the ground that such a work as that façade should have been
distributed among several persons, and in the matter of the
architecture many craftsmen flocked to Rome to see the Pope, and made
designs; Baccio d'Agnolo, Antonio da San Gallo, Andrea Sansovino and
Jacopo Sansovino, and the gracious Raffaello da Urbino, who was
afterwards summoned to Florence for that purpose at the time of the
Pope's visit. Thereupon Michelagnolo resolved to make a model and not
to accept anyone beyond himself as his guide or superior in the
architecture of such a work; but this refusal of assistance was the
reason that neither he nor any other executed the work, and that those
masters returned in despair to their customary pursuits. Michelagnolo,
going to Carrara, had an order authorizing that a thousand crowns
should be paid to him by Jacopo Salviati; but on his arrival Jacopo
was shut up in his room on business with some citizens, and
Michelagnolo, refusing to wait for an audience, departed without
saying a word and went straightway to Carrara. Jacopo heard of
Michelagnolo's arrival, and, not finding him in Florence, sent him a
thousand crowns to Carrara. The messenger demanded that Michelagnolo
should write him a receipt, to which he answered that the money was
for the expenses of the Pope and not for his own interest, and that
the messenger might take it back, but that he was not accustomed to
write out quittances or receipts for others; whereupon the other
returned in alarm to Jacopo without a receipt.
While Michelagnolo was at Carrara and was having marble quarried for
the tomb of Julius, thinking at length to finish it, no less than for
the façade, a letter was written to him saying that Pope Leo had heard
that in the mountains of Pietrasanta near Seravezza, in the Florentine
dominion, at the summit of the highest mountain, which is called Monte
Altissimo, there were marbles of the same excellence and beauty as
those of Carrara. This Michelagnolo already knew, but it seems that he
would not take advantage of it because of his friendship with the
Marchese Alberigo, Lord of Carrara, and, in order to do him a good
service, chose to quarry those of Carrara rather than those of
Seravezza; or it may have been that he judged it to be a long
undertaking and likely to waste much time, as indeed it did. However,
he was forced to go to Seravezza, although he pleaded in protest that
it would be more difficult and costly, as in truth it was, especially
at the beginning, and, moreover, that the report about the marble was
perhaps not true; but for all that the Pope would not hear a word of
objection. Thereupon it was decided to make a road for several miles
through the mountains, breaking down rocks with hammers and pickaxes
to obtain a level, and sinking piles in the marshy places; and there
Michelagnolo spent many years in executing the wishes of the Pope.
Finally five columns of the proper size were excavated, one of which
is on the Piazza di S. Lorenzo in Florence, and the others are on the
sea-shore. And for this reason the Marchese Alberigo, who saw his
business ruined, became the bitter enemy of Michelagnolo, who was not
to blame. Michelagnolo, in addition to these columns, excavated many
other marbles there, which are still in the quarries, abandoned there
for more than thirty years. But at the present day Duke Cosimo has
given orders for the road to be finished, of which there are still two
miles to make over very difficult ground, for the transportation of
these marbles, and also a road from another quarry of excellent marble
that was discovered at that time by Michelagnolo, in order to be able
to finish many beautiful undertakings. In the same district of
Seravezza he discovered a mountain of variegated marble that is very
hard and very beautiful, below Stazema, a village in those mountains;
where the same Duke Cosimo has caused a paved road of more than four
miles to be made, for conveying the marble to the sea.
But to return to Michelagnolo: having gone back to Florence, he lost
much time now in one thing and now in another. And he made at that
time for the Palace of the Medici a model for the knee-shaped windows
of those rooms that are at the corner, where Giovanni da Udine adorned
the chamber in stucco and painting, which is a much extolled work; and
he caused to be made for them by the goldsmith Piloto, but under his
own direction, those jalousies of perforated copper, which are
certainly admirable things. Michelagnolo consumed many years in
quarrying marbles, although it is true that while they were being
excavated he made models of wax and other things for the work. But
this undertaking was delayed so long, that the money assigned by the
Pope for the purpose was spent on the war in Lombardy; and at the
death of Leo the work was left unfinished, nothing being accomplished
save the laying of a foundation in front to support it, and the
transportation of a large column of marble from Carrara to the Piazza
di S. Lorenzo.
[Illustration: MADONNA AND CHILD
(_After =Michelagnolo=. Florence: New Sacristy of S. Lorenzo_)
_Anderson_]
The death of Leo completely dismayed the craftsmen and the arts
both in Rome and in Florence; and while Adrian VI was alive
Michelagnolo gave his attention in Florence to the tomb of Julius. But
after the death of Adrian Clement VII was elected, who was no less
desirous than Leo and his other predecessors to leave his fame
established by the arts of architecture, sculpture, and painting. At
this time, which was the year 1525, Giorgio Vasari was taken as a
little boy to Florence by the Cardinal of Cortona, and placed with
Michelagnolo to learn art. But Michelagnolo was then summoned to Rome
by Pope Clement VII, who had made a beginning with the library of S.
Lorenzo and also the new sacristy, in which he proposed to place the
marble tombs that he was having made for his forefathers; and he
resolved that Vasari should go to work with Andrea del Sarto until he
should himself be free again, and went in person to Andrea's workshop
to present him.
Michelagnolo departed for Rome in haste, harassed once again by
Francesco Maria, Duke of Urbino, the nephew of Pope Julius, who
complained of him, saying that he had received sixteen thousand crowns
for the above-named tomb, yet was living a life of pleasure in
Florence; and he threatened in his anger that, if Michelagnolo did not
give his attention to the work, he would make him rue it. Having
arrived in Rome, Pope Clement, who wished to make use of him, advised
him to draw up his accounts with the agents of the Duke, believing
that after all that he had done he must be their creditor rather than
their debtor; and so the matter rested. After discussing many things
together, they resolved to finish completely the library and new
sacristy of S. Lorenzo in Florence. Michelagnolo therefore departed
from Rome, and raised the cupola that is now to be seen, causing it to
be wrought in various orders of composition; and he had a ball with
seventy-two faces made by the goldsmith Piloto, which is very
beautiful. It happened, while Michelagnolo was raising the cupola,
that he was asked by some friends, "Should you not make your lantern
very different from that of Filippo Brunelleschi?" And he answered
them, "Different it can be made with ease, but better, no." He made
four tombs in that sacristy, to adorn the walls and to contain the
bodies of the fathers of the two Popes, the elder Lorenzo and his
brother Giuliano, and those of Giuliano, the brother of Leo, and of
Duke Lorenzo, his nephew. And since he wished to execute the work in
imitation of the old sacristy that Filippo Brunelleschi had built, but
with another manner of ornamentation, he made in it an ornamentation
in a composite order, in a more varied and more original manner than
any other master at any time, whether ancient or modern, had been able
to achieve, for in the novelty of the beautiful cornices, capitals,
bases, doors, tabernacles, and tombs, he departed not a little from
the work regulated by measure, order, and rule, which other men did
according to a common use and after Vitruvius and the antiquities, to
which he would not conform. That licence has done much to give courage
to those who have seen his methods to set themselves to imitate him,
and new fantasies have since been seen which have more of the
grotesque than of reason or rule in their ornamentation. Wherefore the
craftsmen owe him an infinite and everlasting obligation, he having
broken the bonds and chains by reason of which they had always
followed a beaten path in the execution of their works. And even more
did he demonstrate and seek to make known such a method afterwards in
the library of S. Lorenzo, at the same place; in the beautiful
distribution of the windows, in the pattern of the ceiling, and in the
marvellous entrance of the vestibule. Nor was there ever seen a more
resolute grace, both in the whole and in the parts, as in the
consoles, tabernacles, and cornices, nor any staircase more
commodious; in which last he made such bizarre breaks in the outlines
of the steps, and departed so much from the common use of others, that
everyone was amazed.
[Illustration: GIULIANO DE' MEDICI
(_After =Michelagnolo=. Florence: New Sacristy of S. Lorenzo_)
_Anderson_]
At this time he sent his disciple Pietro Urbano of Pistoia to Rome to
carry to completion a nude Christ holding the Cross, a most admirable
figure, which was placed beside the principal chapel of the Minerva,
at the commission of Messer Antonio Metelli. About the same time there
took place the sack of Rome and the expulsion of the Medici from
Florence; by reason of which upheaval those who governed the city of
Florence resolved to rebuild the fortifications, and therefore made
Michelagnolo Commissary General over all that work. Whereupon he made
designs and caused fortifications to be built for several parts of the
city, and finally encircled the hill of San Miniato with bastions,
which he made not with sods of earth, wood, and bundles of
brushwood, as is generally done, but with a stout base of chestnut,
oak, and other good materials interwoven, and in place of sods he took
unbaked bricks made with tow and the dung of cattle, squared with very
great diligence. And for this reason he was sent by the Signoria of
Florence to Ferrara, to inspect the fortifications of Duke Alfonso I,
and so also his artillery and munitions; where he received many
courtesies from that lord, who besought him that he should do
something for him with his own hand at his leisure, and Michelagnolo
promised that he would. After his return, he was continually engaged
in fortifying the city, but, although he was thus occupied,
nevertheless he kept working at a picture of a Leda for that Duke,
painted with his own hand in distemper-colours, which was a divine
thing, as will be related in the proper place; also continuing the
statues for the tombs of S. Lorenzo, but in secret. At this time
Michelagnolo spent some six months on the hill of San Miniato in order
to press on the fortification of that hill, because if the enemy
became master of it, the city was lost; and so he pursued these
undertakings with the utmost diligence.
[Illustration: TOMB OF GIULIANO DE' MEDICI
(_After =Michelagnolo=. Florence: New Sacristy of S. Lorenzo_)
_Anderson_]
At this same time he continued the work in the above-mentioned
sacristy, in which were seven statues that were left partly finished
and partly not. With these, and with the architectural inventions of
the tombs, it must be confessed that he surpassed every man in these
three professions; to which testimony is borne by the statues of
marble, blocked out and finished by him, which are to be seen in that
place. One is Our Lady, who is in a sitting attitude, with the right
leg crossed over the left and one knee placed upon the other, and the
Child, with the thighs astride the leg that is uppermost, turns in a
most beautiful attitude towards His Mother, hungry for her milk, and
she, while holding Him with one hand and supporting herself with the
other, bends forward to give it to Him; and although the figure is not
equal in every part, and it was left rough and showing the marks of
the gradine, yet with all its imperfections there may be recognized in
it the full perfection of the work. Even more did he cause everyone to
marvel by the circumstance that in making the tombs of Duke Giuliano
and Duke Lorenzo de' Medici he considered that earth alone was not
enough to give them honourable burial in their greatness, and desired
that all the phases of the world should be there, and that their
sepulchres should be surrounded and covered by four statues; wherefore
he gave to one Night and Day, and to the other Dawn and Twilight;
which statues, most beautifully wrought in form, in attitude, and in
the masterly treatment of the muscles, would suffice, if that art were
lost, to restore her to her pristine lustre. There, among the other
statues, are the two Captains, armed; one the pensive Duke Lorenzo,
the very presentment of wisdom, with legs so beautiful and so well
wrought, that there is nothing better to be seen by mortal eye; and
the other is Duke Giuliano, so proud a figure, with the head, the
throat, the setting of the eyes, the profile of the nose, the opening
of the mouth, and the hair all so divine, to say nothing of the hands,
arms, knees, feet, and, in short, every other thing that he carved
therein, that the eye can never be weary or have its fill of gazing at
them; and, of a truth, whoever studies the beauty of the buskins and
the cuirass, believes it to be celestial rather than mortal. But what
shall I say of the Dawn, a nude woman, who is such as to awaken
melancholy in the soul and to render impotent the style of sculpture?
In her attitude may be seen her effort, as she rises, heavy with
sleep, and raises herself from her downy bed; and it seems that in
awakening she has found the eyes of that great Duke closed in death,
so that she is agonized with bitter grief, weeping in her own
unchangeable beauty in token of her great sorrow. And what can I say
of the Night, a statue not rare only, but unique? Who is there who has
ever seen in that art in any age, ancient or modern, statues of such a
kind? For in her may be seen not only the stillness of one sleeping,
but the grief and melancholy of one who has lost a great and honoured
possession; and we must believe that this is that night of darkness
that obscures all those who thought for some time, I will not say to
surpass, but to equal Michelagnolo in sculpture and design. In that
statue is infused all the somnolence that is seen in sleeping forms;
wherefore many verses in Latin and rhymes in the vulgar tongue were
written in her praise by persons of great learning, such as these, of
which the author is not known--
La Notte che tu vedi in si dolci atti
Dormire, fu da un Angelo scolpita
In questo sasso; e perche dorme, ha vita.
Destala, se no 'l credi, e parleratti.
To which Michelagnolo, speaking in the person of Night, answered
thus--
Grato mi è il sonno, e più l'esser di sasso;
Mentre che il danno e la vergogna dura,
Non veder' non sentir' m'è gran ventura.
Però non mi destar'; deh parla basso.
Truly, if the enmity that there is between Fortune and Genius, between
the envy of the one and the excellence of the other, had not prevented
such a work from being carried to completion, Art was like to prove to
Nature that she surpassed her by a great measure in every conception.
While Michelagnolo was labouring with the greatest solicitude and love
at these works, there came in 1529 the siege of Florence, which
hindered their completion only too effectually, and was the reason
that he did little or no more work upon them, the citizens having laid
upon him the charge of fortifying not only the hill of S. Miniato, but
also the city, as we have related. And thus, having lent a thousand
crowns to that Republic, and being elected one of the Nine, a military
Council appointed for the war, he turned all his mind and soul to
perfecting those fortifications. But in the end, when the enemy had
closed round the city, and all hope of assistance was failing little
by little, and the difficulties of maintaining the defence were
increasing, and it appeared to Michelagnolo that he was in a sorry
pass with regard to his personal safety, he determined to leave
Florence and make his way to Venice, without making himself known to
anyone on the road. He set out secretly, therefore, by way of the hill
of S. Miniato, without anyone knowing of it, taking with him Antonio
Mini, his disciple, and the goldsmith Piloto, his faithful friend; and
each of them carried a number of crowns on his person, sewn into his
quilted doublet. Having arrived in Ferrara, they rested there; and it
happened that on account of the alarm caused by the war and the league
of the Emperor and the Pope, who were besieging Florence, Duke Alfonso
d'Este was keeping strict watch in Ferrara, and required to be
secretly informed by the hosts who gave lodging to travellers of the
names of all those who lodged with them from one day to another; and
he caused a list of all foreigners, with their nationality, to be
brought to him every day. It came to pass, then, that when
Michelagnolo had dismounted with his companions, intending to stay
there without revealing himself, this became known in that way to the
Duke, who was very glad, because he had already become his friend.
That Prince was a man of lofty mind, delighting constantly in persons
of ability all his life long, and he straightway sent some of the
first men of his Court with orders to conduct him in the name of his
Excellency to the Palace, where the Duke was, to remove thither his
horses and all his baggage, and to give him a handsome lodging in that
Palace. Michelagnolo, finding himself in the power of another, was
constrained to obey and to make the best of a bad business, and he
went with those courtiers to the Duke, but without removing his
baggage from the inn. Thereupon the Duke, after first complaining of
his reserve, gave him a great reception; and then, making him rich and
honourable presents, he sought to detain him in Ferrara with the
promise of a fine salary. He, having his mind set on something else,
would not consent to remain; but the Duke again made him a free offer
of all that was in his power, praying him that he should at least not
depart as long as the war continued. Whereupon Michelagnolo, not
wishing to be outdone in courtesy, thanked him warmly, and, turning
towards his two companions, said that he had brought twelve thousand
crowns to Ferrara, and that, if the Duke had need of them, they were
at his disposal, together with himself. The Duke then took him through
the Palace to divert him, as he had done on another occasion, and
showed him all the beautiful things that he had there, including a
portrait of himself by Tiziano, which was much commended by
Michelagnolo. However, his Excellency was not able to keep him in the
Palace, for he insisted on returning to the inn; wherefore the host
who was lodging him received from the Duke a great abundance of
things wherewith to do him honour, and also orders that at his
departure he should not accept anything for his lodging. From Ferrara
he made his way to Venice, where many gentlemen sought to become known
to him; but he, who always had a very poor opinion of their knowledge
of his profession, departed from the Giudecca, where he had his
lodging. There, so it is said, he made for that city at that time, at
the request of the Doge Gritti, a design for the bridge of the Rialto,
which was very rare in invention and in ornamentation.
Michelagnolo was invited with great insistence to go back to his
native country, being urgently requested not to abandon his
undertaking there, and receiving a safe-conduct; and finally,
vanquished by love of her, he returned, but not without danger to his
life. At this time he finished the Leda that he was painting, as has
been related, at the request of Duke Alfonso; and it was afterwards
taken to France by Antonio Mini, his disciple. And at this same time
he saved the campanile of S. Miniato, a tower which sorely harassed
the enemy's forces with its two pieces of artillery, so that their
artillerists, having set to work to batter it with heavy cannon, had
half ruined it, and were like to destroy it completely, when
Michelagnolo protected it so well with bales of wool and stout
mattresses suspended by cords, that it is still standing. It is said,
also, that at the time of the siege there came to him an opportunity
to acquire, according to a desire that he had long had, a block of
marble of nine braccia which had come from Carrara, and which Pope
Clement, after much rivalry and contention between him and Baccio
Bandinelli, had given to Baccio. But Michelagnolo, now that such a
matter was in the hands of the Commonwealth, asked for it from the
Gonfalonier, who gave it to him that he might likewise try his hand
upon it, although Baccio had already made a model and hacked away much
of the stone in blocking it out. Thereupon Michelagnolo made a model,
which was held to be a marvellous and very beautiful thing; but on the
return of the Medici the marble was restored to Baccio.
When peace had been made, Baccio Valori, the Pope's Commissioner,
received orders to have some of the most partisan citizens arrested
and imprisoned in the Bargello, and the same tribunal sought out
Michelagnolo at his house; but he, fearing that, had fled secretly to
the house of one who was much his friend, where he remained hidden
many days. Finally, when the first fury had abated, Pope Clement,
remembering the ability of Michelagnolo, caused a diligent search to
be made for him, with orders that nothing should be said to him, but
rather that his former appointments should be restored to him, and
that he should attend to the work of S. Lorenzo, over which he placed
as proveditor M. Giovan Battista Figiovanni, the old servant of the
Medici family and Prior of S. Lorenzo. Thus reassured, Michelagnolo,
in order to make Baccio Valori his friend, began a figure of three
braccia in marble, which was an Apollo drawing an arrow from his
quiver, and carried it almost to completion. It is now in the
apartment of the Prince of Florence, and is a very rare work, although
it is not completely finished.
At this time a certain gentleman was sent to Michelagnolo by Duke
Alfonso of Ferrara, who, having heard that the master had made some
rare work for him with his own hand, did not wish to lose such a
jewel. Having arrived in Florence and found Michelagnolo, the envoy
presented to him letters of recommendation from that lord; whereupon
Michelagnolo, receiving him courteously, showed him the Leda embracing
the Swan that he had painted, with Castor and Pollux issuing from the
Egg, in a large picture executed in distemper, as it were with the
breath. The Duke's envoy, thinking from the praise that he heard
everywhere of Michelagnolo that he should have done something great,
and not recognizing the excellence and artistry of that figure, said
to Michelagnolo: "Oh, this is but a trifle." Michelagnolo, knowing
that no one is better able to pronounce judgment on works than those
who have had long practise in them, asked him what was his vocation.
And he answered, with a sneer, "I am a merchant"; believing that he
had not been recognized by Michelagnolo as a gentleman, and as it were
making fun of such a question, and at the same time affecting to
despise the industry of the Florentines. Michelagnolo, who had
understood perfectly the meaning of his words, at once replied: "You
will find you have made a bad bargain this time for your master. Get
you gone out of my sight."
[Illustration: APOLLO
(_After =Michelagnolo=. Florence: Museo Nazionale_)
_Alinari_]