Giant in Florence, and the cartoon, had become so famous, that in the
year 1503, Pope Alexander VI having died and Julius II having been
elected, at which time Michelagnolo was about twenty-nine years of
age, he was summoned with much graciousness by Julius II, who wished
to set him to make his tomb; and for the expenses of the journey a
hundred crowns were paid to him by the Pope's representatives. Having
made his way to Rome, he spent many months there before he was made to
set his hand to any work. But finally the Pope's choice fell on a
design that he had made for that tomb, an excellent testimony to the
genius of Michelagnolo, which in beauty and magnificence, abundance of
ornamentation and richness of statuary, surpassed every ancient or
imperial tomb. Whereupon Pope Julius took courage, and thus resolved
to set his hand to make anew the Church of S. Pietro in Rome, in order
to erect the tomb in it, as has been related in another place. And so
Michelagnolo set to work with high hopes; and, in order to make a
beginning, he went to Carrara to excavate all the marble, with two
assistants, receiving a thousand crowns on that account from Alamanno
Salviati in Florence. There, in those mountains, he spent eight months
without other moneys or supplies; and he had many fantastic ideas of
carving great statues in those quarries, in order to leave memorials
of himself, as the ancients had done before him, being invited by
those masses of stone. Then, having picked out the due quantity of
marbles, he caused them to be loaded on board ship at the coast and
then conveyed to Rome, where they filled half the Piazza di S. Pietro,
round about S. Caterina, and between the church and the corridor that
goes to the Castello. In that place Michelagnolo had prepared his room
for executing the figures and the rest of the tomb; and, to the end
that the Pope might be able to come at his convenience to see him at
work, he had caused a drawbridge to be constructed between the
corridor and that room, which led to a great intimacy between them.
But in time these favours brought much annoyance and even persecution
upon him, and stirred up much envy against him among his
fellow-craftsmen.
[Illustration: VICTORY
(_After =Michelagnolo=. Florence: Museo Nazionale_)
_Anderson_]
Of this work Michelagnolo executed during the lifetime and after the
death of Julius four statues completely finished and eight only
blocked out, as will be related in the proper place; and since the
work was designed with extraordinary invention, we will describe here
below the plan that he adopted. In order to produce an effect of
supreme grandeur, he decided that it should be wholly isolated, so as
to be seen from all four sides, each side in one direction being
twelve braccia and each in the other eighteen, so that the proportions
were a square and a half. It had a range of niches running right round
the outer side, which were divided one from another by terminal
figures clothed from the middle upwards, which with their heads
supported the first cornice, and each terminal figure had bound to it,
in a strange and bizarre attitude, a naked captive, whose feet rested
on a projection of the base. These captives were all provinces
subjugated by that Pontiff and rendered obedient to the Apostolic
Church; and there were various other statues, likewise bound, of all
the noble arts and sciences, which were thus shown to be subject to
death no less than was that Pontiff, who made such honourable use of
them. On the corners of the first cornice were to go four large
figures, the Active and the Contemplative Life, S. Paul, and Moses.
The structure rose above the cornice in steps gradually diminishing,
with a frieze of scenes in bronze, and with other figures, children
and ornaments all around, and at the summit, as a crown to the work,
were two figures, one of which was Heaven, who, smiling, was
supporting a bier on her shoulder, together with Cybele, the Goddess
of Earth, who appeared to be grieving that she was left in a world
robbed of all virtue by the death of such a man; and Heaven appeared
to be smiling with gladness that his soul had passed to celestial
glory. The work was so arranged that one might enter and come out
again by the ends of the quadrangular structure, between the niches,
and the interior curved in the form of an oval after the manner of a
temple, in the centre of which was the sarcophagus wherein was to be
laid the dead body of that Pope. And, finally, there were to be in
this whole work forty statues of marble, without counting the other
scenes, children, and ornaments, the carvings covering the cornices,
and the other architectural members of the work. Michelagnolo
ordained, to expedite the labour, that a part of the marbles should
be conveyed to Florence, where he intended at times to spend the
summer months in order to avoid the malaria of Rome; and there he
executed one side of the work in many pieces, complete in every
detail. In Rome he finished entirely with his own hand two of the
captives, figures divinely beautiful, and other statues, than which
none better have ever been seen; but in the end they were never placed
in position, and those captives were presented by him to S. Ruberto
Strozzi, when Michelagnolo happened to be lying ill in his house;
which captives were afterwards sent as presents to King Francis, and
they are now at Ecouen in France. Eight statues, likewise, he blocked
out in Rome, and in Florence he blocked out five and finished a
Victory with a captive beneath, which are now in the possession of
Duke Cosimo, having been presented by Michelagnolo's nephew, Leonardo,
to his Excellency, who has placed the Victory in the Great Hall of his
Palace, which was painted by Vasari.
He finished the Moses, a statue in marble of five braccia, which no
modern work will ever equal in beauty; and of the ancient statues,
also, the same may be said. For, seated in an attitude of great
dignity, he rests one arm on the Tables, which he holds with one hand,
and with the other he holds his beard, which is long and waving, and
carved in the marble in such sort, that the hairs--in which the
sculptor finds such difficulty--are wrought with the greatest
delicacy, soft, feathery, and detailed in such a manner, that one
cannot but believe that his chisel was changed into a pencil. To say
nothing of the beauty of the face, which has all the air of a true
Saint and most dread Prince, you seem, while you gaze upon it, to wish
to demand from him the veil wherewith to cover that face, so
resplendent and so dazzling it appears to you, and so well has
Michelagnolo expressed the divinity that God infused in that most holy
countenance. In addition, there are draperies carved out and finished
with most beautiful curves of the borders; while the arms with their
muscles, and the hands with their bones and nerves, are carried to
such a pitch of beauty and perfection, and the legs, knees, and feet
are covered with buskins so beautifully fashioned, and every part of
the work is so finished, that Moses may be called now more than ever
the friend of God, seeing that He has deigned to assemble together and
prepare his body for the Resurrection before that of any other, by the
hands of Michelagnolo. Well may the Hebrews continue to go there, as
they do every Sabbath, both men and women, like flocks of starlings,
to visit and adore that statue; for they will be adoring a thing not
human but divine.
[Illustration: MOSES
(_After =Michelagnolo=. Rome: S. Pietro in Vincoli_)
_Anderson_]
Finally all the agreements for this work were made, and the end came
into view; and of the four sides one of the smaller ones was
afterwards erected in S. Pietro in Vincola. It is said that while
Michelagnolo was executing the work, there came to the Ripa all the
rest of the marbles for the tomb that had remained at Carrara, which
were conveyed to the Piazza di S. Pietro, where the others were; and,
since it was necessary to pay those who had conveyed them,
Michelagnolo went, as was his custom, to the Pope. But, his Holiness
having on his hands that day some important business concerning
Bologna, he returned to his house and paid for those marbles out of
his own purse, thinking to have the order for them straightway from
his Holiness. He returned another day to speak of them to the Pope,
but found difficulty in entering, for one of the grooms told him that
he had orders not to admit him, and that he must have patience. A
Bishop then said to the groom, "Perhaps you do not know this man?"
"Only too well do I know him," answered the groom; "but I am here to
do as I am commanded by my superiors and by the Pope." This action
displeased Michelagnolo, and, considering that it was contrary to what
he had experienced before, he said to the Pope's groom that he should
tell his Holiness that from that time forward, when he should want
him, it would be found that he had gone elsewhere; and then, having
returned to his house, at the second hour of the night he set out on
post-horses, leaving two servants to sell all the furniture of his
house to the Jews and to follow him to Florence, whither he was bound.
Having arrived at Poggibonzi, a place in the Florentine territory, and
therefore safe, he stopped; and almost immediately five couriers
arrived with letters from the Pope to bring him back. Despite their
entreaties and also the letters, which ordered him to return to Rome
under threat of punishment, he would not listen to a word; but
finally the prayers of the couriers induced him to write a few
words in reply to his Holiness, asking for pardon, but saying that he
would never again return to his presence, since he had caused him to
be driven away like a criminal, that his faithful service had not
deserved such treatment, and that his Holiness should look elsewhere
for someone to serve him.
[Illustration: TOMB OF POPE JULIUS II
(_After =Michelagnolo=. Rome: S. Pietro in Vincoli_)
_Alinari_]
After arriving at Florence, Michelagnolo devoted himself during the
three months that he stayed there to finishing the cartoon for the
Great Hall, which Piero Soderini, the Gonfalonier, desired that he
should carry into execution. During that time there came to the
Signoria three Briefs commanding them to send Michelagnolo back to
Rome: wherefore he, perceiving this vehemence on the part of the Pope,
and not trusting him, conceived the idea, so it is said, of going to
Constantinople to serve the Grand Turk, who desired to secure him, by
means of certain Friars of S. Francis, to build a bridge crossing from
Constantinople to Pera. However, he was persuaded by Piero Soderini,
although very unwilling, to go to meet the Pope as a person of public
importance with the title of Ambassador of the city, to reassure him;
and finally the Gonfalonier recommended him to his brother Cardinal
Soderini for presentation to the Pope, and sent him off to Bologna,
where his Holiness had already arrived from Rome. His departure from
Rome is also explained in another way--namely, that the Pope became
angered against Michelagnolo, who would not allow any of his works to
be seen; that Michelagnolo suspected his own men, doubting (as
happened more than once) that the Pope disguised himself and saw what
he was doing on certain occasions when he himself was not at home or
at work; and that on one occasion, when the Pope had bribed his
assistants to admit him to see the chapel of his uncle Sixtus, which,
as was related a little time back, he caused Buonarroti to paint,
Michelagnolo, having waited in hiding because he suspected the
treachery of his assistants, threw planks down at the Pope when he
entered the chapel, not considering who it might be, and drove him
forth in a fury. It is enough for us to know that in the one way or
the other he fell out with the Pope and then became afraid, so that he
had to fly from his presence.
Now, having arrived in Bologna, he had scarcely drawn off his
riding-boots when he was conducted by the Pope's servants to his
Holiness, who was in the Palazzo de' Sedici; and he was accompanied by
a Bishop sent by Cardinal Soderini, because the Cardinal, being ill,
was not able to go himself. Having come into the presence of the Pope,
Michelagnolo knelt down, but his Holiness looked askance at him, as if
in anger, and said to him, "Instead of coming yourself to meet us, you
have waited for us to come to meet you!" meaning to infer that Bologna
is nearer to Florence than Rome. Michelagnolo, with a courtly gesture
of the hands, but in a firm voice, humbly begged for pardon, saying in
excuse that he had acted as he had done in anger, not being able to
endure to be driven away so abruptly, but that, if he had erred, his
Holiness should once more forgive him. The Bishop who had presented
Michelagnolo to his Holiness, making excuse for him, said to the Pope
that such men were ignorant creatures, that they were worth nothing
save in their own art, and that he should freely pardon him. The Pope,
seized with anger, belaboured the Bishop with a staff that he had in
his hand, saying to him, "It is you that are ignorant, who level
insults at him that we ourselves do not think of uttering;" and then
the Bishop was driven out by the groom with fisticuffs. When he had
gone, the Pope, having discharged his anger upon him, gave
Michelagnolo his benediction; and the master was detained in Bologna
with gifts and promises, until finally his Holiness commanded him that
he should make a statue of bronze in the likeness of Pope Julius, five
braccia in height. In this work he showed most beautiful art in the
attitude, which had an effect of much majesty and grandeur, and
displayed richness and magnificence in the draperies, and in the
countenance, spirit, force, resolution, and stern dignity; and it was
placed in a niche over the door of S. Petronio. It is said that while
Michelagnolo was working at it, he received a visit from Francia, a
most excellent goldsmith and painter, who wished to see it, having
heard so much praise and fame of him and of his works, and not having
seen any of them, so that agents had been set to work to enable him to
see it, and he had obtained permission. Whereupon, seeing the artistry
of Michelagnolo, he was amazed: and then, being asked by Michelagnolo
what he thought of that figure, Francia answered that it was a most
beautiful casting and a fine material. Wherefore Michelagnolo,
considering that he had praised the bronze rather than the
workmanship, said to him, "I owe the same obligation to Pope Julius,
who has given it to me, that you owe to the apothecaries who give you
your colours for painting;" and in his anger, in the presence of all
the gentlemen there, he declared that Francia was a fool. In the same
connection, when a son of Francia's came before him and was announced
as a very beautiful youth, Michelagnolo said to him, "Your father's
living figures are finer than those that he paints." Among the same
gentlemen was one, whose name I know not, who asked Michelagnolo which
he thought was the larger, the statue of the Pope or a pair of oxen;
and he answered, "That depends on the oxen. If they are these
Bolognese oxen, then without a doubt our Florentine oxen are not so
big."
Michelagnolo had the statue finished in clay before the Pope departed
from Bologna for Rome, and his Holiness, having gone to see it, but
not knowing what was to be placed in the left hand, and seeing the
right hand raised in a proud gesture, asked whether it was pronouncing
a benediction or a curse. Michelagnolo answered that it was
admonishing the people of Bologna to mind their behaviour, and asked
his Holiness to decide whether he should place a book in the left
hand; and he said, "Put a sword there, for I know nothing of letters."
The Pope left a thousand crowns in the bank of M. Anton Maria da
Lignano for the completion of the statue, and at the end of the
sixteen months that Michelagnolo toiled over the work it was placed on
the frontispiece in the façade of the Church of S. Petronio, as has
been related; and we have also spoken of its size. This statue was
destroyed by the Bentivogli, and the bronze was sold to Duke Alfonso
of Ferrara, who made with it a piece of artillery called La Giulia;
saving only the head, which is to be found in his guardaroba.
[Illustration: GOD DIVIDING THE WATERS FROM THE EARTH
(_After the fresco by =Michelagnolo=. Rome: The Vatican, Sistine
Chapel_)
_Anderson_]
When the Pope had returned to Rome and Michelagnolo was at work on the
statue, Bramante, the friend and relative of Raffaello da Urbino, and
for that reason little the friend of Michelagnolo, perceiving that the
Pope held in great favour and estimation the works that he executed in
sculpture, was constantly planning with Raffaello in Michelagnolo's
absence to remove from the mind of his Holiness the idea of causing
Michelagnolo, after his return, to devote himself to finishing his
tomb; saying that for a man to prepare himself a tomb during his own
lifetime was an evil augury and a hurrying on of his death. And they
persuaded his Holiness that on the return of Michelagnolo, he should
cause him to paint in memory of his uncle Sixtus the vaulting of the
chapel that he had built in the Palace. In this manner it seemed
possible to Bramante and other rivals of Michelagnolo to draw him away
from sculpture, in which they saw him to be perfect, and to plunge him
into despair, they thinking that if they compelled him to paint, he
would do work less worthy of praise, since he had no experience of
colours in fresco, and that he would prove inferior to Raffaello, and,
even if he did succeed in the work, in any case it would make him
angry against the Pope; so that in either event they would achieve
their object of getting rid of him. And so, when Michelagnolo returned
to Rome, the Pope was not disposed at that time to finish his tomb,
and requested him to paint the vaulting of the chapel. Michelagnolo,
who desired to finish the tomb, believing the vaulting of that chapel
to be a great and difficult labour, and considering his own want of
practice in colours, sought by every means to shake such a burden from
his shoulders, and proposed Raffaello for the work. But the more he
refused, the greater grew the desire of the Pope, who was headstrong
in his undertakings, and, in addition, was being spurred on anew by
the rivals of Michelagnolo, and especially by Bramante; so that his
Holiness, who was quick-tempered, was on the point of becoming enraged
with Michelagnolo. Whereupon Michelagnolo, perceiving that his
Holiness was determined in the matter, resolved to do it; and the Pope
commanded Bramante to erect the scaffolding from which the vaulting
might be painted. Bramante made it all supported by ropes, piercing
the vaulting; which having perceived, Michelagnolo inquired of
Bramante how he was to proceed to fill up the holes when he had
finished painting it, and he replied that he would think of that
afterwards, and that it could not be done otherwise. Michelagnolo
recognized that Bramante was either not very competent for such a work
or else little his friend, and he went to the Pope and said to him
that the scaffolding was not satisfactory, and that Bramante had not
known how to make it; and the Pope answered, in the presence of
Bramante, that he should make it after his own fashion. And so he
commanded that it should be erected upon props so as not to touch the
walls, a method of making scaffoldings for vaults that he taught
afterwards to Bramante and others, whereby many fine works have been
executed. Thus he enabled a poor creature of a carpenter, who rebuilt
the scaffolding, to dispense with so many of the ropes, that, after
selling them (for Michelagnolo gave them to him), he made up a dowry
for his daughter.
[Illustration: THE CREATION OF EVE
(_After the fresco by =Michelagnolo=. Rome: The Vatican, Sistine
Chapel_)
_Anderson_]
He then set his hand to making the cartoons for that vaulting; and the
Pope decided, also, that the walls which the masters before him in the
time of Sixtus had painted should be scraped clean, and decreed that
he should have fifteen thousand ducats for the whole cost of the work;
which price was fixed through Giuliano da San Gallo. Thereupon, forced
by the magnitude of the undertaking to resign himself to obtaining
assistance, Michelagnolo sent for men to Florence; and he determined
to demonstrate in such a work that those who had painted there before
him were destined to be vanquished by his labours, and also resolved
to show to the modern craftsmen how to draw and paint. Having begun
the cartoons, he finished them; and the circumstances of the work
spurred him to soar to great heights, both for his own fame and for
the welfare of art. And then, desiring to paint it in fresco-colours,
and not having any experience of them, there came from Florence to
Rome certain of his friends who were painters, to the end that they
might give him assistance in such a work, and also that he might learn
from them the method of working in fresco, in which some of them were
well-practised; and among these were Granaccio, Giuliano Bugiardini,
Jacopo di Sandro, the elder Indaco, Agnolo di Donnino, and Aristotile.
Having made a commencement with the work, he caused them to begin some
things as specimens; but, perceiving that their efforts were very far
from what he desired, and not being satisfied with them, he resolved
one morning to throw to the ground everything that they had done.
Then, shutting himself up in the chapel, he would never open to them,
nor even allowed himself to be seen by them when he was at home. And
so, when the jest appeared to them to be going too far, they resigned
themselves to it and returned in shame to Florence. Thereupon
Michelagnolo, having made arrangements to paint the whole work by
himself, carried it well on the way to completion with the utmost
solicitude, labour, and study; nor would he ever let himself be seen,
lest he should give any occasion to compel him to show it, so that the
desire in the minds of everyone to see it grew greater every day.
Pope Julius was always very desirous to see any undertakings that he
was having carried out, and therefore became more eager than ever to
see this one, which was hidden from him. And so one day he resolved to
go to see it, but was not admitted, for Michelagnolo would never have
consented to show it to him; out of which affair arose the quarrel
that has been described, when he had to depart from Rome because he
would not show his work to the Pope. Now, when a third of the work was
finished (as I ascertained from him in order to clear up all doubts),
it began to throw out certain spots of mould, one winter that the
north wind was blowing. The reason of this was that the Roman lime,
which is made of travertine and white in colour, does not dry very
readily, and, when mixed with pozzolana, which is of a tawny colour,
makes a dark mixture which, when soft, is very watery; and when the
wall has been well soaked, it often breaks out into an efflorescence
in the drying; and thus this salt efflorescence of moisture came out
in many places, but in time the air consumed it. Michelagnolo was in
despair over this, and was unwilling to continue the work, asking the
Pope to excuse him, since he was not succeeding; but his Holiness sent
Giuliano da San Gallo to see him, and he, having told him whence the
defect arose and taught him how to remove the spots of mould,
encouraged him to persevere.