 you know of some devout person1 ,i beg you to have prayers offered up to ,god for his recovery4 ,the next letter gives a short account of his death3-- ,i inform you that yesterday1 the #crd of ,december1 at four o'clock1 ,francesco called ,urbino passed from this life1 to my very great sorrow4 ,he has left me sorely stricken and afflicted2 nay1 it would have been sweeter to have died with him1 such is the love ,i bore him4 ,less than this love he did not deserve2 for he had grown to be a worthy man1 full of faith and loyalty4 ,so1 then1 ,i feel as though his death had left me without life1 and ,i cannot find heart's ease4 ,i should be glad to see you1 therefore2 only ,i cannot think how you can leave ,florence because of your wife4 ,to ,vasari he wrote still more passionately upon this occasion3-- ,i cannot write well2 yet1 in answer to your letter1 ,i will say a few words4 ,you know that ,urbino is dead4 ,i owe the greatest thanks to ,god1 at the same time that my own loss is heavy and my sorrow infinite4 ,the grace ,he gave me is that1 while ,urbino kept me alive in life1 his death taught me to die without displeasure1 rather with a deep and real desire4 ,i had him with me twenty-six years1 and found him above measure faithful and sincere4 ,now that ,i had made him rich1 and thought to keep him as the staff and rest of my old age1 he has vanished from my sight2 nor have ,i hope left but that of seeing him again in ,paradise4 ,god has given us good foundation for this hope in the exceedingly happy ending of his life4 ,even more than dying1 it grieved him to leave me alive in this treacherous world1 with so many troubles2 and yet the better part of me is gone with him1 nor is there left to me aught but infinite distress4 ,i recommend myself to you1 and beg you1 if it be not irksome1 to make my excuses to ,messer ,benvenuto 7,cellini7 for omitting to answer his letter4 ,the trouble of soul ,i suffer in thought about these things prevents me from writing4 ,remember me to him1 and take my best respects to yourself4 ,how tenderly ,michelangelo's thought dwelt upon ,urbino appears from this sonnet1 addressed in #aeef to ,monsignor ,lodovico ,beccadelli3-- ,god's grace1 the cross1 our troubles multiplied1 ,will make us meet in heaven1 full well ,i know3 ,yet ere we yield1 our breath on earth below1 ,why need a little solace be denied8 ,though seas and mountains and rough ways divide ,our feet asunder1 neither frost nor snow ,can make the soul her ancient love2 or ego2 ,nor chains nor bonds the wings of thought have tied4 ,borne by these wings1 with thee ,i dwell for aye1 ,and weep1 and of my dead ,urbino talk1 ,who1 were he living1 now perchance would be-- ,for so 'twas planned--thy guest as well as ,i4 ,warned by his death1 another way ,i walk ,to meet him where he waits to live with me4 ,by his will1 dated ,november #bd1 #aeee1 ,urbino1 whose real name was ,francesco degli ,amadori of ,castel ,durante1 appointed his old friend and master one of his executors and the chief guardian of his widow and children4 ,a certain ,roso de ,rosis and ,pietro ,filippo ,vandini1 both of ,castel ,durante1 are named in the trust2 and they managed the estate4 ,yet ,michelangelo was evidently the principal authority4 ,a voluminous correspondence preserved in the ,buonarroti ,archives proves this2 for it consists of numerous letters addressed by ,urbino's executors and family from ,castel ,durante and elsewhere to the old sculptor in ,rome4 ,urbino had married a woman of fine character and high intelligence1 named ,cornelia ,colonnelli4 ,two of her letters are printed by ,gotti1 and deserve to be studied for the power of their style and the elevation of their sentiments4 ,he has not made use1 however1 of the other documents1 all of which have some interest as giving a pretty complete view of a private family and its vexations1 while they illustrate the conscientious fidelity with which ,michelangelo discharged his duties as trustee4 ,urbino had a brother1 also resident at ,castel ,durante1 ,raffaello's celebrated pupil in fresco-painting1 ,il ,fattorino4 ,this man and ,vandini1 together with ,cornelia and her parents and her second husband1 ,giulio ,brunelli1 all wrote letters to ,rome about the welfare of the children and the financial affairs of the estate4 ,the coexecutor ,roso de ,rosis did not write2 it appears from one of ,cornelia's despatches that he took no active interest in the trust1 while ,brunelli even complains that he withheld moneys which were legally due to the heirs4 ,one of ,michelangelo's first duties was to take care that ,cornelia got a proper man for her second husband4 ,her parents were eager to see her married1 being themselves old1 and not liking to leave a comparatively young widow alone in the world with so many children to look after4 ,their choice fell first upon a very undesirable person called ,santagnolo1 a young man of dissolute habits1 ruined constitution1 bad character1 and no estate4 ,she refused1 with spirit1 to sign the marriage contract2 and a few months later wrote again to inform her guardian that a suitable match had been found in the person of ,giulio ,brunelli of ,gubbio1 a young doctor of laws1 then resident at ,castel ,durante in the quality of podest4 ,michelangelo's suspicions must have been aroused by the unworthy conduct of her parents in the matter of ,santagnolo2 for we infer that he at first refused to sanction this second match4 ,cornelia and the parents wrote once more1 assuring him that ,brunelli was an excellent man1 and entreating him not to open his ears to malignant gossip4 ,on the #aeth of ,june ,brunelli himself appears upon the scene1 announcing his marriage with ,cornelia1 introducing himself in terms of becoming modesty to ,michelangelo1 and assuring him that ,urbino's children have found a second father4 ,he writes again upon the #bith of ,july1 this time to announce the fact that ,il ,fattorino has spread about false rumours to the effect that ,cornelia and himself intend to leave ,castel ,durante and desert the children4 ,their guardian must not credit such idle gossip1 for they are both sincerely attached to the children1 and intend to do the best they can for them4 ,family dissensions began to trouble their peace4 ,in the course of the next few months ,brunelli discovers that he cannot act with the ,fattorino or with ,vandini2 ,cornelia's dowry is not paid2 ,roso refuses to refund money due to the heirs2 ,michelangelo alone can decide what ought to be done for the estate and his wards4 ,the ,fattorino writes that ,vandini has renounced the trust1 and that all ,brunelli's and his own entreaties cannot make him resume it4 ,for himself1 he is resolved not to bear the burden alone4 ,he has his own shop to look after1 and will not let himself be bothered4 ,unluckily1 none of ,michelangelo's answers have been preserved4 ,we possess only one of his letters to ,cornelia1 which shows that she wished to place her son and his godson1 ,michelangelo1 under his care at ,rome4 ,he replied that he did not feel himself in a position to accept the responsibility4 ,it would not do to send ,michelangelo1 seeing that ,i have nobody to manage the house and no female servants2 the boy is still of tender age1 and things might happen which would cause me the utmost annoyance4 ,moreover1 the ,duke of ,florence has during the last month been making me the greatest offers1 and putting strong pressure upon me to return home4 ,i have begged for time to arrange my affairs here and leave ,s4 ,peter's in good order4 ,so ,i expect to remain in ,rome all the summer2 and when ,i have settled my business1 and yours with the ,monte della ,fede1 ,i shall probably remove to ,florence this winter and take up my abode there for good4 ,i am old now1 and have not the time to return to ,rome4 ,i will travel by way of ,urbino2 and if you like to give me ,michelangelo1 ,i will bring him to ,florence1 with more love than the sons of my nephew ,lionardo1 and will teach him all the things which ,i know that his father desired that he should learn4 ,,viii ,the year #aeef was marked by an excursion which took ,michelangelo into the mountain district of ,spoleto4 ,paul ,,iv4's anti-,spanish policy had forced the ,viceroy of ,naples to make a formidable military demonstration4 ,accordingly the ,duke of ,alva1 at the head of a powerful force1 left ,naples on the #ast of ,september and invaded the ,campagna4 ,the ,romans dreaded a second siege and sack2 not without reason1 although the real intention of the expedition was to cow the fiery ,pope into submission4 ,it is impossible1 when we remember ,michelangelo's liability to panics1 not to connect his autumn journey with a wish to escape from trouble in ,rome4 ,on the #cast of ,october he wrote to ,lionardo that he had undertaken a pilgrimage to ,loreto1 but feeling tired1 had stopped to rest at ,spoleto4 ,while he was there1 a messenger arrived post-haste from ,rome1 commanding his immediate return4 ,he is now once more at home there1 and as well as the troublous circumstances of the times permit4 ,later on he told ,vasari3 ,i have recently enjoyed a great pleasure1 though purchased at the cost of great discomfort and expense1 among the mountains of ,spoleto1 on a visit to those hermits4 ,consequently1 ,i have come back less than half myself to ,rome2 for of a truth there is no peace to be found except among the woods4 ,this is the only passage in the whole of ,michelangelo's correspondence which betrays the least feeling for wild nature4 ,we cannot pretend1 even here1 to detect an interest in landscape or a true appreciation of country life4 ,compared with ,rome and the ,duke of ,alva1 those hermitages of the hills among their chestnut groves seemed to him haunts of ancient peace4 ,that is all2 but when dealing with a man so sternly insensible to the charm of the external world1 we have to be contented with a little4 ,in connection with this brief sojourn at ,spoleto ,i will introduce two letters written to ,michelangelo by the ,archbishop of ,ragusa from his ,see4 ,the first is dated ,march #bh1 #aeeg4 and was sent to ,spoleto1 probably under the impression that ,buonarroti had not yet returned to ,rome4 ,after lamenting the unsettled state of public affairs1 the ,archbishop adds3 ,keep well in your bodily health2 as for that of your soul1 ,i am sure you cannot be ill1 knowing what prudence and piety keep you in perpetual companionship4 ,the second followed at the interval of a year1 ,april #f1 #aeeh4 and gave a pathetic picture of the meek old prelate's discomfort in his ,dalmatian bishopric4 ,he calls ,ragusa this exceedingly ill-cultivated vineyard of mine4 ,oftentimes does the carnal man in me revolt and yearn for ,italy1 for relatives and friends2 but the spirit keeps desire in check1 and compels it to be satisfied with that which is the pleasure of our ,lord4 ,though the biographical importance of these extracts is but slight1 ,i am glad1 while recording the outlines of ,buonarroti's character1 to cast a side-light on his amiable qualities1 and to show how highly valued he was by persons of the purest life4 ,,ix ,there was nothing peculiarly severe about the infirmities of ,michelangelo's old age4 ,we first hear of the dysuria from which he suffered1 in #aedh4 ,he writes to ,lionardo thanking him for pears3 ,i duly received the little barrel of pears you sent me4 ,there were eighty-six4 ,thirty-three of them ,i sent to the ,pope1 who praised them as fine1 and who enjoyed them4 ,i have lately been in great difficulty from dysuria4 ,however1 ,i am better now4 ,and thus ,i write to you1 chiefly lest some chatterbox should scribble a thousand lies to make you jump4 ,in the spring of #aedi he says that the doctors believe he is suffering from calculus3 ,the pain is great1 and prevents me from sleeping4 ,they propose that ,i should try the mineral waters of ,viterbo2 but ,i cannot go before the beginning of ,may4 ,for the rest1 as concerns my bodily condition1 ,i am much the same as ,i was at thirty4 ,this mischief has crept upon me through the great hardships of my life and heedlessness4 ,a few days later he writes that a certain water he is taking1 whether mineral or medicine1 has been making a beneficial change4 ,the following letters are very cheerful1 and at length he is able to write3 ,with regard to my disease1 ,i am greatly improved in health1 and have hope1 much to the surprise of many2 for people thought me a lost man1 and so ,i believed4 ,i have had a good doctor1 but ,i put more faith in prayers than ,i do in medicines4 ,his physician was a very famous man1 ,realdo ,colombo4 ,in the summer of the same year he tells ,lionardo that he has been drinking for the last two months water from a fountain forty miles distant from ,rome4 ,i have to lay in a stock of it1 and to drink nothing else1 and also to use it in cooking1 and to observe rules of living to which ,i am not used4 ,although the immediate danger from the calculus passed away1 ,michelangelo grew feebler yearly4 ,we have already seen how he wrote to ,lionardo while ,cosimo de' ,medici was urging him to come to ,florence in #aeeg4 ,passages in his correspondence with ,lionardo like the following are frequent3 ,writing is the greatest annoyance to my hand1 my sight1 my brains4 ,so works old age6 ,i go on enduring old age as well as ,i am able1 with all the evils and discomforts it brings in its train2 and ,i recommend myself to ,him who can assist me4 ,it was natural1 after he had passed the ordinary term of life and was attacked with a disease so serious as the stone1 that his thoughts should take a serious tone4 ,thus he writes to ,lionardo3 ,this illness has made me think of setting the affairs of my soul and body more in order than ,i should have done4 ,accordingly1 ,i have drawn up a rough sketch of a will1 which ,i will send you by the next courier if ,i am able1 and you can tell me what you think4 ,the will provided that ,gismondo and ,lionardo ,buonarroti should be his joint-heirs1 without the power of dividing the property4 ,this practically left ,lionardo his sole heir after ,gismondo's life-tenancy of a moiety4 ,it does not1 however1 seem to have been executed1 for ,michelangelo died intestate4 ,probably1 he judged it simplest to allow ,lionardo to become his heir-general by the mere course of events4 ,at the same time1 he now displayed more than his usual munificence in charity4 ,lionardo was frequently instructed to seek out a poor and gentle family1 who were living in decent distress1 poveri vergognosi1 as the ,italians called such persons4 ,money was to be bestowed upon them with the utmost secrecy2 and the way which ,michelangelo proposed1 was to dower a daughter or to pay for her entrance into a convent4 ,it has been suggested that this method of seeking to benefit the deserving poor denoted a morbid tendency in ,michelangelo's nature2 but any one who is acquainted with ,italian customs in the ,middle ,ages and the ,renaissance must be aware that nothing was commoner than to dower poor girls or to establish them in nunneries by way of charity4 ,urbino1 for example1 by his will bound his executors to provide for the marriage of two honest girls with a dowry of twenty florins apiece within the space of four years from his death4 ,the religious sonnets1 which are certainly among the finest of ,michelangelo's compositions1 belong to this period4 ,writing to ,vasari on the #ajth of ,september #aeed1 he begins3 ,you will probably say that ,i am old and mad to think of writing sonnets2 yet since many persons pretend that ,i am in my second childhood1 ,i have thought it well to act accordingly4 ,then follows this magnificent piece of verse1 in which the sincerest feelings of the pious heart are expressed with a sublime dignity3-- ,now hath my life across a stormy sea1 ,like a frail bark1 reached that wide fort where all ,are bidden1 ere the final reckoning fall ,of good and evil for eternity4 ,now know ,i well how that fond phantasy ,which made my soul the worshipper and thrall ,of earthly art is vain2 how criminal ,is that which all men seek unwillingly4 ,those amorous thoughts which were so lightly dressed1 ,what are they when the double death is nigh8 ,the one ,i know for sure1 the other dread4 ,painting nor sculpture now can lull to rest ,my soul1 that turns to ,his great love on high1 ,whose arms to clasp us on the cross were spread4 ,a second sonnet1 enclosed in a letter to ,vasari1 runs as follows3-- ,the fables of the world have filched away ,the time ,i had for thinking upon ,god2 ,his grace lies buried 'neath oblivion's sod1 ,whence springs an evil crop of sins alway4 ,what makes another wise1 leads me astray1 ,slow to discern the bad path ,i have trod3 ,hope fades1 but still desire ascends that ,god ,may free me from self-love1 my sure decay4 ,shorten half-way my road to heaven from earth6 ,dear ,lord1 ,i cannot even half-way rise ,unless ,thou help me on this pilgrimage4 ,teach me to hate the world so little worth1 ,and1 all the lovely things ,i clasp and prize1 ,that endless life1 ere death1 may be my wage4 ,while still in his seventieth year1 ,michelangelo had educated himself to meditate upon the thought of death as a prophylactic against vain distractions and the passion of love4 ,i may remind you that a man who would fain return unto and enjoy his own self ought not to indulge so much in merrymakings and festivities1 but to think on death4 ,this thought is the only one which makes us know our proper selves1 which holds us together in the bond of our own nature1 which prevents us from being stolen away by kinsmen1 friends1 great men of genius1 ambition1 avarice1 and those other sins and vices which filch the man from himself1 keep him distraught and dispersed1 without ever permitting him to return unto himself and reunite his scattered parts4 ,marvellous is the operation of this thought of death1 which1 albeit death1 by his nature1 destroys all things1 preserves and supports those who think on death1 and defends them from all human passions4 ,he supports this position by reciting a madrigal he had composed1 to show how the thought of death is the greatest foe to love3-- ,not death indeed1 but the dread thought of death ,saveth and severeth ,me from the heartless fair who doth me slay3 ,and should1 perchance1 some day ,the fire consuming blaze o'er measure bright1 ,i find for my sad plight ,no help but from death's form fixed in my heart2 ,since1 where death reigneth1 love must dwell apart4 ,in some way or another1 then1 ,michelangelo used the thought of death as the mystagogue of his spirit into the temple of eternal things--,greek3 ta aidia1 die bleibenden ,verhltnisse--and as the means of maintaining self-control and self-coherence amid the ever-shifting illusions of human life4 ,this explains why in his love-sonnets he rarely speaks of carnal beauty except as the manifestation of the divine idea1 which will be clearer to the soul after death than in the body4 ,when his life was drawing toward its close1 ,michelangelo's friends were not unnaturally anxious about his condition4 ,though he had a fairly good servant in ,antonio del ,franzese1 and was surrounded by well-wishers like ,tommaso ,cavalieri1 ,daniele da ,volterra1 and ,tiberio ,calcagni1 yet he led a very solitary life1 and they felt he ought to be protected4 ,vasari tells us that he communicated privately with ,averardo ,serristori1 the ,duke's ambassador in ,rome1 recommending that some proper housekeeper should be appointed1 and that due control should be instituted over the persons who frequented his house4 ,it was very desirable1 in case of a sudden accident1 that his drawings and works of art should not be dispersed1 but that what belonged to ,s4 ,peter's1 to the ,laurentian ,library1 and to the ,sacristy should be duly assigned4 ,lionardo ,buonarroti must have received similar advice from ,rome1 for a furious letter is extant1 in which ,michelangelo1 impatient to the last of interference1 literally rages at him3-- ,i gather from your letter that you lend credence to certain envious and scoundrelly persons1 who1 since they cannot manage me or rob me1 write you a lot of lies4 ,they are a set of sharpers1 and you are so silly as to believe what they say about my affairs1 as though ,i were a baby4 ,get rid of them1 the scandalous1 envious1 ill-lived rascals4 ,as for my suffering the mismanagement you write about1 ,i tell you that ,i could not be better off1 or more faithfully served and attended to in all things4 ,as for my being robbed1 to which ,i think you allude1 ,i assure you that ,i have people in my house whom ,i can trust and repose on4 ,therefore1 look to your own life1 and do not think about my affairs1 because ,i know how to take care of myself if it is needful1 and am not a baby4 ,keep well4 ,this is the last letter to ,lionardo4 ,it is singular that ,michelangelo's correspondence with his father1 with ,luigi del ,riccio1 with ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri1 and with his nephew1 all of whom he sincerely loved1 should close upon a note of petulance and wrath4 ,the fact is no doubt accidental4 ,but it is strange4 ,x ,we have frequently had occasion to notice the extreme pain caused to ,michelangelo's friends by his unreasonable irritability and readiness to credit injurious reports about them4 ,these defects of temper justified to some extent his reputation for savagery1 and they must be reckoned among the most salient features of his personality4 ,i shall therefore add three other instances of the same kind which fell under my observation while studying the inedited documents of the ,buonarroti ,archives4 ,giovanni ,francesco ,fattucci was1 as we well know1 his most intimate friend and trusted counsellor during long and difficult years1 when the negotiations with the heirs of ,pope ,julius were being carried on2 yet there exists one letter of unaffected sorrow from this excellent man1 under date ,october #ad1 #aede1 which shows that for some unaccountable reason ,michelangelo had suddenly chosen to mistrust him4 ,fattucci begins by declaring that he is wholly guiltless of things which his friend too credulously believed upon the strength of gossip4 ,he expresses the deepest grief at this unjust and suspicious treatment4 ,the letter shows him to have been more hurt than resentful4 ,another document signed by ,francesco ,sangallo 7the son of his old friend ,giuliano71 bearing no date1 but obviously written when they were both in ,florence1 and therefore before the year #aece1 carries the same burden of complaint4 ,the details are sufficiently picturesque to warrant the translation of a passage4 ,after expressing astonishment at ,michelangelo's habit of avoiding his society1 he proceeds3 ,and now1 this morning1 not thinking that ,i should annoy you1 ,i came up and spoke to you1 and you received me with a very surly countenance4 ,that evening1 too1 when ,i met you on the threshold with ,granacci1 and you left me by the shop of ,pietro ,osaio1 and the other forenoon at ,s4 ,spirito1 and to-day1 it struck me as extremely strange1 especially in the presence of ,piloto and so many others4 ,i cannot help thinking that you must have some grudge against me2 but ,i marvel that you do not open out your mind to me1 because it may be something which is wholly false4 ,the letter winds up with an earnest protest that he has always been a true and faithful friend4 ,he begs to be allowed to come and clear the matter up in conversation1 adding that he would rather lose the good-will of the whole world than ,michelangelo's4 ,the third letter is somewhat different in tone1 and not so personally interesting4 ,still it illustrates the nervousness and apprehension under which ,michelangelo's acquaintances continually lived4 ,the painter commonly known as ,rosso ,fiorentino was on a visit to ,rome1 where he studied the ,sistine frescoes4 ,they do not appear to have altogether pleased him1 and he uttered his opinion somewhat too freely in public4 ,now he pens a long elaborate epistle1 full of adulation1 to purge himself of having depreciated ,michelangelo's works4 ,people said that when ,i reached ,rome1 and entered the chapel painted by your hand1 ,i exclaimed that ,i was not going to adopt that manner4 ,one of ,buonarroti's pupils had been particularly offended4 ,rosso protests that he rather likes the man for his loyalty2 but he wishes to remove any impression which ,michelangelo may have received of his own irreverence or want of admiration4 ,the one thing he is most solicitous about is not to lose the great man's good-will4 ,it must be added1 at the close of this investigation1 that however hot and hasty ,michelangelo may have been1 and however readily he lent his ear to rumours1 he contrived to renew the broken threads of friendship with the persons he had hurt by his irritability4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,i ,during the winter of #aefc-fd ,michelangelo's friends in ,rome became extremely anxious about his health1 and kept ,lionardo ,buonarroti from time to time informed of his proceedings4 ,after ,new ,year it was clear that he could not long maintain his former ways of life4 ,though within a few months of ninety1 he persisted in going abroad in all weathers1 and refused to surround himself with the comforts befitting a man of his eminence and venerable age4 ,on the #adth of ,february he seems to have had a kind of seizure4 ,tiberio ,calcagni1 writing that day to ,lionardo1 gives expression to his grave anxiety3 ,walking through ,rome to-day1 ,i heard from many persons that ,messer ,michelangelo was ill4 ,accordingly ,i went at once to visit him1 and although it was raining ,i found him out of doors on foot4 ,when ,i saw him1 ,i said that ,i did not think it right and seemly for him to be going about in such weather ',what do you want8' he answered2 ',i am ill1 and cannot find rest anywhere4' ,the uncertainty of his speech1 together with the look and colour of his face1 made me feel extremely uneasy about his life4 ,the end may not be just now1 but ,i fear greatly that it cannot be far off4 ,michelangelo did not leave the house again1 but spent the next four days partly reclining in an arm-chair1 partly in bed4 ,upon the #aeth following1 ,diomede ,leoni wrote to ,lionardo1 enclosing a letter by the hand of ,daniele da ,volterra1 which ,michelangelo had signed4 ,the old man felt his end approaching1 and wished to see his nephew4 ,you will learn from the enclosure how ill he is1 and that he wants you to come to ,rome4 ,he was taken ill yesterday4 ,i therefore exhort you to come at once1 but do so with sufficient prudence4 ,the roads are bad now1 and you are not used to travel by post4 ,this being so1 you would run some risk if you came post-haste4 ,taking your own time upon the way1 you may feel at ease when you remember that ,messer ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri1 ,messer ,daniele1 and ,i are here to render every possible assistance in your absence4 ,beside us1 ,antonio1 the old and faithful servant of your uncle1 will be helpful in any service that may be expected from him4 ,diomede reiterates his advice that ,lionardo should run no risks by travelling too fast4 ,if the illness portends mischief1 which ,god forbid1 you could not with the utmost haste arrive in time4444 ,i left him just now1 a little after #h ,p4,m41 in full possession of his faculties and quiet in his mind1 but oppressed with a continued sleepiness4 ,this has annoyed him so much that1 between three and four this afternoon1 he tried to go out riding1 as his wont is every evening in good weather4 ,the coldness of the weather and the weakness of his head and legs prevented him2 so he returned to the fire-side1 and settled down into an easy chair1 which he greatly prefers to the bed4 ,no improvement gave a ray of hope to ,michelangelo's friends1 and two days later1 on the #agth1 ,tiberio ,calcagni took up the correspondence with ,lionardo3 ,this is to beg you to hasten your coming as much as possible1 even though the weather be unfavourable4 ,it is certain now that our dear ,messer ,michelangelo must leave us for good and all1 and he ought to have the consolation of seeing you4 ,next day1 on the #ahth1 ,diomede ,leoni wrote again3 ,he died without making a will1 but in the attitude of a perfect ,christian1 this evening1 about the ,ave ,maria4 ,i was present1 together with ,messer ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri and ,messer ,daniele da ,volterra1 and we put everything in such order that you may rest with a tranquil mind4 ,yesterday ,michelangelo sent for our friend ,messer ,daniele1 and besought him to take up his abode in the house until such time as you arrive1 and this he will do4 ,it was at a little before five o'clock on the afternoon of ,february #ah1 #aefd1 that ,michelangelo breathed his last4 ,the physicians who attended him to the end were ,federigo ,donati1 and ,gherardo ,fidelissimi1 of ,pistoja4 ,it is reported by ,vasari that1 during his last moments1 he made his will in three sentences1 committing his soul into the hands of ,god1 his body to the earth1 and his substance to his nearest relatives2 enjoining upon these last1 when their hour came1 to think upon the sufferings of ,jesus ,christ4 ,on the following day1 ,february #ai1 ,averardo ,serristori1 the ,florentine envoy in ,rome1 sent a despatch to the ,duke1 informing him of ,michelangelo's decease3 ,this morning1 according to an arrangement ,i had made1 the ,governor sent to take an inventory of all the articles found in his house4 ,these were few1 and very few drawings4 ,however1 what was there they duly registered4 ,the most important object was a box sealed with several seals1 which the ,governor ordered to be opened in the presence of ,messer ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri and ,maestro ,daniele da ,volterra1 who had been sent for by ,michelangelo before his death4 ,some seven or eight thousand crowns were found in it1 which have now been deposited with the ,ubaldini bankers4 ,this was the command issued by the ,governor1 and those whom it concerns will have to go there to get the money4 ,the people of the house will be examined as to whether anything has been carried away from it4 ,this is not supposed to have been the case4 ,as far as drawings are concerned1 they say that he burned what he had by him before he died4 ,what there is shall be handed over to his nephew when he comes1 and this your ,excellency can inform him4 ,the objects of art discovered in ,michelangelo's house were a blocked-out statue of ,s4 ,peter1 an unfinished ,christ with another figure1 and a statuette of ,christ with the cross1 resembling the ,cristo ,risorto of ,s4 ,maria ,sopra ,minerva4 ,ten original drawings were also catalogued1 one of which 7a ,piet7 belonged to ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri2 another 7an ,epiphany7 was given to the notary1 while the rest came into the possession of ,lionardo ,buonarroti4 ,the cash-box1 which had been sealed by ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri and ,diomede ,leoni1 was handed over to the ,ubaldini1 and from them it passed to ,lionardo ,buonarroti at the end of ,february4 ,,ii ,lionardo travelled by post to ,rome1 but did not arrive until three days after his uncle's death4 ,he began at once to take measures for the transport of ,michelangelo's remains to ,florence1 according to the wish of the old man1 frequently expressed and solemnly repeated two days before his death4 ,the corpse had been deposited in the ,church of the ,,ss4 ,apostoli1 where the funeral was celebrated with becoming pomp by all the ,florentines in ,rome1 and by artists of every degree4 ,the ,romans had come to regard ,buonarroti as one of themselves1 and1 when the report went abroad that he had expressed a wish to be buried in ,florence1 they refused to believe it1 and began to project a decent monument to his memory in the ,church of the ,,ss4 ,apostoli4 ,in order to secure his object1 ,lionardo was obliged to steal the body away1 and to despatch it under the guise of mercantile goods to the custom-house of ,florence4 ,vasari wrote to him from that city upon the #ajth of ,march1 informing him that the packing-case had duly arrived1 and had been left under seals until his1 ,lionardo's1 arrival at the custom-house4 ,about this time two plans were set on foot for erecting monuments to ,michelangelo's memory4 ,the scheme started by the ,romans immediately after his death took its course1 and the result is that tomb at the ,,ss4 ,apostoli1 which undoubtedly was meant to be a statue-portrait of the man4 ,vasari received from ,lionardo ,buonarroti commission to erect the tomb in ,s4 ,croce4 ,the correspondence of the latter1 both with ,vasari and with ,jacopo del ,duca1 who superintended the ,roman monument1 turns for some time upon these tombs4 ,it is much to ,vasari's credit that he wanted to place the ,piet which ,michelangelo had broken1 above the ,s4 ,croce sepulchre4 ,he writes upon the subject in these words3 ,when ,i reflect that ,michelangelo asserted1 as is well known also to ,daniele1 ,messer ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri1 and many other of his friends1 that he was making the ,piet of five figures1 which he broke1 to serve for his own tomb1 ,i think that his heir ought to inquire how it came into the possession of ,bandini4 ,besides1 there is an old man in the group who represents the person of the sculptor4 ,i entreat you1 therefore1 to take measures for regaining this ,piet1 and ,i will make use of it in my design4 ,pierantonio ,bandini is very courteous1 and will probably consent4 ,in this way you will gain several points4 ,you will assign to your uncle's sepulchre the group he planned to place there1 and you will be able to hand over the statues in ,via ,mozza to his ,excellency1 receiving in return enough money to complete the monument4 ,of the marbles in the ,via ,mozza at ,florence1 where ,michelangelo's workshop stood1 ,i have seen no catalogue1 but they certainly comprised the ,victory1 probably also the ,adonis and the ,apollino4 ,there had been some thought of adapting the ,victory to the tomb in ,s4 ,croce4 ,vasari1 however1 doubted whether this group could be applied in any forcible sense allegorically to ,buonarroti as man or as artist4 ,eventually1 as we know1 the very mediocre monument designed by ,vasari1 which still exists at ,s4 ,croce1 was erected at ,lionardo ,buonarroti's expense1 the ,duke supplying a sufficiency of marble4 ,,iii ,it ought here to be mentioned that1 in the spring of #aefc1 ,cosimo founded an ,academy of ,fine ,arts1 under the title of ,arte del ,disegno4 ,it embraced all the painters1 architects1 and sculptors of ,florence in a kind of guild1 with privileges1 grades1 honours1 and officers4 ,the ,duke condescended to be the first president of this academy4 ,next to him1 ,michelangelo was elected unanimously by all the members as their uncontested principal and leader1 inasmuch as this city1 and peradventure the whole world1 hath not a master more excellent in the three arts4 ,the first great work upon which the ,duke hoped to employ the guild was the completion of the sacristy at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,vasari's letter to ,michelangelo shows that up to this date none of the statues had been erected in their proper places1 and that it was intended to add a great number of figures1 as well as to adorn blank spaces in the walls with frescoes4 ,all the best artists of the time1 including ,gian ,bologna1 ,cellini1 ,bronzino1 ,tribolo1 ,montelupo1 ,ammanati1 offered their willing assistance1 forasmuch as there is not one of us but hath learned in this sacristy1 or rather in this our school1 whatever excellence he possesses in the arts of design4 ,we know already only too well that the scheme was never carried out1 probably in part because ,michelangelo's rapidly declining strength prevented him from furnishing these eager artists with the necessary working drawings4 ,cosimo's anxiety to gain possession of any sketches left in ,rome after ,buonarroti's death may be ascribed to this project for completing the works begun at ,s4 ,lorenzo4 ,well then1 upon the news of ,michelangelo's death1 the academicians were summoned by their lieutenant1 ,don ,vincenzo ,borghini1 to deliberate upon the best way of paying him honour1 and celebrating his obsequies with befitting pomp4 ,it was decided that all the leading artists should contribute something1 each in his own line1 to the erection of a splendid catafalque1 and a sub-committee of four men was elected to superintend its execution4 ,these were ,angelo ,bronzino and ,vasari1 ,benvenuto ,cellini and ,ammanati1 friends of the deceased1 and men of highest mark in the two fields of painting and sculpture4 ,the church selected for the ceremony was ,s4 ,lorenzo2 the orator appointed was ,benedetto ,varchi4 ,borghini1 in his capacity of lieutenant or official representative1 obtained the ,duke's assent to the plan1 which was subsequently carried out1 as we shall see in due course4 ,notwithstanding what ,vasari wrote to ,lionardo about his uncle's coffin having been left at the ,dogana1 it seems that it was removed upon the very day of its arrival1 ,march ,,ii1 to the ,oratory of the ,assunta1 underneath the church of ,s4 ,pietro ,maggiore4 ,on the following day the painters1 sculptors1 and architects of the newly founded academy met together at this place1 intending to transfer the body secretly to ,s4 ,croce4 ,they only brought a single pall of velvet1 embroidered with gold1 and a crucifix1 to place upon the bier4 ,when night fell1 the elder men lighted torches1 while the younger crowded together1 vying one with another for the privilege of carrying the coffin4 ,meantime the ,florentines1 suspecting that something unusual was going forward at ,s4 ,pietro1 gathered round1 and soon the news spread through the city that ,michelangelo was being borne to ,s4 ,croce4 ,a vast concourse of people in this way came unexpectedly together1 following the artists through the streets1 and doing pathetic honour to the memory of the illustrious dead4 ,the spacious church of ,s4 ,croce was crowded in all its length and breadth1 so that the pall-bearers had considerable difficulty in reaching the sacristy with their precious burden4 ,in that place ,don ,vincenzo ,borghini1 who was lieutenant of the academy1 ordered that the coffin should be opened4 ,he thought he should be doing what was pleasing to many of those present2 and1 as he afterwards admitted1 he was personally anxious to behold in death one whom he had never seen in life1 or at any rate so long ago as to have quite forgotten the occasion4 ,all of us who stood by expected to find the corpse already defaced by the outrage of the sepulchre1 inasmuch as twenty-five days had elapsed since ,michelangelo's death1 and twenty-one since his consignment to the coffin2 but1 to our great surprise1 the dead man lay before us perfect in all his parts1 and without the evil odours of the grave2 indeed1 one might have thought that he was resting in a sweet and very tranquil slumber4 ,not only did the features of his countenance bear exactly the same aspect as in life1 except for some inevitable pallor1 but none of his limbs were injured1 or repulsive to the sight4 ,the head and cheeks1 to the touch1 felt just as though he had breathed his last but a few hours since4 ,as soon as the eagerness of the multitude calmed down a little1 the bier was carried into the church again1 and the coffin was deposited in a proper place behind the altar of the ,cavalcanti4 ,when the academicians decreed a catafalque for ,michelangelo's solemn obsequies in ,s4 ,lorenzo1 they did not aim so much at worldly splendour or gorgeous trappings as at an impressive monument1 combining the several arts which he had practised in his lifetime4 ,being made of stucco1 woodwork1 plaster1 and such perishable materials1 it was unfortunately destined to decay4 ,but ,florence had always been liberal1 nay1 lavish1 of her genius in triumphs1 masques1 magnificent street architecture1 evoked to celebrate some ephemeral event4 ,a worthier occasion would not occur again2 and we have every reason to believe that the superb structure1 which was finally exposed to view upon the #adth of ,july1 displayed all that was left at ,florence of the grand style in the arts of modelling and painting4 ,they were decadent indeed2 during the eighty-nine years of ,buonarroti's life upon earth they had expanded1 flourished1 and flowered with infinite variety in rapid evolution4 ,he lived to watch their decline2 yet the sunset of that long day was still splendid to the eyes and senses4 ,the four deputies appointed by the academy held frequent sittings before the plan was fixed1 and the several parts had been assigned to individual craftsmen4 ,ill health prevented ,cellini from attending1 but he sent a letter to the lieutenant1 which throws some interesting light upon the project in its earlier stages4 ,a minute description of the monument was published soon after the event4 ,another may be read in the pages of ,vasari4 ,varchi committed his oration to the press1 and two other panegyrical discourses were issued1 under the names of ,leonardo ,salviati and ,giovan ,maria ,tarsia4 ,poems composed on the occasion were collected into one volume1 and distributed by the ,florentine firm of ,sermatelli4 ,to load these pages with the details of allegorical statues and pictures which have long passed out of existence1 and to cite passages from funeral speeches1 seems to me useless4 ,it is enough to have directed the inquisitive to sources where their curiosity may be gratified4 ,,iv ,it would be impossible to take leave of ,michelangelo without some general survey of his character and qualities4 ,with this object in view ,i do not think ,i can do better than to follow what ,condivi says at the close of his biography1 omitting those passages which have been already used in the body of this book1 and supplementing his summary with illustrative anecdotes from ,vasari4 ,both of these men knew him intimately during the last years of his life2 and if it is desirable to learn how a man strikes his contemporaries1 we obtain from them a lively and veracious1 though perhaps a slightly flattered1 picture of the great master whom they studied with love and admiration from somewhat different points of view4 ,this will introduce a critical examination of the analysis to which the psychology2 of ,michelangelo has recently been subjected4 ,condivi opens his peroration with the following paragraphs3-- ,now1 to conclude this gossiping discourse of mine1 ,i say that it is my opinion that in painting and sculpture nature bestowed all her riches with a full hand upon ,michelangelo4 ,i do not fear reproach or contradiction when ,i repeat that his statues are1 as it were1 inimitable4 ,nor do ,i think that ,i have suffered myself to exceed the bounds of truth while making this assertion4 ,in the first place1 he is the only artist who has handled both brush and mallet with equal excellence4 ,then we have no relics left of antique paintings to compare with his2 and though many classical works in statuary survive1 to whom among the ancients does he yield the palm in sculpture8 ,in the judgment of experts and practical artists1 he certainly yields to none2 and were1 we to consult the vulgar1 who admire antiquity without criticism1 through a kind of jealousy toward the talents and the industry of their own times1 even here we shall find none who say the contrary2 to such a height has this great man soared above the scope of envy4 ,raffaello of ,urbino1 though he chose to strive in rivalry with ,michelangelo1 was wont to say that he thanked ,god for having been born in his days1 since he learned from him a manner very different from that which his father1 who was a painter1 and his master1 ,perugino1 taught him4 ,then1 too1 what proof of his singular excellence could be wished for1 more convincing and more valid1 than the eagerness with which the sovereigns of the world contended for him8 ,beside four pontiffs1 ,julius1 ,leo1 ,clement1 and ,paul1 the ,grand ,turk1 father of the present ,sultan1 sent certain ,franciscans with letters begging him to come and reside at his court4 ,by orders on the bank of the ,gondi at ,florence1 he provided that whatever sums were asked for should be disbursed to pay the expenses of his journey2 and when he should have reached ,cossa1 a town near ,ragusa1 one of the greatest nobles of the realm was told off to conduct him in most honourable fashion to ,constantinople4 ,francis of ,valois1 ,king of ,france1 tried to get him by many devices1 giving instructions that1 whenever he chose to travel1 #cjjj crowns should be told out to him in ,rome4 ,the ,signory of ,venice sent ,bruciolo to ,rome with an invitation to their city1 offering a pension of #fjj crowns if he would settle there4 ,they attached no conditions to this offer1 only desiring that he should honour the republic with his presence1 and stipulating that whatever he might do in their service should be paid as though he were not in receipt of a fixed income4 ,these are not ordinary occurrences1 or such as happen every day1 but strange and out of common usage2 nor are they wont to befall any but men of singular and transcendent ability1 as was ,homer1 for whom many cities strove in rivalry1 each desirous of acquiring him and making him its own4 ,the reigning ,pope1 ,julius ,,iii41 holds him in no less esteem than the princes ,i have mentioned4 ,this sovereign1 distinguished for rare taste and judgment1 loves and promotes all arts and sciences1 but is most particularly devoted to painting1 sculpture1 and architecture1 as may be clearly seen in the buildings which his ,holiness has erected in the ,vatican and the ,belvedere1 and is now raising at his ,villa ,giulia 7a monument worthy of a lofty and generous nature1 as indeed his own is71 where he has gathered together so many ancient and modern statues1 such a variety of the finest pictures1 precious columns1 works in stucco1 wall-painting1 and every kind of decoration1 of the which ,i must reserve a more extended account for some future occasion1 since it deserves a particular study1 and has not yet reached completion4 ,this ,pope has not used the services of ,michelangelo for any active work1 out of regard for his advanced age4 ,he is fully alive to his greatness1 and appreciates it1 but refrains from adding burdens beyond those which ,michelangelo himself desires2 and this regard1 in my opinion1 confers more honour on him than any of the great under-takings which former pontiffs exacted from his genius4 ,it is true that his ,holiness almost always consults him on works of painting or of architecture he may have in progress1 and very often sends the artists to confer with him at his own house4 ,i regret1 and his ,holiness also regrets1 that a certain natural shyness1 or shall ,i say respect or reverence1 which some folk call pride1 prevents him from having recourse to the benevolence1 goodness1 and liberality of such a pontiff1 and one so much his friend4 ,for the ,pope1 as ,i first heard from the ,most ,rev4 ,monsignor of ,forli1 his ,master of the ,chamber1 has often observed that1 were this possible1 he1 would gladly give some of his own years and his own blood to add to ,michelangelo's life1 to the end that the world should not so soon be robbed of such a man4 ,and this1 when ,i had access to his ,holiness1 ,i heard with my own ears from his mouth4 ,moreover1 if he happens to survive him1 as seems reasonable in the course of nature1 he has a mind to embalm him and keep him ever near to his own person1 so that his body in death shall be as everlasting as his works4 ,this he said to ,michelangelo himself at the commencement of his reign1 in the presence of many persons4 ,i know not what could be more honourable to ,michelangelo than such words1 or a greater proof of the high account in which he is held by his ,holiness4 ,so then ,michelangelo1 while he was yet a youth1 devoted himself not only to sculpture and painting1 but also to all those other arts which to them are allied or subservient1 and this he did with such absorbing energy that for a time he almost entirely cut himself off from human society1 conversing with but very few intimate friends4 ,on this account some folk thought him proud1 others eccentric and capricious1 although he was tainted with none of these defects2 but1 as hath happened to many men of great abilities1 the love of study and the perpetual practice of his art rendered him solitary1 being so taken up with the pleasure and delight of these things that society not only afforded him no solace1 but even caused him annoyance by diverting him from meditation1 being 7as the great ,scipio used to say7 never less alone than when he was alone4 ,nevertheless1 he very willingly embraced the friendship of those whose learned and cultivated conversation could be of profit to his mind1 and in whom some beams of genius shone forth3 as1 for example1 the most reverend and illustrious ,monsignor ,pole1 for his rare virtues and singular goodness2 and likewise the most reverend1 my patron1 ,cardinal ,crispo1 in whom he discovered1 beside his many excellent qualities1 a distinguished gift of acute judgment2 he was also warmly attached to the ,cardinal of ,s4 ,croce1 a man of the utmost gravity and wisdom1 whom ,i have often heard him name in the highest terms2 and to the most reverend ,maffei1 whose goodness and learning he has always praised3 indeed1 he loves and honours all the dependants of the house of ,farnese1 owing to the lively memory he cherishes of ,pope ,paul1 whom he invariably mentions with the deepest reverence as a good and holy old man2 and in like manner the most reverend ,patriarch of ,jerusalem1 sometime ,bishop of ,cesena1 has lived for some time in close intimacy with him1 finding peculiar pleasure in so open and generous a nature4 ,he was also on most friendly terms with my very reverend patron the ,cardinal ,ridolfi1 of blessed memory1 that refuge of all men of parts and talent4 ,there are several others whom ,i omit for fear of being prolix1 as ,monsignor ,claudio ,tolomei1 ,messer ,lorenzo ,ridolfi1 ,messer ,donato ,giannotti1 ,messer ,lionardo ,malespini1 ,lottino1 ,messer ,tommaso dei ,cavalieri1 and other honoured gentlemen4 ,of late years he has become deeply attached to ,annibale ,caro1 of whom he told me that it grieves him not to have come to know him earlier1 seeing that he finds him much to his taste4 ,in like manner as he enjoyed the converse of learned men1 so also did he take pleasure in the study of eminent writers1 whether of prose or verse4 ,among these he particularly admired ,dante1 whose marvellous poems he hath almost all by heart4 ,nevertheless1 the same might perhaps be said about his love for ,petrarch4 ,these poets he not only delighted in studying1 but he also was wont to compose from time to time upon his own account4 ,there are certain sonnets among those he wrote which give a very good notion of his great inventive power and judgment4 ,some of them have furnished ,varchi with the subject of ,discourses4 ,it must be remembered1 however1 that he practised poetry for his amusement1 and not as a profession1 always depreciating his own talent1 and appealing to his ignorance in these matters4 ,just in the same way he has perused the ,holy ,scriptures with great care and industry1 studying not merely the ,old ,testament1 but also the ,new1 together with their commentators1 as1 for example1 the writings of ,savonarola1 for whom he always retained a deep affection1 since the accents of the preacher's living voice rang in his memory4 ,he has given away many of his works1 the which1 if he had chosen to sell them1 would have brought him vast sums of money4 ,a single instance of this generosity will suffice--namely1 the two statues which he presented to his dearest friend1 ,messer ,ruberto ,strozzi4 ,nor was it only of his handiwork that he has been liberal4 ,he opened his purse readily to poor men of talent in literature or art1 as ,i can testify1 having myself been the recipient of his bounty4 ,he never showed an envious spirit toward the labours of other masters in the crafts he practised1 and this was due rather to the goodness of his nature than to any sense of his own superiority4 ,indeed1 he always praised all men of excellence without exception1 even ,raffaello of ,urbino1 between whom and himself there was of old time some rivalry in painting4 ,i have only heard him say that ,raffaello did not derive his mastery in that art so much from nature as from prolonged study4 ,nor is it true1 as many persons assert to his discredit1 that he has been unwilling to impart instruction4 ,on the contrary1 he did so readily1 as ,i know by personal experience1 for to me he unlocked all the secrets of the arts he had acquired4 ,ill-luck1 however1 willed that he should meet either with subjects ill adapted to such studies1 or else with men of little perseverance1 who1 when they had been working a few months under his direction1 began to think themselves past-masters4 ,moreover1 although he was willing to teach1 he did not like it to be known that he did so1 caring more to do good than to seem to do it4 ,i may add that he always attempted to communicate the arts to men of gentle birth1 as did the ancients1 and not to plebeians4 ,v ,to this passage about ,michelangelo's pupils we may add the following observation by ,vasari3 ,he loved his workmen1 and conversed with them on friendly terms4 ,among these ,i will mention ,jacopo ,sansovino1 ,rosso1 ,pontormo1 ,daniele da ,volterra1 and ,giorgio ,vasari4 ,to the last of these men he showed unbounded kindness1 and caused him to study architecture1 with the view of employing his services in that art4 ,he exchanged thoughts readily with him1 and discoursed upon artistic topics4 ,those are in the wrong who assert that he refused to communicate his stores of knowledge4 ,he always did so to his personal friends1 and to all who sought his advice4 ,it ought1 however1 to be mentioned that he was not lucky in the craftsmen who lived with him1 since chance brought him into contact with people unfitted to profit by his example4 ,pietro ,urbano of ,pistoja was a man of talent but no industry4 ,antonio ,mini had the will but not the brains1 and hard wax takes a bad impression4 ,ascanio dalla ,ripa ,transone 7i4e41 ,condivi7 took great pains1 but brought nothing to perfection either in finished work or in design4 ,he laboured many years upon a picture for which ,michelangelo supplied the drawing4 ,at last the expectations based upon this effort vanished into smoke4 ,i remember that ,michelangelo felt pity for his trouble1 and helped him with his own hand4 ,nothing1 however1 came of it4 ,he often told me that if he had found a proper subject he should have liked1 old as he was1 to have recommended anatomy1 and to have written on it for the use of his workmen4 ,however1 he distrusted his own powers of expressing what he wanted in writing1 albeit his letters show that he could easily put forth his thoughts in a few brief words4 ,about ,michelangelo's kindness to his pupils and servants there is no doubt4 ,we have only to remember his treatment of ,pietro ,urbano and ,antonio ,mini1 ,urbino and ,condivi1 ,tiberio ,calcagni and ,antonio del ,franzese4 ,a curious letter from ,michelangelo to ,andrea ,quarantesi1 which ,i have quoted in another connection1 shows that people were eager to get their sons placed under his charge4 ,the inedited correspondence in the ,buonarroti ,archives abounds in instances illustrating the reputation he had gained for goodness4 ,we have two grateful letters from a certain ,pietro ,bettino in ,castel ,durante speaking very warmly of ,michelangelo's attention to his son ,cesare4 ,two to the same effect from ,amilcare ,anguissola in ,cremona acknowledge services rendered to his daughter ,sofonisba1 who was studying design in ,rome4 ,pietro ,urbano wrote twenty letters between the years #aeag and #aebe1 addressing him in terms like carissimo quanto padre4 ,after recovering from his illness at ,pistoja1 he expresses the hope that he will soon be back again at ,florence 7,september #ah1 #aeai73 ,dearest to me like the most revered of fathers1 ,i send you salutations1 announcing that ,i am a little better1 but not yet wholly cured of that flux2 still ,i hope before many days are over to find myself at ,florence4 ,a certain ,silvio ,falcone1 who had been in his service1 and who had probably been sent away because of some misconduct1 addressed a letter from ,rome to him in ,florence1 which shows both penitence and warm affection4 ,i am and shall always be a good servant to you in every place where ,i may be4 ,do not remember my stupidity in those past concerns1 which ,i know that1 being a prudent man1 you will not impute to malice4 ,if you were to do so1 this would cause me the greatest sorrow2 for ,i desire nothing but to remain in your good grace1 and if ,i had only this in the world1 it would suffice me4 ,he begs to be remembered to ,pietro ,urbano1 and requests his pardon if he has offended him4 ,another set of letters1 composed in the same tone by a man who signs himself ,silvio di ,giovanni da ,cepparello1 was written by a sculptor honourably mentioned in ,vasari's ,life of ,andrea da ,fiesole for his work at ,s4 ,lorenzo1 in ,genoa1 and elsewhere4 ,they show how highly the fame of having been in ,michelangelo's employ was valued4 ,he says that he is now working for ,andrea ,doria1 ,prince of ,melfi1 at ,genoa4 ,still he should like to return1 if this were possible1 to his old master's service3 ,for if ,i lost all ,i had in the world1 and found myself with you1 ,i should think myself the first of men4 ,a year later ,silvio was still at work for ,prince ,doria and the ,fieschi1 but he again begs earnestly to be taken back by ,michelangelo4 ,i feel what obligations ,i am under for all the kindness received from you in past times4 ,when ,i remember the love you bore me while ,i was in your service1 ,i do not know how ,i could repay it2 and ,i tell you that only through having been in your service1 wherever ,i may happen now to be1 honour and courtesy are paid me2 and that is wholly due to your excellent renown1 and not to any merit of my own4 ,the only letter from ,ascanio ,condivi extant in the ,buonarroti ,archives may here be translated in full1 since its tone does honour both to master and servant3-- ,unique lord and my most to be observed patron1--,i have already written you two letters1 but almost think you cannot have received them1 since ,i have heard no news of you4 ,this ,i write merely to beg that you will remember to command me1 and to make use not of me alone1 but of all my household1 since we are all your servants4 ,indeed1 my most honoured and revered master1 ,i entreat you deign to dispose of me and do with me as one is wont to do with the least of servants4 ,you have the right to do so1 since ,i owe more to you than to my own father1 and ,i will prove my desire to repay your kindness by my deeds4 ,i will now end this letter1 in order not to be irksome1 recommending myself humbly1 and praying you to let me have the comfort of knowing that you are well3 for a greater ,i could not receive4 ,farewell4 ,it cannot be denied that ,michelangelo sometimes treated his pupils and servants with the same irritability1 suspicion1 and waywardness of temper as he showed to his relatives and friends4 ,it is only necessary to recall his indignation against ,lapo and ,lodovico at ,bologna1 ,stefano at ,florence1 ,sandro at ,serravalle1 all his female drudges1 and the anonymous boy whom his father sent from ,rome4 ,that he was a man gey ill to live with seems indisputable4 ,this may in part account for the fact that1 unlike other great ,italian masters1 he formed no school4 ,the frescanti who came from ,florence to assist him in the ,sistine ,chapel were dismissed with abruptness1 perhaps even with brutality4 ,montelupo and ,montorsoli1 among sculptors1 ,marcello ,venusti and ,pontormo1 ,daniele da ,volterra and ,sebastiano del ,piombo1 among painters1 felt his direct influence4 ,but they did not stand in the same relation to him as ,raffaello's pupils to their master4 ,the work of ,giulio ,romano1 ,giovanni da ,udine1 ,francesco ,penni1 ,perino del ,vaga1 ,primaticcio1 at ,rome1 at ,mantua1 and elsewhere1 is a genial continuation of ,raffaello's spirit and manner after his decease4 ,nothing of the sort can be maintained about the statues and the paintings which display a study of the style of ,michelangelo4 ,and this holds good in like manner of his imitators in architecture4 ,for worse rather than for better1 he powerfully and permanently affected ,italian art2 but he did not create a body of intelligent craftsmen1 capable of carrying on his inspiration1 as ,giulio ,romano expanded the ,loggie of the ,vatican into the ,palazzo del ,te4 ,i have already expressed my opinions regarding the specific quality of the ,michelangelo tradition in a passage which ,i may perhaps be here permitted to resume3-- ,michelangelo formed no school in the strict sense of the word2 yet his influence was not the less felt on that account1 nor less powerful than ,raffaello's4 ,during his manhood a few painters endeavoured to add the charm of oil-colouring to his designs1 and long before his death the seduction of his mighty mannerism began to exercise a fatal charm for all the schools of ,italy4 ,painters incapable of fathoming his intention1 unsympathetic to his rare type of intellect1 and gifted with less than a tithe of his native force1 set themselves to reproduce whatever may be justly censured in his works4 ,to heighten and enlarge their style was reckoned a chief duty of aspiring craftsmen1 and it was thought that recipes for attaining to this final perfection of the modern arts might be extracted without trouble from ,michelangelo's masterpieces4 ,unluckily1 in proportion as his fame increased1 his peculiarities became with the advance of age more manneristic and defined1 so that his imitators fixed precisely upon that which sober critics now regard as a deduction from his greatness4 ,they failed to perceive that he owed his grandeur to his personality1 and that the audacities which fascinated them became mere whimsical extravagances when severed from his terribilit and sombre simplicity of impassioned thought4 ,his power and his spirit were alike unique and incommunicable1 while the admiration of his youthful worshippers betrayed them into imitating the externals of a style that was rapidly losing spontaneity4 ,therefore they fancied they were treading in his footsteps and using the grand manner when they covered church-roofs and canvases with sprawling figures in distorted attitudes4 ,instead of studying nature1 they studied ,michelangelo's cartoons1 exaggerating by their unintelligent discipleship his willfulness and arbitrary choice of form4 ,vasari's and ,cellini's criticisms of a master they both honestly revered may suffice to illustrate the false method adopted by these mimics of ,michelangelo's ideal4 ,to charge him with faults proceeding from the weakness and blindness of the ,decadence--the faults of men too blind to read his art aright1 too weak to stand on their own feet without him--would be either stupid or malicious4 ,if at the close of the sixteenth century the mannerists sought to startle and entrance the world by empty exhibitions of muscular anatomy misunderstood1 and by a braggadocio display of meaningless effects--crowding their compositions with studies from the nude1 and painting agitated groups without a discernible cause for agitation--the crime surely lay with the patrons who liked such decoration1 and with the journeymen who provided it4 ,michelangelo himself always made his manner serve his thought4 ,we may fail to appreciate his manner and may be incapable of comprehending his thought1 but only insincere or conceited critics will venture to gauge the latter by what they feel to be displeasing in the former4 ,what seems lawless in him follows the law of a profound and peculiar genius1 with which1 whether we like it or not1 we must reckon4 ,his imitators were devoid of thought1 and too indifferent to question whether there was any law to be obeyed4 ,like the jackass in the fable1 they assumed the dead lion's skin1 and brayed beneath it1 thinking they could roar4 ,,vi ,continuing these scattered observations upon ,michelangelo's character and habits1 we may collect what ,vasari records about his social intercourse with brother-artists4 ,being himself of a saturnine humour1 he took great delight in the society of persons little better than buffoons4 ,writing the ,life of ,jacopo surnamed ,l',indaco1 a ,florentine painter of some merit1 ,vasari observes3 ,he lived on very familiar terms of intimacy with ,michelangelo2 for that great artist1 great above all who ever were1 when he wished to refresh his mind1 fatigued by studies and incessant labours of the body and the intellect1 found no one more to his liking and more congenial to his humour than was ,indaco4 ,nothing is recorded concerning their friendship1 except that ,buonarroti frequently invited ,indaco to meals2 and one day1 growing tired of the man's incessant chatter1 sent him out to buy figs1 and then locked the house-door1 so that he could not enter when he had discharged his errand4 ,a boon-companion of the same type was ,menighella1 whom ,vasari describes as a mediocre and stupid painter of ,valdarno1 but extremely amusing4 ,he used to frequent ,michelangelo's house1 and he1 who could with difficulty be induced to work for kings1 would lay aside all other occupations in order to make drawings for this fellow4 ,what ,menighella wanted was some simple design or other of ,s4 ,rocco1 ,s4 ,antonio1 or ,s4 ,francesco1 to be coloured for one of his peasant patrons4 ,vasari says that ,michelangelo modelled a very beautiful ,christ for this humble friend1 from which ,menighella made a cast1 and repeated it in papier-mch1 selling these crucifixes through the country-side4 ,what would not the world give for one of them1 even though ,michelangelo is said to have burst his sides with laughing at the man's stupidity6 ,another familiar of the same sort was a certain stone-cutter called ,domenico ,fancelli1 and nicknamed ,topolino4 ,from a letter addressed to him by ,buonarroti in #aebc it appears that he was regarded as a very dear friend4 ,according to ,vasari1 ,topolino thought himself an able sculptor1 but was in reality extremely feeble4 ,he blocked out a marble ,mercury1 and begged the great master to pronounce a candid opinion on its merits4 ,you are a madman1 ,topolino1 replied ,michelangelo1 to attempt this art of statuary4 ,do you not see that your ,mercury is too short by more than a third of a cubit from the knees to the feet8 ,you have made him a dwarf1 and spoiled the whole figure4 ,oh1 that is nothing6 ,if there is no other fault1 ,i can easily put that to rights4 ,leave the matter to me4 ,michelangelo laughed at the man's simplicity1 and went upon his way4 ,then ,topolino took a piece of marble1 and cut off the legs of his ,mercury below the knees4 ,next he fashioned a pair of buskins of the right height1 and joined these on to the truncated limbs in such wise that the tops of the boots concealed the lines of juncture4 ,when ,buonarroti saw the finished statue1 he remarked that fools were gifted with the instinct for rectifying errors by expedients which a wise man would not have hit upon4 ,another of ,michelangelo's buffoon friends was a ,florentine celebrity1 ,piloto1 the goldsmith4 ,we know that he took this man with him when he went to ,venice in #aecj2 but ,vasari tells no characteristic stories concerning their friendship4 ,it may be remarked that ,il ,lasca describes ,piloto as a most entertaining and facetious fellow1 assigning him the principal part in one of his indecent novels4 ,the painter ,giuliano ,bugiardini ought to be added to the same list4 ,messer ,ottaviano de' ,medici begged him to make a portrait of ,michelangelo1 who gave him a sitting without hesitation1 being extremely partial to the man's company4 ,at the end of two hours ,giuliano exclaimed3 ,michelangelo1 if you want to see yourself1 stand up2 ,i have caught the likeness4 ,michelangelo did as he was bidden1 and when he had examined the portrait1 he laughed and said3 ,what the devil have you been about8 ,you have painted me with one of my eyes up in the temple4 ,giuliano stood some time comparing the drawing with his model's face1 and then remarked3 ,i do not think so2 but take your seat again1 and ,i shall be able to judge better when ,i have you in the proper pose4 ,michelangelo1 who knew well where the fault lay1 and how little judgment belonged to his friend ,bugiardini1 resumed his seat1 grinning4 ,after some time of careful contemplation1 ,giuliano rose to his feet and cried3 ,it seems to me that ,i have drawn it right1 and that the life compels me to do so4 ,so then1 replied ,buonarroti1 the defect is nature's1 and see you spare neither the brush nor art4 ,both ,sebastiano del ,piombo and ,giorgio ,vasari were appreciated by ,michelangelo for their lively parts and genial humour4 ,the latter has told an anecdote which illustrates the old man's eccentricity4 ,he was wont to wear a cardboard hat at night1 into which he stuck a candle1 and then worked by its light upon his statue of the ,piet4 ,vasari observing this habit1 wished to do him a kindness by sending him #dj lbs4 of candles made of goat's fat1 knowing that they gutter less than ordinary dips of tallow4 ,his servant carried them politely to the house two hours after nightfall1 and presented them to ,michelangelo4 ,he refused1 and said he did not want them4 ,the man answered1 ,sir1 they have almost broken my arms carrying them all this long way from the bridge1 nor will ,i take them home again4 ,there is a heap of mud opposite your door1 thick and firm enough to hold them upright4 ,here then will ,i set them all up1 and light them4 ,when ,michelangelo heard this1 he gave way3 ,lay them down2 ,i do not mean you to play pranks at my house-door4 ,varsari tells another anecdote about the ,piet4 ,pope ,julius ,,iii4 sent him late one evening to ,michelangelo's house for some drawing4 ,the old man came down with a lantern1 and hearing what was wanted1 told ,urbino to look for the cartoon4 ,meanwhile1 ,vasari turned his attention to one of the legs of ,christ1 which ,michelangelo had been trying to alter4 ,in order to prevent his seeing1 ,michelangelo let the lamp fall1 and they remained in darkness4 ,he then called for a light1 and stepped forth from the enclosure of planks behind which he worked4 ,as he did so1 he remarked1 ,i am so old that ,death oftentimes plucks me by the cape to go with him1 and one day this body of mine will fall like the lantern1 and the light of life will be put out4 ,of death he used to say1 that if life gives us pleasure1 we ought not to expect displeasure from death1 seeing as it is made by the hand of the same master4 ,among stories relating to craftsmen1 these are perhaps worth gleaning4 ,while he was working on the termini for the tomb of ,julius1 he gave directions to a certain stone-cutter3 ,remove such and such parts here to-day1 smooth out in this place1 and polish up in that4 ,in the course of time1 without being aware of it1 the man found that he had produced a statue1 and stared astonished at his own performance4 ,michelangelo asked1 ,what do you think of it8 ,i think it very good1 he answered1 and ,i owe you a deep debt of gratitude4 ,why do you say that8 ,because you have caused me to discover in myself a talent which ,i did not know that ,i possessed4--,a certain citizen1 who wanted a mortar1 went to a sculptor and asked him to make one4 ,the fellow1 suspecting some practical joke1 pointed out ,buonarroti's house1 and said that if he wanted mortars1 a man lived there whose trade it was to make them4 ,the customer accordingly addressed himself to ,michelangelo1 who1 in his turn suspecting a trick1 asked who had sent him4 ,when he knew the sculptor's name1 he promised to carve the mortar1 on the condition that it should be paid for at the sculptor's valuation4 ,this was settled1 and the mortar turned out a miracle of arabesques and masks and grotesque inventions1 wonderfully wrought and polished4 ,in due course of time the mortar was taken to the envious and suspicious sculptor1 who stood dumbfounded before it1 and told the customer that there was nothing left but to carry this masterpiece of carving back to him who fashioned it1 and order a plain article for himself4--,at ,modena he inspected the terra-cotta groups by ,antonio ,begarelli1 enthusiastically crying out1 ,if this clay could become marble1 woe to antique statuary4--,a ,florentine citizen once saw him gazing at ,donatello's statue of ,s4 ,mark upon the outer wall of ,orsanmichele4 ,on being asked what he thought of it1 ,michelangelo replied1 ,i never saw a figure which so thoroughly represents a man of probity2 if ,s4 ,mark was really like that1 we have every reason to believe everything which he has said4 ,to the ,s4 ,george in the same place he is reported to have given the word of command1 ,march6--,some one showed him a set of medals by ,alessandro ,cesari1 upon which he exclaimed1 ,the death hour of art has struck2 nothing more perfect can be seen than these4--,before ,titian's portrait of ,duke ,alfonso di ,ferrara he observed that he had not thought art could perform so much1 adding that ,titian alone deserved the name of painter4--,he was wont to call ,cronaca's church of ,s4 ,francesco al ,monte his lovely peasant girl1 and ,ghiberti's doors in the ,florentine ,baptistery the ,gates of ,paradise4--,somebody showed him a boy's drawings1 and excused their imperfection by pleading that he had only just begun to study3 ,that is obvious1 he answered4 ,a similar reply is said to have been made to ,vasari1 when he excused his own frescoes in the ,cancelleria at ,rome by saying they had been painted in a few days4--,an artist showed him a ,piet which he had finished3 ,yes1 it is indeed a piet 7pitiful object7 to see4--,ugo da ,carpi signed one of his pictures with a legend declaring he had not used a brush on it3 ,it would have been better had he done so4--,sebastiano del ,piombo was ordered to paint a friar in a chapel at ,s4 ,pietro a ,montorio4 ,michelangelo observed1 ,he will spoil the chapel4 ,asked why1 he answered1 ,when the friars have spoiled the world1 which is so large1 it surely is an easy thing for them to spoil such a tiny chapel4--,a sculptor put together a number of figures imitated from the antique1 and thought he had surpassed his models4 ,michelangelo remarked1 ,one who walks after another man1 never goes in front of him2 and one who is not able to do well by his own wit1 will not be able to profit by the works of others4--,a painter produced some notably poor picture1 in which only an ox was vigorously drawn3 ,every artist draws his own portrait best1 said ,michelangelo4--,he went to see a statue which was in the sculptor's studio1 waiting to be exposed before the public4 ,the man bustled about altering the lights1 in order to show his work off to the best advantage3 ,do not take this trouble2 what really matters will be the light of the piazza2 meaning that the people in the long-run decide what is good or bad in art4--,accused of want of spirit in his rivalry with ,nanni di ,baccio ,bigio1 he retorted1 ,men who fight with folk of little worth win nothing4--,a priest who was a friend of his said1 ,it is a pity that you never married1 for you might have had many children1 and would have left them all the profit and honour of your labours4 ,michelangelo answered1 ,i have only too much of a wife in this art of mine4 ,she has always kept me struggling on4 ,my children will be the works ,i leave behind me4 ,even though they are worth naught1 yet ,i shall live awhile in them4 ,woe to ,lorenzo ,ghiberti if he had not made the gates of ,s4 ,giovanni6 ,his children and grandchildren have sold and squandered the substance that he left4 ,the gates are still in their places4 ,,vii ,this would be an appropriate place to estimate ,michelangelo's professional gains in detail1 to describe the properties he acquired in lands and houses1 and to give an account of his total fortune4 ,we are1 however1 not in the position to do this accurately4 ,we only know the prices paid for a few of his minor works4 ,he received1 for instance1 thirty ducats for the ,sleeping ,cupid1 and #dej ducats for the ,piet of ,s4 ,peter's4 ,he contracted with ,cardinal ,piccolomini to furnish fifteen statues for #ejj ducats4 ,in all of these cases the costs of marble1 workmen1 workshop1 fell on him4 ,he contracted with ,florence to execute the ,david in two years1 at a salary of six golden florins per month1 together with a further sum when the work was finished4 ,it appears that #djj florins in all 7including salary7 were finally adjudged to him4 ,in these cases all incidental expenses had been paid by his employers4 ,he contracted with the ,operai del ,duomo to make twelve statues in as many years1 receiving two florins a month1 and as much as the ,operai thought fit to pay him when the whole was done4 ,here too he was relieved from incidental expenses4 ,for the statue of ,christ at ,s4 ,maria sopra ,minerva he was paid #bjj crowns4 ,these are a few of the most trustworthy items we possess1 and they are rendered very worthless by the impossibility of reducing ducats1 florins1 and crowns to current values4 ,with regard to the bronze statue of ,julius ,,ii4 at ,bologna1 ,michelangelo tells us that he received in advance #ajjj ducats1 and when he ended his work there remained only #d-a_/b ducats to the good4 ,in this case1 as in most of his great operations1 he entered at the commencement into a contract with his patron1 sending in an estimate of what he thought it would be worth his while to do the work for4 ,the ,italian is pigliare a cottimo2 and in all of his dealings with successive ,popes ,michelangelo evidently preferred this method4 ,it must have sometimes enabled the artist to make large profits2 but the nature of the contract prevents his biographer from forming even a vague estimate of their amount4 ,according to ,condivi1 he received #cjjj ducats for the ,sistine vault1 working at his own costs4 ,according to his own statement1 several hundred ducats were owing at the end of the affair4 ,it seems certain that ,julius ,,ii4 died in ,michelangelo's debt1 and that the various contracts for his tomb were a source of loss rather than of gain4 ,such large undertakings as the sacristy and library of ,s4 ,lorenzo were probably agreed for on the contract system4 ,but although there exist plenty of memoranda recording ,michelangelo's disbursements at various times for various portions of these works1 we can strike no balance showing an approximate calculation of his profits4 ,what renders the matter still more perplexing is1 that very few of ,michelangelo's contracts were fulfilled according to the original intention of the parties4 ,for one reason or another they had to be altered and accommodated to circumstances4 ,it is clear that1 later on in life1 he received money for drawings1 for architectural work1 and for models1 the execution of which he bound himself to superintend4 ,cardinal ,grimani wrote saying he would pay the artist's own price for a design he had requested4 ,vasari observes that the sketches he gave away were worth thousands of crowns4 ,we know that he was offered a handsome salary for the superintendence of ,s4 ,peter's1 which he magnanimously and piously declined to touch4 ,but what we cannot arrive at is even a rough valuation of the sums he earned in these branches of employment4 ,again1 we know that he was promised a yearly salary from ,clement ,,vii41 and one more handsome from ,paul ,,iii4 ,but the former was paid irregularly1 and half of the latter depended on the profits of a ferry1 which eventually failed him altogether4 ,in each of these cases1 then1 the same circumstances of vagueness and uncertainty throw doubt on all investigation1 and render a conjectural estimate impossible4 ,moreover1 there remain no documents to prove what he may have gained1 directly or indirectly1 from succeeding ,pontiffs4 ,that he felt the loss of ,paul ,,iii41 as a generous patron1 is proved by a letter written on the occasion of his death2 and ,vasari hints that the ,pope had been munificent in largesses bestowed upon him4 ,but of these occasional presents and emoluments we have no accurate information2 and we are unable to state what he derived from ,pius ,,iv41 who was certainly one of his best friends and greatest admirers4 ,at his death in ,rome he left cash amounting to something under #ijjj crowns4 ,but1 since he died intestate1 we have no will to guide us as to the extent and nature of his whole estate4 ,nor1 so far as ,i am aware1 has the return of his property1 which ,lionardo ,buonarroti may possibly have furnished to the state of ,florence1 been yet brought to light4 ,that he inherited some landed property at ,settignano from his father is certain2 and he added several plots of ground to the paternal acres4 ,he also is said to have bought a farm in ,valdichiana 7doubtful71 and other pieces of land in ,tuscany4 ,he owned a house at ,rome1 a house and workshop in the ,via ,mozza at ,florence1 and he purchased the ,casa ,buonarroti in ,via ,ghibellina4 ,but we have no means of determining the total value of these real assets4 ,in these circumstances ,i feel unable to offer any probable opinion regarding the amount of ,michelangelo's professional earnings1 or the exact way in which they were acquired4 ,that he died possessed of a considerable fortune1 and that he was able during his lifetime to assist his family with large donations1 cannot be disputed4 ,but how he came to command so much money does not appear4 ,his frugality1 bordering upon penuriousness1 impressed contemporaries4 ,this1 considering the length of his life1 may account for not contemptible accumulations4 ,,viii ,we have seen that ,michelangelo's contemporaries found fault with several supposed frailties of his nature4 ,these may be briefly catalogued under the following heads3 ,a passionate violence of temper 7terribilit71 expressing itself in hasty acts and words2 extreme suspiciousness and irritability2 solitary habits1 amounting to misanthropy or churlishness2 eccentricity and melancholy bordering on madness2 personal timidity and avarice2 a want of generosity in imparting knowledge1 and an undue partiality for handsome persons of his own sex4 ,his biographers1 ,condivi and ,vasari1 thought these charges worthy of serious refutation1 which proves that they were current4 ,they had no difficulty in showing that his alleged misanthropy1 melancholy1 and madness were only signs of a studious nature absorbed in profound meditations4 ,they easily refuted the charges of avarice and want of generosity in helping on young artists4 ,but there remained a great deal in the popular conception which could not be dismissed1 and which has recently been corroborated by the publication of his correspondence4 ,the opinion that ,michelangelo was a man of peculiar1 and in some respects not altogether healthy nervous temperament1 will force itself upon all those who have fairly weighed the evidence of the letters in connection with the events of his life4 ,it has been developed in a somewhat exaggerated form1 of late years1 by several psychologists of the new school 7,parlagreco and ,lombroso in ,italy1 ,nisbet in ,england71 who attempt to prove that ,michelangelo was the subject of neurotic disorder4 ,the most important and serious essay in this direction is a little book of great interest and almost hypercritical acumen published recently at ,naples4 ,signor ,parlagreco lays great stress upon ,michelangelo's insensibility to women1 his strange and contradictory feeling about feminine beauty4 ,he seeks to show1 what is indeed1 ,i think1 capable of demonstration1 that the man's intense devotion to art and study1 his solitary habits and constitutional melancholy1 caused him to absorb the ordinary instincts and passions of a young man into his aesthetic temperament2 and that when1 in later life1 he began to devote his attention to poetry1 he treated love from the point of view of mystical philosophy4 ,in support of this argument ,parlagreco naturally insists upon the famous friendship with ,vittoria ,colonna1 and quotes the ,platonising poems commonly attributed to this emotion4 ,he has omitted to mention1 what certainly bears upon the point of ,michelangelo's frigidity1 that only one out of the five ,buonarroti brothers1 sons of ,lodovico1 married4 ,nor does he take into account the fact that ,raffaello da ,urbino1 who was no less devoted and industrious in art and study1 retained the liveliest sensibility to female charms4 ,in other words1 the critic appears to neglect that common-sense solution of the problem1 which is found in a cold and physically sterile constitution as opposed to one of greater warmth and sensuous activity4 ,parlagreco attributes much value to what he calls the religious terrors and remorse of ,michelangelo's old age2 says that his fancy became haunted with doubts and fears2 every day discovering fresh sins in the past1 inveighing against the very art which made him famous among men1 and seeking to propitiate ,paradise for his soul by acts of charity to dowerless maidens4 ,the sonnets to ,vasari and some others are quoted in support of this view4 ,but the question remains1 whether it is not exaggerated to regard pious aspirations1 and a sense of human life's inadequacy at its close1 as the signs of nervous malady4 ,the following passage sums up ,parlagreco's theory in a succession of pregnant sentences4 ,an accurate study1 based upon his correspondence in connection with the events of the artist's life and the history of his works1 has enabled me to detect in his character a persistent oscillation4 ,continual contradictions between great and generous ideas upon the one side1 and puerile ideas upon the other2 between the will and the word1 thought and action2 an excessive irritability and the highest degree of susceptibility2 constant love for others1 great activity in doing good1 sudden sympathies1 great outbursts of enthusiasm1 great fears2 at times an unconsciousness with respect to his own actions2 a marvellous modesty in the field of art1 an unreasonable vanity regarding external appearances3--these are the diverse manifestations of psychical energy in ,buonarroti's life2 all which makes me believe that the mighty artist was affected by a degree of neuropathy bordering closely upon hysterical disease4 ,he proceeds to support this general view by several considerations1 among which the most remarkable are ,michelangelo's asseverations to friends3 ,you will say that ,i am old and mad to make sonnets1 but if people assert that ,i am on the verge of dotage1 ,i have wished to act up to my character3 ,you will say that ,i am old and mad2 but ,i answer that there is no better way of keeping sane and free from anxiety1 than by being mad3 ,as regards the madness they ascribe to me1 it does harm to nobody but myself3 ,i enjoyed last evening1 because it drew me out of my melancholy and mad humour4 ,reviewing ,parlagreco's argument in general1 ,i think it may be justly remarked that if the qualities rehearsed above constitute hysterical neuropathy1 then every testy1 sensitive1 impulsive1 and benevolent person is neuropathically hysterical4 ,in particular we may demur to the terms puerile ideas1 unreasonable vanity regarding external appearances4 ,it would be difficult to discover puerility in any of ,buonarroti's utterances2 and his only vanity was a certain pride in the supposed descent of his house from that of ,canossa4 ,the frequent allusions to melancholy and madness do not constitute a confession of these qualities4 ,they express ,michelangelo's irritation at being always twitted with unsociability and eccentricity4 ,in the conversations recorded by ,francesco d',olanda he quietly and philosophically exculpates men of the artistic temperament from such charges1 which were undoubtedly brought against him1 and which the recluse manner of his life to some extent accounted for4 ,it may be well here to resume the main points of the indictment brought against ,michelangelo's sanity by the neo-psychologists4 ,in the first place1 he admired male more than female beauty1 and preferred the society of men to that of women4 ,but this peculiarity1 in an age and climate which gave larger licence to immoderate passions1 exposed him to no serious malignancy of rumour4 ,such predilections were not uncommon in ,italy4 ,they caused scandal when they degenerated into vice1 and rarely failed in that case to obscure the good fame of persons subject to them4 ,yet ,michelangelo1 surrounded by jealous rivals1 was only very lightly touched by the breath of calumny in his lifetime4 ,aretino's malicious insinuation and ,condivi's cautious vindication do not suffice to sully his memory with any dark suspicion4 ,he lived with an almost culpable penuriousness in what concerned his personal expenditure4 ,but he was generous towards his family1 bountiful to his dependants1 and liberal in charity4 ,he suffered from constitutional depression1 preferred solitude to crowds1 and could not brook the interference of fashionable idlers with his studious leisure4 ,but1 as he sensibly urged in self-defence1 these eccentricities1 so frequent with men of genius1 ought to have been ascribed to the severe demands made upon an artist's faculties by the problems with which he was continually engaged2 the planning of a ,pope's mausoleum1 the distribution of a score of histories and several hundreds of human figures on a chapel-vaulting1 the raising of ,s4 ,peter's cupola in air3 none of which tasks can be either lightly undertaken or carried out with ease4 ,at worst1 ,michelangelo's melancholy might be ascribed to that morbus eruditorum of which ,burton speaks4 ,it never assumed the form of hypochondria1 hallucination1 misogyny1 or misanthropy4 ,he was irritable1 suspicious1 and frequently unjust both to his friends and relatives on slight occasions4 ,but his relatives gave him good reason to be fretful by their greediness1 ingratitude1 and stupidity2 and when he lost his temper he recovered it with singular ease4 ,it is also noticeable that these paroxysms of crossness on which so much stress has been laid1 came upon him mostly when he was old1 worn out with perpetual mental and physical fatigue1 and troubled by a painful disease of the bladder4 ,there is nothing in their nature1 frequency1 or violence to justify the hypothesis of more than a hyper-sensitive nervous temperament2 and without a temperament of this sort how could an artist of ,michelangelo's calibre and intensity perform his life-work8 ,in old age he dwelt upon the thought of death1 meditated in a repentant spirit on the errors of his younger years1 indulged a pious spirit1 and clung to the cross of ,christ4 ,but when a man has passed the period allotted for the average of his race1 ought not these preoccupations to be reckoned to him rather as appropriate and meritorious8 ,we must not forget that he was born and lived as a believing ,christian1 in an age of immorality indeed1 but one which had not yet been penetrated with scientific conceptions and materialism4 ,there is nothing hysterical or unduly ascetic in the religion of his closing years4 ,it did not prevent him from taking the keenest interest in his family1 devoting his mind to business and the purchase of property1 carrying on the ,herculean labour of building the mother-church of ,latin ,christendom4 ,he was subject1 all through his career1 to sudden panics1 and suffered from a constitutional dread of assassination4 ,we can only explain his flight from ,rome1 his escape from ,florence1 the anxiety he expressed about his own and his family's relations to the ,medici1 by supposing that his nerves were sensitive upon this point4 ,but1 considering the times in which he lived1 the nature of the men around him1 the despotic temper of the ,medicean princes1 was there anything morbid in this timidity8 ,a student of ,cellini's ,memoirs1 of ,florentine history1 and of the dark stories in which the private annals of the age abound1 will be forced to admit that imaginative men of acute nervous susceptibility1 who loved a quiet life and wished to keep their mental forces unimpaired for art and thought1 were justified in feeling an habitual sense of uneasiness in ,italy of the ,renaissance period4 ,michelangelo's timidity1 real as it was1 did not prevent him from being bold upon occasion1 speaking the truth to popes and princes1 and making his personality respected4 ,he was even accused of being too terrible1 too little of a courtier and time-server4 ,when the whole subject of ,michelangelo's temperament has been calmly investigated1 the truth seems to be that he did not possess a nervous temperament so evenly balanced as some phlegmatic men of average ability can boast of4 ,but who could expect the creator of the ,sistine1 the sculptor of the ,medicean tombs1 the architect of the cupola1 the writer of the sonnets1 to be an absolutely normal individual8 ,to identify genius with insanity is a pernicious paradox4 ,to recognise that it cannot exist without some inequalities of nervous energy1 some perturbations of nervous function1 is reasonable4 ,in other words1 it is an axiom of physiology that the abnormal development of any organ or any faculty is balanced by some deficiency or abnormality elsewhere in the individual4 ,this is only another way of saying that the man of genius is not a mediocre and ordinary personality3 in other words1 it is a truism1 the statement of which appears superfluous4 ,rather ought we1 in ,michelangelo's case1 to dwell upon the remarkable sobriety of his life1 his sustained industry under very trying circumstances1 his prolonged intellectual activity into extreme old age1 the toughness of his constitution1 and the elasticity of that nerve-fibre which continued to be sound and sane under the enormous and varied pressure put upon it over a period of seventy-five laborious years4 ,if we dared attempt a synthesis or reconstitution of this unique man's personality1 upon the data furnished by his poems1 letters1 and occasional utterances1 all of which have been set forth in their proper places in this work1 ,i think we must construct him as a being gifted1 above all his other qualities and talents1 with a burning sense of abstract beauty and an eager desire to express this through several forms of art--design1 sculpture1 fresco-painting1 architecture1 poetry4 ,the second point forced in upon our mind is that the same man vibrated acutely to the political agitation of his troubled age1 to mental influences of various kinds1 and finally to a persistent nervous susceptibility1 which made him exquisitely sensitive to human charm4 ,this quality rendered him irritable in his dealings with his fellow-men1 like an instrument of music1 finely strung1 and jangled on a slight occasion4 ,in the third place we discover that1 while accepting the mental influences and submitting to the personal attractions ,i have indicated1 he strove1 by indulging solitary tastes1 to maintain his central energies intact for art--joining in no rebellious conspiracies against the powers that be1 bending his neck in silence to the storm1 avoiding pastimes and social diversions which might have called into activity the latent sensuousness of his nature4 ,for the same reason1 partly by predilection1 and partly by a deliberate wish to curb his irritable tendencies1 he lived as much alone as possible1 and poorly4 ,at the close of his career1 when he condescended to unburden his mind in verse and friendly dialogue1 it is clear that he had formed the habit of recurring to religion for tranquillity1 and of combating dominant desire by dwelling on the thought of inevitable death4 ,platonic speculations upon the eternal value of beauty displayed in mortal creatures helped him always in his warfare with the flesh and roving inclination4 ,self-control seems to have been the main object of his conscious striving1 not for its own sake1 but as the condition necessary to his highest spiritual activity4 ,self-coherence1 self-concentration1 not for any mean or self-indulgent end1 but for the best attainment of his intellectual ideal1 was what he sought for by the seclusion and the renunciations of a lifetime4 ,the total result of this singular attitude toward human life1 which cannot be rightly described as either ascetic or mystical1 but seems rather to have been based upon some self-preservative instinct1 bidding him sacrifice lower and keener impulses to what he regarded as the higher and finer purpose of his being1 is a certain clash and conflict of emotions1 a certain sense of failure to attain the end proposed1 which excuses1 though ,i do not think it justifies1 the psychologists1 when they classify him among morbid subjects4 ,had he yielded at any period of his career to the ordinary customs of his easy-going age1 he would have presented no problem to the scientific mind4 ,after consuming the fuel of the passions1 he might have subsided into common calm1 or have blunted the edge of inspiration1 or have finished in some phase of madness or ascetical repentance4 ,such are the common categories of extinct volcanic temperaments4 ,but the essential point about ,michelangelo is that he never burned out1 and never lost his manly independence1 in spite of numerous nervous disadvantages4 ,that makes him the unparalleled personality he is1 as now revealed to us by the impartial study of the documents at our disposal4 ,,ix ,it is the plain duty of criticism in this age to search and probe the characters of world-important individuals under as many aspects as possible1 neglecting no analytical methods1 shrinking from no tests1 omitting no slight details or faint shadows that may help to round a picture4 ,yet1 after all our labour1 we are bound to confess that the man himself eludes our insight4 ,the abysmal deeps of personality have never yet been sounded by mere human plummets4 ,the most that microscope and scalpel can perform is to lay bare tissue and direct attention to peculiarities of structure4 ,in the long-run we find that the current opinion formed by successive generations remains true in its grand outlines4 ,that large collective portrait of the hero1 slowly emerging from sympathies and censures1 from judgments and panegyrics1 seems dim indeed and visionary1 when compared with some sharply indented description by a brilliant literary craftsman4 ,it has the vagueness of a photograph produced by superimposing many negatives of the same face one upon the other4 ,it lacks the pungent piquancy of an etching4 ,yet this is what we must abide by2 for this is spiritually and generically veracious4 ,at the end1 then1 a sound critic returns to think of ,michelangelo1 not as ,parlagreco and ,lombroso show him1 nor even as the minute examination of letters and of poems proves him to have been1 but as tradition and the total tenor of his life display him to our admiration4 ,incalculable1 incomprehensible1 incommensurable3 yes1 all souls1 the least and greatest1 attack them as we will1 are that4 ,but definite in solitary sublimity1 like a supreme mountain seen from a vast distance1 soaring over shadowy hills and misty plains into the clear ether of immortal fame4 ,viewed thus1 he lives for ever as the type and symbol of a man1 much-suffering1 continually labouring1 gifted with keen but rarely indulged passions1 whose energies from boyhood to extreme old age were dedicated with unswerving purpose to the service of one master1 plastic art4 ,on his death-bed he may have felt1 like ,browning1 in that sweetest of his poems1 other heights in other lives1 ,god willing4 ,but1 for this earthly pilgrimage1 he was contented to leave the ensample of a noble nature made perfect and completed in itself by addiction to one commanding impulse4 ,we cannot cite another hero of the modern world who more fully and with greater intensity realised the main end of human life1 which is self-effectuation1 self-realisation1 self-manifestation in one of the many lines of labour to which men may be called and chosen4 ,had we more of such individualities1 the symphony of civilisation would be infinitely glorious2 for nothing is more certain than that ,god and the world cannot be better served than by each specific self pushing forward to its own perfection1 sacrificing the superfluous or hindering elements in its structure1 regardless of side issues and collateral considerations4 ,michelangelo1 then1 as ,carlyle might have put it1 is the ,hero as ,artist4 ,when we have admitted this1 all dregs and sediments of the analytical alembic sink to the bottom1 leaving a clear crystalline elixir of the spirit4 ,about the quality of his genius opinions may1 will1 and ought to differ4 ,it is so pronounced1 so peculiar1 so repulsive to one man1 so attractive to another1 that1 like his own dread statue of ,lorenzo de' ,medici1 it fascinates and is intolerable4 ,there are few1 ,i take it1 who can feel at home with him in all the length and breadth and dark depths of the regions that he traversed4 ,the world of thoughts and forms in which he lived habitually is too arid1 like an extinct planet1 tenanted by mighty elemental beings with little human left to them but visionary ,titan-shapes1 too vast and void for common minds to dwell in pleasurably4 ,the sweetness that emerges from his strength1 the beauty which blooms rarely1 strangely1 in unhomely wise1 upon the awful crowd of his conceptions1 are only to be apprehended by some innate sympathy or by long incubation of the brooding intellect4 ,it is probable1 therefore1 that the deathless artist through long centuries of glory will abide as solitary as the simple old man did in his poor house at ,rome4 ,but no one1 not the dullest1 not the weakest1 not the laziest and lustfullest1 not the most indifferent to ideas or the most tolerant of platitudes and paradoxes1 can pass him by without being arrested1 quickened1 stung1 purged1 stirred to uneasy self-examination by so strange a personality expressed in prophecies of art so pungent4 ,each supreme artist whom ,god hath sent into the world with inspiration and a particle of the imperishable fire1 is a law to himself1 an universe1 a revelation of the divine life under one of its innumerable attributes4 ,we cannot therefore classify ,michelangelo with any of his peers throughout the long procession of the ages4 ,of each and all of them it must be said in ,ariosto's words1 ,nature made him1 and then broke the mould4 ,yet1 if we seek ,michelangelo's affinities1 we find them in ,lucretius and ,beethoven1 not in ,sophocles and ,mozart4 ,he belongs to the genus of deep1 violent1 colossal1 passionately striving natures2 not1 like ,raffaello1 to the smooth1 serene1 broad1 exquisitely finished1 calmly perfect tribe4 ,to ,god be the praise1 who bestows upon the human race artists thus differing in type and personal quality1 each one of whom incarnates some specific portion of the spirit of past ages1 perpetuating the traditions of man's soul1 interpreting century to century by everlasting hieroglyphics1 mute witnesses to history and splendid illustrations of her pages4