ITALIAN SCULPTURE IN THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY--CELLINI, MICHAEL ANGELO, AND
OTHERS.
By the beginning of the sixteenth century sculpture occupied a different
place with relation to architecture from that which it had held in the
previous centuries which we have just considered. The architecture of
Italy became much more plain, and its union with sculpture in any large
degree was rare.
Painting, too, had now an effect to lessen the sphere of sculpture. This
art was always preferred by the Christians, as has been shown before,
and now, when it had reached most satisfactory heights, it was used in
many places where sculpture had before been placed. One important
example of this is seen in the decoration of altars; where bas-reliefs
had been used paintings were now preferred, and the end of all was that
sculpture was limited to monuments and to separate pieces--reliefs or
single statues or groups of figures.
In some ways this separation of the arts was a benefit to all. Under the
old rule sculptors had often been forced to sacrifice their design to
the needs of the architecture their work adorned. At other times they
were compelled to put aside their own feeling and their artistic ideas
as to how a subject should be treated, and suit themselves to such forms
as were approved by the particular priest or bishop whose church they
decorated. Now, when left to itself, sculpture became more individual
in its expression, and far more free and interesting in itself. In the
beginning of the sixteenth century the works of Italian sculpture were
splendid in the extreme. It was delicate and beautiful; the drapery was
made to show the figure and its natural motion, while it added an
exquisite grace to the whole; many works of this period were fine in
conception, good in their arrangement, and executed in a noble, spirited
manner. Some critics believe that during the first four decades of this
era Italian sculpture equalled the antique art of the Romans. Others
make 1520, or the time of Raphael, the limit to the best epoch of this
art; but it is scarcely possible thus to fix an exact bound; the
important point is that this excellence was reached, and the regret
follows that it could not endure for a longer period.
A far greater variety of subjects was represented in this age of
sculpture than before. Formerly the rule was the production of religious
effects. Scenes from the life of Christ and his disciples, others from
those of the saints, or the illustration of scriptural stories, with the
portrait tomb-sculpture, had been the sculptor's work. Now all the
stories of mythology were studied as diligently as they had been in
classic days, and artists studied to clothe the pagan personages with
new forms; and in all this effort much appeared that was original. It is
easy to see that such sculpture from the hand of a Christian artist must
lack the important element of pure sincerity. An artist who believed in
Jesus Christ could not conceive a statue of Jupiter, with all the
glorious attributes, that an ancient Greek would have given to his god
of gods. In this view the sculpture of classic subjects of this
sixteenth century may be said to have been two-sided--the work
illustrated a religion in which the artist pleased his imagination, but
for which he had no reverence or love. But in spite of all it was a
golden age, and many of its works are a "joy forever."
[Illustration: FIG. 100. PHARISEE.
FIG. 101. LEVITE. _By Rustici._]
Although the first public work which Leonardo Da Vinci did at Milan was
to model an equestrian statue, we can scarcely speak of him as a
sculptor. But the first Florentine of this period whom I shall mention
is GIOVANNI FRANCESCO RUSTICI (1476-1550), who was a fellow-pupil with
Leonardo under Verocchio. Very few works by this master remain, but a
prominent and important one is the bronze group above the northern
portal to the baptistery at Florence. It represents the "preaching of
St. John The Baptist," and is grand in the free action of its figures.
The Drapery is in a pure style, very much like that of Ghiberti (figs.
100, 101). This work was ordered by a guild of merchants, and they
failed to pay the price which had been fixed for it. Rustici was so
embarrassed by this that he undertook no more large works, and after the
Medici were expelled from florence he went into the service of Francis
I. in France he had executed various works, and was finally commissioned
to model an equestrian statue of the king in colossal size, when the
sovereign died. Rustici survived but three years, and we are told that
he only executed small works, and those "for the most part for the sake
of kindness."
ANDREA CONTUCCI DAL MONTE SAN SAVINO, called SANSOVINO (1460-1529), was
a very important sculptor, because large works were committed to him,
and his name must remain associated with them. Like Giotto, Sansovino
was a shepherd-boy, and drew pictures upon the stones of the fields.
Like Giotto, too, he was sent to Florence to study, and in the school of
Pallajuolo made good progress. When thirty years old he was appointed
architect and sculptor to the King of Portugal. After an absence of ten
years he returned to Florence, and later to Rome, where Pope Julius II.
commissioned him to erect monuments to the Cardinals Rovere and Sforza,
in the Church of Santa Maria del Popolo.
These monuments were his best works, but they cannot be praised. The
statues are in positions which seem to be uncomfortable, and there is
such a mass of ornament and so many statuettes that the whole has an
effect of confusion.
In 1513 Leo X. sent Sansovino to Loreto to adorn the temple which
incloses the "Casa Santa" with bas-reliefs. This Casa Santa is believed
to be the house in which the Virgin Mary was born at Nazareth; and when
the Saracens invaded the land four angels are said to have borne the
house to the coast of Dalmatia, and later to a spot near Loreto; but
here some brigands entered it, and again it was removed to its present
position in the Church of Loreto; this is said to have been done in
1295. Naturally this "Casa Santa" is a sacred object to all Roman
Catholics, and it is visited by thousands and thousands of pilgrims each
year.
The decoration of this shrine was very important, and an honorable work
for any artist. Sansovino did not execute all the reliefs, and the
highest praise that can be given to those he did is to say that they are
superior to the others that are beside them. He was a most skilful
workman, and it seems as if marble became like wax under his hand; but
this very skill led him to multiply his ornaments, and to repeat
acanthus leaves and honeysuckle vines until the whole was a weariness
and confusion, and conveyed no meaning or sentiment whatever.
Sansovino's most important pupil was JACOPO TATTI, who, on account of
his master, is called JACOPO SANSOVINO (1477-1570). He was born at
Florence, and when Andrea Sansovino returned from Portugal Jacopo became
his pupil. Early in life he went to Rome, and there studied and copied
the works of antiquity; among other things he made a copy of the
Laocoon, which was cast in bronze at a later time. Soon after his return
to Florence, in 1511, Jacopo received orders for some works, but the
most important statue which he made about this time is the Bacchus, now
in the Uffizi. In this work he showed how completely he was in sympathy
with the classic spirit; this Bacchus is a triumph in this manner, and
has been called "the most beautiful and spirited pagan statue of the
Renaissance period." It is full of gladness, and is simple, delicate,
and beautiful. The young god is advancing and holding up a cup, which he
regards with an expression of delight; in his right hand he has a bunch
of grapes, from which a Pan is eating stealthily (Fig. 102).
[Illustration: FIG. 102.--BACCHUS.
_By Jacopo Sansovino._]
In 1514 Jacopo Sansovino was employed upon the decorations for the visit
of Leo X. to Florence. Soon after this he went again to Rome and
submitted plans for the Church of San Giovanni de' Fiorentini, which the
Florentines were about to erect--for this master was an architect as
well as a sculptor. The taking of Rome by Constable de Bourbon, in 1527,
drove Sansovino away; he went to Venice, intending to go to France, but
Venice charmed him, and his work pleased the Venetians, and the result
was that from 1529 he served the Venetians as long as he lived. He was
appointed Protomastro of the Republic of Venice, and had the care of St.
Mark's, the Campanile, the Piazza, and the surrounding buildings. He
received a good salary, and was provided with a handsome house to live
in.
He first restored the cupolas of St. Mark's; then completed the Scuola
della Misericordia; he next made the interior of San Francesco della
Vigna; then the Zecca, the Fabbriche Nuove, and the Loggietta of the
Campanile. He also erected other churches and palaces, besides smaller
sculptural works. But his architectural masterpiece was the Library of
St. Mark's. The bronze gate to the Sacristy of St. Mark's was one of his
principal works. It is subject to criticism as being too crowded; but it
is a fine work and full of strong feeling.
His statues are numerous and seen all over Venice; indeed, it is proper
to speak of him as a Venetian, so thoroughly did he adopt that city, and
so industriously did he work for it during forty years. Had he remained
in Florence he might have been a better artist; the splendor and luxury
of the Venetians brought out corresponding traits in Jacopo, and he fell
short of the purity which the influence of Florence might have given
him. He is one of the masters in whom the sensual influence of the study
of pagan art was fully manifested. Many of his subjects were
mythological; among them were the story of Phrixos and Helle, Mercury,
Apollo, Pallas, Mars, and Neptune, the last two being colossal figures
on the steps of the Doge's Palace.
Among the pupils and associates of Sansovino were NICCOLO BRACCINI
(1485-1550), called IL TRIBOLO, and FRANCESCO SANGALLO (1498-1570),
neither of whom were important artists, though many works by them are
seen in various places in Italy.
BENVENUTO CELLINI (1500-1572) is a far more interesting study than were
many sculptors of his time. His life was an eventful one, and his own
account of it is one of the most interesting books of its class in
existence. His statement of the origin of his family is that "Julius
Caesar had a chief and valorous captain named Fiorino da Cellino, from a
castle situated four miles from Monte Fiascone. This Fiorino having
pitched his camp below Fiesole, where Florence now stands, in order to
be near the river Arno, for the convenience of the army, the soldiers
and other persons, when they had the occasion to visit him, said to each
other, 'Let us go to Fiorenza,' which name they gave to the place where
they were encamped, partly from their captain's name of Fiorino, and
partly from the abundance of flowers which grew there; wherefore Caesar,
thinking it a beautiful name, and considering flowers to be of good
augury, and also wishing to honor his captain, whom he had raised from
an humble station, and to whom he was greatly attached, gave it to the
city which he founded on that spot."
When this artist was born his father was quite old, and named him
Benvenuto, which means welcome, on account of his pleasure in the child
of his old age. The father had a passion for music, and from the first
wished that his son should study this art; but the boy loved drawing,
and was determined to be an artist; thus his time was divided between
these two pursuits until he was fifteen years old, when he was
apprenticed to a goldsmith.
Benvenuto had a fiery temper, and when still very young he became
involved in so serious a quarrel that he was obliged to flee from
Florence. He went first to Siena, and thence to Bologna, and at last
back to Florence, where he resumed his work. It was not long, however,
before he became angry again because his best clothes were given to his
brother, and he walked off to Pisa, where he remained a year. He had
even then become so skilful in his art that some of his works done there
have never been excelled either in design or execution.
When Cellini was eighteen years old Torrigiano came to Florence to
engage artists to go to England to aid him in some works he was to
execute. He wished to have Cellini in the number; but Torrigiano so
disgusted Benvenuto by his boasting of the blow that he had given
Michael Angelo, that though he had the natural youthful desire to
travel, he refused to be employed by such a man as Torrigiano. We can
safely assume that this predisposed Michael Angelo in Cellini's favor,
and was the foundation of the friendship which he afterward showed to
the younger sculptor.
From his eighteenth to his fortieth year Cellini lived mostly at Rome.
He was employed by Pope Clement VII., the cardinals and Roman nobles.
The Pope desired to have a cope button made and a magnificent diamond
set in it. This jewel had cost Julius II. thirty-six thousand ducats.
Many artists sent in designs for this button, and Clement chose that by
Cellini. He used the diamond as a throne, and placed a figure of the
Almighty upon it; the hand was raised as if in blessing, and many angels
fluttered about the folds of the drapery, while various jewels were set
around the whole. When other artists saw the design they did not believe
that it could be executed successfully; but Cellini made it a perfect
work of art and of beauty.
Cellini writes of himself as being very active in the siege of Rome, May
5th, 1527. He says that he killed the Constable de Bourbon, who led the
siege, and that he wounded the Prince of Orange, who was chosen in
Bourbon's place. No one else saw him perform these feats. Cellini went
to the Pope, who was in the Castle of St. Angelo, and he there rendered
such services to the cause of the Church that the Holy Father pardoned
him for all the sins into which his temper had led him--"for all the
homicides he had committed or might commit in the service of the
Apostolic Church." A few years later, when Cellini was called upon to
take part in the defence of his own city, he put all his property into
the care of a friend, and stole away to Rome.
In 1534 Cellini killed a fellow-goldsmith, called Pompeo; Paul III. was
now Pope; and as he needed the services of Benvenuto very much he
pardoned him. But the sculptor felt that he was in ill favor with all
about him, and went to France. In about a year he returned to find that
he had been accused of stealing some jewels which the pope had commanded
him to take out of their settings. Cellini was held a prisoner nearly
two years, but his guilt was never proved.
At the end of this time the Cardinal Ippolito d'Este obtained his
release in order that he might go to France to execute some work for
Francis I. Cellini remained in France five years, and received many
honors and gifts; but as Madame d'Etampes and other persons to whose
advice the king listened were enemies of Cellini, he never was treated
as his artistic qualities merited. Francis I. really admired Cellini,
and presented him with the Hotel de Petit Nesle, which was on the site
of the present Hotel de la Monnaie; he also made him a lord, and on one
occasion expressed his fear of losing him, when Madame d'Etampes
replied, "The surest way of keeping him would be to hang him on a
gibbet."
Of all the objects which Cellini made during his five years in France
but two remain. One is a splendid salt-cellar, and the other is a nymph
in bronze, which was made for the Palace of Fontainebleau, and is now in
the Renaissance Museum of the Louvre. This salt-cellar is now in the
Ambraser Gallery at Vienna. The frieze around the base has figures in
relief which represent the hours of the day and the winds. The upper
part is made like the surface of the sea, and from it rise figures of
Neptune and Cybele. The first is a symbol of the salt of the sea, and
the second of the spices which the earth gives. The god is placing his
arm on a small ship intended for the salt, and a vessel for pepper, in
the form of a triumphal arch, is near the goddess. All this is made of
fine embossed gold, and has some touches of enamel-work. It is one of
the finest pieces of the goldsmith's art which remains from the
sixteenth century.
In 1545 Cellini returned to Florence, and remained there, with short
absences, until his death. Duke Cosmo de' Medici became his patron, and
commissioned him to make a statue of Perseus for the Loggia de' Lanzi.
The ambition of the artist was much excited by the thought of having his
work placed by those of Donatello and Michael Angelo, and all care was
taken from his mind, as the Duke provided him with a comfortable house
and gave him a salary sufficient for his support.
It was nine years before the statue was completed and in its place, and
in this time Cellini had suffered much. Baccio Bandinelli and others
were his enemies, and at times the Duke had been under their influence,
and would not furnish the money necessary to the work. But at last all
was ready for the casting; and just at this unfortunate moment for
Cellini to leave it he was seized with a severe illness; he was
suffering much, and believed himself about to die, when some one ran in
shouting, "Oh, Benvenuto, your work is ruined past earthly remedy!"
Ill as he was he rushed out to the furnace, to find that the fire was
too low, and the metal, being cool, had ceased flowing into the mould.
By almost superhuman efforts he remedied the evil, and again the bronze
flowed; he prayed earnestly, and when the mould was filled he writes: "I
fell on my knees and thanked God with all my heart, after which I ate a
hearty meal with my assistants, and it being then two hours before dawn,
went to bed with a light heart, and slept as sweetly as if I had never
been ill in all my life."
When the statue was unveiled Cellini's prediction that it would please
all the world except Bandinelli and his friends was fulfilled. Perseus
is represented just at the moment when he has cut off the head of
Medusa, who was one of the Gorgons, and had turned to stone every one
who looked at her. (Fig. 103.)
[Illustration: FIG. 103.--PERSEUS. _By Benvenuto Cellini._]
After the completion of the Perseus, Cellini went to Rome for a short
time. While there he made a bust of Bindo Altoviti; when Michael Angelo
saw this he wrote: "My Benvenuto, I have long known you as the best
goldsmith in the world, and I now know you as an equally good sculptor,
through the bust of Messer Bindo Altoviti." Cellini did no more
important works, though he was always industrious. He made a crucifix
which he intended for his own grave, but he gave it to the Duchess
Eleanora; this was afterward sent to Philip II. of Spain, and is now in
the Escurial.
Cellini's life was by no means a model one, but he had his good
qualities. He took a widowed sister with six children to his home, and
made them welcome and happy. At his death he was buried in the Church of
the Annunziata, beneath the chapel of the Company of St. Luke, and many
honors were paid to his memory.
His autobiography was so rich in its use of the Florentine manner of
speech and so fine in its diction that it was honored as an authority by
the Accademia della Crusca. He also wrote valuable works on the
goldsmith's art and on bronze-casting and sculpture. He wrote poems and
various kinds of verses, but his large acquaintance with popes,
cardinals, kings, artists, and men of letters makes his story of his
life far more interesting than his other writings.
The artists of Upper Italy were much influenced by Florentine art, as
they had formerly been, and we can speak of no very great sculptor of
this century who belonged to this part of the country. ALFONSO LOMBARDO
(1488-1537) was a native of Lucca; his principal works are seen in
Ferrara, Bologna, and Cesena.
PROPERZIA DE' ROSSI (1490-1530) was born at Bologna, and is interesting
as the one Italian sculptress of that time. She was born about a year
after her father had returned from the galleys, where he had worked out
a sentence of eighteen years for the crime of manslaughter. Properzia
seems to have inherited her father's violent temper, and was twice
arraigned in court. She was very beautiful in person, and had a devoted
lover in Antonio Galeazzo Malvasia de' Bottigari, who did not marry
until many years after the death of Properzia.
Properzia studied drawing under Marc Antonio Raimondi, the famous
engraver. She first devoted herself to the cutting of intaglios, which
demanded an immense amount of patient labor. There is in the cabinet of
gems in the Uffizi Gallery, at Florence, a cherry-stone carved by
Properzia, on which sixty heads may be counted; the subject is a Glory
of Saints. Other like works of hers exist in the Palazzo Grassi, in
Bologna. Her next work was in arabesques, marble ornaments, lions,
griffins, vases, eagles, and similar objects.
Finally she essayed a bust of Count Guido Pepoli; it is now in the
Sacristy of San Petronio, in Bologna. In the same place are two
bas-reliefs by her hand, Solomon receiving the Queen of Sheba, and
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife. In the chapel Zambeccari in San Petronio
there are two large figures of angels by Properzia, which are near the
Ascension of the Virgin by Il Tribolo. Her manner was much influenced by
her contact with this sculptor. Properzia was employed, with other
artists, to finish the sculpture of the portal of San Petronio, left
unfinished by Jacopo della Quercia.
ANTONIO BEGARELLI (1499-1565), called also ANTONIO DA MODENA, from the
place of his birth, was a celebrated modeller in clay. It is said that
when Michael Angelo visited Modena in 1529 he saw Begarelli and his
works, and exclaimed, "Alas for the statues of the ancients, if this
clay were changed to marble!" Begarelli had a school for teaching design
and modelling, and he greatly influenced the manner of the Lombard
school of painting. Its foreshortening, its relief and grace are largely
due to him and his teaching.
Begarelli and Correggio were fast friends, and resembled each other in
their conception of the grand and beautiful. When Correggio was
decorating the cupola of the Cathedral of Parma, Begarelli was at work
in the same place, and made many models from which Correggio painted his
floating figures. Some works by Begarelli may be seen in the Berlin
Museum. His Descent from the Cross, in the Church of San Francesco, at
Modena, is one of his best works. He was also employed in the Church of
San Benedetto, in Mantua, and in San Giovanni, at Parma.
During the sixteenth century the works at the Certosa at Pavia and in
various edifices in Milan were constantly carried on. Frequently the
same sculptors worked in both cities, but there is no one artist of
great excellence among them of whom we can give an account. The same is
true of the works in Venice and in Southern Italy. The traveller sees
many pieces of sculpture belonging to this period, but there are no
great and interesting men whose story we can tell in connection with
them, and I shall now pass to an account of the great Florentine.
MICHAEL ANGELO BUONARROTI (1475-1564) was born in the Castle of Caprese,
where his father, Ludovico Buonarroti, was stationed at that time,
holding the office of Podesta, or Governor, of the towns of Caprese and
Chiusi. The Buonarroti family held good rank in Florence, and the mother
of the great artist was also a woman of good position. When his father
returned to Florence the child Michael was left at Settignano upon an
estate of the family, and was in the care of the wife of a stone-mason.
As soon as the boy could use his hands he drew pictures everywhere that
it was possible, and his nurse could show many of these childish
drawings with which he adorned the walls of her house.
At a proper time Michael Angelo was removed to Florence and placed in a
school, where he became intimate with Francesco Granacci, who was a
pupil of the artist Ghirlandajo. Michael Angelo's father and his uncles
were firmly opposed to his being an artist; they wished him to follow
the traditions of his family, and carry on the silk and woollen trade.
But the boy was firm in his determination, and after many trials was at
length, in 1488, apprenticed to the Ghirlandaji for three years.
Domenico Ghirlandajo was at this time engaged in the restoration of the
Church of Santa Maria Novella, and Michael Angelo came into the midst of
great artistic works. One day at the dinner hour he drew a picture of
the scaffolding and all its belongings, with the men at work on it; it
was a remarkable drawing for a boy, and when the master saw it he
exclaimed, "He understands more than I do myself!" The master really
became jealous of his pupil, more especially when Michael Angelo
corrected the drawings which Ghirlandajo gave his scholars for models.
About this time Michael Angelo was brought to the notice of Lorenzo de'
Medici, who was at that time at the head of the government of Florence,
and from him the boy-artist obtained admission for himself and Granacci
to study in the gardens of San Marco. The art treasures of the Medici
were placed in these gardens; works of sculpture were there, and
cartoons and pictures were hung in buildings erected for the purpose,
and art-students were admitted to study there and proper instructors
provided for them.
The master in sculpture was old Bertoldo, and Michael Angelo, forsaking
painting, obtained some instruments and a piece of marble, and copied a
mask of a faun. He changed his own work somewhat from the model, and
opened the mouth so that the teeth could be seen. When Lorenzo saw this
he praised the work, but said, "You have made your faun old, and yet you
have left all his teeth; you should have known that at such an age there
are generally some teeth wanting." When he came again he saw that a gap
had been made in the teeth, and so well done that he was delighted. This
work is now in the Uffizi Gallery.
Very soon Lorenzo sent for Michael Angelo's father, who had been sad
enough at the thought that his son might be a painter, and was now in
despair when he found that he inclined also to be a stone-mason. At
first he refused to see the duke, but Granacci persuaded him to go. He
went with a firm determination to yield to nothing, but once in presence
of Lorenzo he yielded everything, and returned home declaring that not
only Michael, but he himself, and all that he had were at the nobleman's
service.
Lorenzo at once took Michael Angelo into his palace; he clothed the boy
properly, and gave him five ducats a month for spending money. Each day
Lorenzo gave an entertainment, and it was the rule that the first person
who came should sit next the duke at the head of the table. Michael
Angelo often had this place, and he soon became a great favorite with
Lorenzo, and obtained besides the greatest advantages from the life in
the palace; for many eminent men from all parts of the world came to
visit there, and all sorts of subjects were discussed in such a manner
that a young man could learn much of the world and what was in it, and
acquire a feeling of ease with strangers and in society such as few
young persons possess.
Michael Angelo was but seventeen years old when Poliziano advised him to
attempt an original work, and gave him the marble for a relief of the
contest between Hercules and the Centaurs. This work surprised every
one, and is still preserved in the collection of the Buonarroti family.
In the year 1492 he also made a relief of the Madonna Suckling the Child
Jesus, which is also in the same place. In the same year Lorenzo de'
Medici died, and Michael Angelo, full of grief, went to his father's
house and arranged a studio there. After a time Piero de Medici invited
him to come back to the palace, and he went; but it was no more the
same place as formerly, and he was unhappy there. Soon political
troubles drove the Medici from power, and in 1494, in the midst of the
confusion, Michael Angelo escaped to Venice. There he made friends with
Gian Francesco Aldovrandi of Bologna, and was persuaded by that nobleman
to accompany him to his own city.
[Illustration: FIG. 104.--MICHAEL ANGELO'S ANGEL. _Bologna._]
While at Bologna he executed an angel holding a candelabra, which is one
of the most lovely and pleasing things he ever made (Fig. 104). When he
received the commission to ornament the sarcophagus which contained the
remains of San Domenico in the Church of San Petronio, the Bolognese
artists were so angry at being thus set aside for a stranger, and a
youth of twenty, that they threatened vengeance on him, and he returned
to Florence.
It was at this time that he executed a Cupid, which was the means of
leading him to Rome. The story is that when he had the statue completed
Lorenzo de' Medici, a relative of his first patron, advised him to give
it the appearance of an antique marble, and added that he would then
sell it in Rome and get a good price for it. Michael Angelo consented to
this plan, and in the end he received thirty ducats for the work. The
secret of its origin was not kept, and the cardinal who had bought it
sent an agent to Florence to find out the truth about it. This agent
pretended to be in search of a sculptor; and when he saw Michael Angelo
he asked him what works he had done. When he mentioned a Sleeping Cupid,
and the agent asked questions, the young sculptor found that the
cardinal had paid two hundred ducats for it, and that he had been
greatly deceived when attempting to deceive others.
Michael Angelo consented to go to Rome with this man, who promised to
receive him into his own house, and assured him that he would be fully
occupied in the Eternal City. The oldest writing by the hand of Michael
Angelo is the letter which he wrote to Lorenzo telling him of his
arrival in Rome; when this was written he was twenty-one years old. The
first work which he did after he reached Rome was the "Drunken Bacchus,"
now in the Uffizi Gallery; it shows a great knowledge of anatomy in one
so young, and the expression of drunkenness is given in the most natural
manner.
[Illustration: FIG. 105.--PIETA. _By Michael Angelo._]
But the work that established his fame as a great sculptor is the Pieta,
now in St. Peter's at Rome (Fig. 105). He was twenty-five years old when
he executed this work, and from that time was acknowledged to be the
greatest sculptor of Italy--a decision which has never been reversed.
Soon after this Michael Angelo returned to Florence, and his first
important work was a Madonna, now at Bruges; it is life-size, and one of
his finest sculptures. There was at this time an immense block of marble
which had lain many years in the yard to the workshops of the cathedral.
Several sculptors had talked of making something from it, and now
Michael Angelo was asked by the consuls to make something good of it. He
had just taken an order for fifteen statues for the Piccolomini tomb at
Siena; but when he saw the immense block he gave up the Siena work, and
contracted to make a statue in two years. He was to be paid six gold
florins a month, and as much more as could be agreed upon when the work
was done. He first made a model in wax of his David; it was very small,
and is now in the Uffizi. In the beginning of 1504, after about two
years and a half had been spent upon it, the work was done, and a
discussion then arose as to where it should be placed.
At length it was decided to put it where Michael Angelo himself wished
it to be, next the gate of the palace where the Judith of Donatello then
stood. The statue weighed eighteen thousand pounds, and its removal was
a work of great importance. I shall not give all the details of it here,
but shall quote what Grimm says: "The erection of this David was like
an occurrence in nature from which people are accustomed to reckon. We
find events dated so many years after the erection of the giant. It was
mentioned in records in which there was not a line respecting art."
[Illustration: FIG. 106.--MICHAEL ANGELO'S DAVID.]
In 1527 the statue was injured by a stone thrown in a riot. At length it
began to show the effect of time and weather, and the people of Florence
talked of removing it for better preservation. There was much feeling
against this; the Florentines feared that misfortunes would fall upon
them if this great work were disturbed; but at last, in 1873, it was
placed in the Academy of Fine Arts. It represents the youthful David at
the moment when he declares to Goliath, "I come unto thee in the name of
the Lord of Hosts." The beautiful figure is muscular and pliant, and
the face is full of courage. (Fig. 106.)
About the beginning of the year 1505 Pope Julius II. summoned Michael
Angelo to Rome, and after a time gave him a commission to build a
colossal mausoleum to be erected for himself. The design was made and
accepted, and then Michael Angelo went to Carrara to select marble;
after much trouble he succeeded in getting it to Rome, where all who saw
it were astonished at the size of the blocks. Pope Julius was delighted,
and had a passage made from the palace to the workshop of the sculptor,
so that he could visit the artist without being seen. Other sculptors
now became jealous of Michael Angelo, and when he went a second time to
Carrara, Bramante persuaded the pope that it was a bad sign to build his
tomb while he was still living. When Michael Angelo returned and the
workmen he had hired arrived from Florence, he found the pope much
changed toward him. He no longer hastened the work, neither would he
furnish money to carry it on.
Michael Angelo sought the pope for an explanation, and was refused an
audience. He wrote a letter thus: "Most Holy Father, I was this morning
driven from the palace by the order of your Holiness. If you require me
in future you can seek me elsewhere than in Rome." He ordered a Jew to
sell all he possessed in Rome, and started for Florence, and stopped not
until he was on the ground of Tuscany. The pope sent after him, but as
he was a citizen of Florence he threatened the messengers if they
touched him. He said he had been treated as a criminal, and he
considered himself free from his engagements, and would not return then
or ever.
When he reached home a letter came to the Signory of Florence urging his
return, and saying that he should be safe. But Michael waited until the
third letter was received, and only consented to go when it was
arranged that he should be sent as an ambassador of Florence, and be
under the protection of the Florentine Republic.
In November, 1506, when the pope had taken Bologna, he sent for Michael
Angelo to come to him there. Michael Angelo had not yet seen the pope
since he left Rome in anger. When he reached Bologna he went first to
San Petronio to hear mass. A servant of the pope recognized him and led
him to his Holiness. Julius was at table, but ordered that Michael
Angelo should come in, and said to him, "You have waited thus long, it
seems, till we should ourselves come to seek you." Michael Angelo
kneeled down and begged his pardon, but added that he had remained away
because he had been offended. The pope looked at him doubtfully, when
one of the priests, fearing what would happen, advised the pope not to
judge an ignorant artist as he would another man. Then the pope turned
upon him in great anger, and declaring that he himself was ignorant and
miserable, ordered him out of his sight. The poor ecclesiastic was so
terrified that the attendants were obliged to carry him out, and then
the pope spoke graciously to the sculptor, and commanded him not to
leave Bologna without his permission. The pope soon gave him an order
for a colossal statue in bronze to be erected in Bologna.
The first cast of this statue failed, and the work was not ready to be
put in its place until February, 1508. This being done, Michael Angelo
returned to Florence, where he had much to do; but Julius soon sent for
him to go to Rome, and insisted that he should paint the roof of the
Sistine Chapel, which occupied him a long time.
In 1513 Julius II. died, and Michael Angelo resumed his work upon his
mausoleum. The pope had mentioned it in his will, and his heirs wished
it to be completed. At this time he probably worked upon the statue of
Moses and upon the two chained youths. He devoted himself to the
mausoleum during three years.
Leo X., who was now pope, demanded the services of Michael Angelo to
erect a facade to the Church of San Lorenzo in Florence. The artist
objected to this great work, and declared that he was bound to complete
the tomb for which he had already received money. But Leo insisted upon
his going to Florence. He had much trouble to get his marble from the
quarries--the men were ill there. He was ill himself, and he passed a
year of great anxiety and trouble, when there came word from Rome that
the work must be given up; the building was postponed, and no payment
was made to Michael Angelo! He was much disheartened, but returned to
his work on the mausoleum.
About 1523, when, after many changes, Cardinal Medici was pope, the work
at San Lorenzo was resumed. But in 1525 the pope again summoned Michael
Angelo to Rome. The heirs of Julius were complaining of delay, but at
last the pope insisted upon his great need of the artist, and again he
was sent back to Florence, where the cupola of the new Sacristy to San
Lorenzo was soon finished. Great political confusion now ensued, and
little can be said of Michael Angelo as a sculptor until 1530, when he
again resumed his work on the Sacristy.
He worked with the greatest industry and rapidity, and in a few months
had nearly finished the four colossal figures which rest upon the
sarcophagi of Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici. The pope was forced to
command the sculptor to rest. His health was so broken by the sorrow
which the political condition of Florence caused him, and by his anxiety
about the mausoleum of Julius, that there was much danger of his killing
himself with work and worry. He went to Rome, and matters were more
satisfactorily arranged. He returned to Florence, and labored there
until 1534, when Clement VII. died, and Michael Angelo left his work
in San Lorenzo, never to resume it. Unfinished as these sculptures are,
they make a grand part of the wonderful works of this great man. The
statues of the two Medici and those of Morning, Evening, Day, and Night
would be sufficient to establish the fame of an artist if he had done
nothing more. (Fig. 107.)
[Illustration: FIG. 107.--GIULIANO DE' MEDICI. _By Michael Angelo._]
Under the new pope, Paul III., he was constantly employed as a painter,
and architectural labors were put upon him, so that as a sculptor we
have no more works of his to mention except an unfinished group which
was in his studio at the time of his death. It represents the dead
Christ upon his mother's lap, with Joseph of Arimathea standing by. This
group is now in the Church of Santa Maria del Fiore, or the Cathedral of
Florence. The mausoleum of Julius II. caused Michael Angelo and others
so much trouble and vexation that the whole affair came to be known as
the "tragedy of the sepulchre." When Julius first ordered it he intended
to place it in St. Peter's, but in the end it was erected in the Church
of San Pietro in Vincoli, of which Julius had been the titular cardinal.
Of all the monument but three figures can really be called the work of
Michael Angelo. These are the Leah and Rachel upon the lower stage, and
the Moses, which is one of the most famous statues in the world. Paul
III., with eight cardinals, once visited the studio of the sculptor when
he was at work upon this statue, and they declared that this alone was
sufficient for the pope's monument (Fig. 108).
The life of Michael Angelo was a sad one; indeed, it is scarcely
possible to recount a more pathetic story than was his. The misfortunes
which came to the Medici were sharp griefs to him, and his temperament
was such that he could not forget his woes. His family, too, looked to
him for large sums of money, and while he lived most frugally they spent
his earnings. In his old age he said, "Rich as I am, I have always lived
like a poor man."
[Illustration: FIG. 108.--STATUE OF MOSES. _By Michael Angelo._]
In 1529, when Florence was under great political excitement, Michael
Angelo was appointed superintendent of all the fortifications of the
Florentine territory. In the midst of his duties he became aware of
facts which determined him to fly. He went to Venice, and was proscribed
as a rebel. We cannot stay here to inquire as to his wisdom in this, but
must go on to say that at length he was so much needed that he was
persuaded to return. Then he had the dreadful experiences of hope and
fear, sickness and famine, and all the horrors of a siege, only to see
his beloved home deprived of its freedom, and in the possession of those
whom he despised and hated. To Michael Angelo this was far more bitter
than any personal sorrow; he never recovered from its effects, and it
was immediately after this that he worked in the Sacristy of San Lorenzo
as if trying to kill himself.
He was bold as he was angry. He was treated kindly, and advised to
forget the past; but he never concealed his views. When his statue of
Night was exhibited, verses were put upon it, according to the custom of
the time; one verse read, "Night, whom you see slumbering here so
charmingly, has been carved by an angel, in marble. She sleeps, she
lives; waken her, if you will not believe it, and she will speak."
To this Michael Angelo replied, "Sleep is dear to me, and still more
that I am stone, so long as dishonor and shame last among us; the
happiest fate is to see, to hear nothing; for this reason waken me not.
I pray you, speak gently." He had great courage to speak his anger thus
publicly in the midst of those who could easily destroy him.
In 1537 or 1538 his father died, and the artist suffered terribly from
his grief. He wrote a sonnet beginning:
"Already had I wept and sighed so much.
I thought all grief forever at an end,
Exhaled in sighs, shed forth in bitter tears."
The religious views of Michael Angelo were very broad, and he had a
trustful and obedient dependence upon God, in whose mercy and love he
gratefully rested with the simple faith of a child. It was not far from
the time when his father died that Michael Angelo first met Vittoria
Colonna. He was now more than sixty years old; and though his poems show
that he had loved children and women all his life, yet he had allowed
himself no attachments; his life had been lonely and alone. Now, at this
late hour, he yielded his heart to this beautiful, gifted woman, who
returned his friendship with the fullest esteem. During these years he
was happier than he had ever been. But in 1541 she fell under the
suspicion of the Inquisition, and was obliged to leave Rome.
During two years they wrote constantly to each other, and each sent to
the other the sonnets they wrote. At this time all Italy read the poems
of Vittoria, and those of Michael Angelo still stand the test of time.
In them he shows the blessed effect of her influence over him. At length
she returned to Rome and entered a convent, where she died in 1547.
Michael Angelo was with her to the last, and years later he declared
that he regretted nothing so much as that he had only kissed her hand,
and not her forehead or cheeks in that last hour. His loss was far too
great to be told. (An engraving of a portrait of Michael Angelo can be
seen in Mrs. Clement's "Painting," p. 95.)
In the year following Vittoria's death all the hopes which he had
cherished for the freedom of Florence were crushed. High honors were
offered him to induce him to return there, but he would not go. His
health failed, his sadness increased, and his writings show how
constantly he mourned for Vittoria. After this he did much work as an
architect, and held the post of director of the building of St. Peter's.
He superintended the erection of the statue of Marcus Aurelius, and
completed the Farnese Palace, and had many improvements in mind.
Now, in his old age, he was authority itself in Rome. He had no rival,
and his advice was sought by artists as well as others. He lived very
simply: he dined alone, and received his visitors in the plainest
manner. Anatomy, which had always been a passion with him, was now his
chief pursuit. He made many dissections of animals, and was grateful
when a human subject could be allowed him.
When he could not sleep he would get up at night and work upon the group
of which we have spoken; he had a cap with a candle in it, so that it
cast a light upon his work. Vasari once entered when he was at work upon
this group, and had a lantern in his hand; he dropped it purposely, so
that the sculpture should not be seen, and said: "I am so old that death
often pulls me by the coat to come to him, and some day I shall fall
down like this lantern, and my last spark of life will be extinguished."
There are many very interesting circumstances told of his last years and
his strength of mind, and the work which he did was wonderful; but we
have not space to recount it here.
At length, in February, 1564, when almost ninety years old, he died. He
had asked to be buried in Florence. His friends feared that this would
be opposed, so they held burial-services in Rome, and his body was
afterward carried through the gates as merchandise. In Florence the body
was first laid in San Piero Maggiore, and on Sunday, at evening, the
artists assembled, and forming a procession, proceeded to Santa Croce,
where he was buried. The younger artists bore the bier upon their
shoulders, and the older ones carried torches to light the way. A great
multitude followed the procession, and in the Sacristy of Santa Croce
the coffin was opened; though three weeks had passed since his death,
his face appeared as if he had just died; the crowd was very great, but
all was quiet, and before morning it had dispersed. The Duke had thought
that a public funeral would recall old memories, and might cause a
disturbance; but Michael Angelo had left Florence thirty years before
his death, and his connection with the city was forgotten by many.
The July following was appointed for a memorial service in his honor;
San Lorenzo was splendidly decorated; Varchi delivered an oration.
Leonardo, his nephew, erected a monument to him in Santa Croce, for
which the Duke gave the marble. His statue stands in the court of the
Uffizi with those of other great Florentines, but with no especial
prominence. His house in the Ghibelline Street is preserved as a museum,
and visitors there see many mementos of this great man.
In 1875 a grand festival was held in Florence to celebrate the four
hundredth anniversary of his birth. The ceremonies were impressive, and
certain documents relating to his life which had never been opened, by
command of the king, were given to suitable persons for examination. Mr.
Heath Wilson, an English artist, then residing at Florence, wrote a new
life of Michael Angelo, and the last signature which Victor Emmanuel
wrote before his death was upon the paper which conferred on Mr. Wilson
the Order of the _Corona d'Italia_, given as a recognition of his
services in writing this book.
The national pride in Michael Angelo is very strong. "All Italians feel
that he occupies the third place by the side of Dante and Raphael, and
forms with them a triumvirate of the greatest men produced by their
country--a poet, a painter, and one who was great in all arts. Who would
place a general or a statesman by their side as equal to them? It is art
alone which marks the prime of nations."
The genius of Michael Angelo and his spirit were powerful forces. They
pervaded the whole art of Italy to such an extent that it may be said
that all sculptors were his imitators, both while he lived and after his
death. He loved to treat strong subjects, such as demanded violent
movement and unusual positions. It was only a man of his genius who
could raise such subjects above grotesqueness and the one effect of
strange and unnatural exaggeration. As we look over all his works it
seems as if the idea of beauty and such things as are pleasing to the
ordinary mind rarely, if ever, came to his mind. Noble feeling, depth of
thought, strength, and grandeur are the associations which we have with
him, and in the hands of weaker men, as his imitators were, these
subjects became barren, hollow displays of distorted limbs and soulless
heads and faces.
The result is, that there is little to be said of the immediate
followers of this great man. GUGLIELMO DELLA PORTA was one of his most
able scholars, and his chief work was a monument to Pope Paul III. in
the Church of St. Peter's. The figure of the pope is in bronze, is
seated, and holding the right hand in benediction. It is dignified and
well designed. The figures of Justice and Prudence are not as good, and
two others, Peace and Abundance, which were a part of this work, but are
now in the Farnese Palace, lack power, and show an attempt at a
representation of mere physical beauty.
BACCIO BANDINELLI (1487-1559) is more noticeable for his hatred of
Michael Angelo than for any other characteristic. He was a native of
Florence and a friend of Leonardo da Vinci. He was powerful in his
design and bold in his treatment of his subjects, but he was full of
affectation and mannerisms in his execution of his works. He was false
and envious, and his one good quality was that of industry. His best
works are on the screen of the high-altar in the Cathedral of Florence,
a relief on a pedestal in the Piazza of San Lorenzo, in Florence, and a
group in the Church of the Annunziata, which he intended for his own
monument; the subject is Nicodemus supporting Christ, and the Nicodemus
is a portrait of Bandinelli himself.