Michelangelo Buonarroti: A Life From Beginning to End (Biographies of Painters), by Hourly History.

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI: A LIFE 

FROM BEGINNING TO END 

(BIOGRAPHIES OF PAINTERS), by

HOURLY HISTORY. 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Well written and compiled, on the whole. 

Except, perhaps only naturally, author exhibits a bias in favour of Michaelangelo, compared to his great contemporaries. 

................................................................................................

Having read, several decades ago, The Agony and the Ecstasy, one expects when beginning to read this to be reminded of Irving Stone's impressive work on the subject. 

Instead, one finds oneself repeatedly reminded of a work by George Eliot, and puzzled - because she'd never mentioned either Michaelangelo or any other great worl of art, except the dome, throughout her work. 

One has to look up the title, and it's not Savonarola, it's Romola, but the work centre's on Savonarola and the characters that are either imaginary, created by Eliot, or referenced from history by her but so very remote and generally unknown, they are only important to her thesis, usually a moral dilemma. 

Throughout her work, if one isn't well versed either dates of history, one would think Michaelangelo was yet to arrive on the scene, if one remembers that he had any connections with Florence other than present placement of his most famous work, David. 

What sort of twisted mindset must one possess for this to happen, that one writes about Florence and its society and Savonarola, but ignores Michaelangelo, Botticelli and much else of the great art of the time that Florence is known for, ever since? 

One can only wonder if this treatment by Eliot was merely a collossal ego - or a tremendous hatred of he Greek civilisation that preceded Roman times, and was fount of art, philosophy - and more - of Europe. 

For she could easily have shifted her timeliness, but no! Instead, she chose, deliberately, to write about an era of Florence when not just one Michelangelo but his great contemporaries were creating a revolution, and not merely in art but far more. 

Perhaps Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, etc al didn't come anywhere near Florence. But Michelangelo lived there in exactly the times Eliot writes of; and she chose to write of this time and place but wipe out all memories of such great art and more. 

How much hatred must one harbour at heart to do this, quite so deliberately? 

For works of Eliot don't just spring and flow from her mind, or heart, or pen. They are painstakingly crafted with deliberately designed characters, events, and more. They aren't unavoidable, as inspired creations are, but carefully considered writings. 

................................................................................................

"In all, Michelangelo would spend two years at the Medici Palace, but within those finite years ... "

Since when isn't human life finite? 

It's obvious that the author is illiterate enough to confuse "finite" with short duration. 

................................................................................................

"Nevertheless, there was a small remnant of the Medici family that had managed to hang on to some semblance of power. One of these familial survivors, a man named Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, began to partner with Michelangelo for the furtherance of new art projects. Lorenzo hired Michelangelo to create two specific works of art. Drawing once again on the contradictory tastes of the Medicis, Lorenzo commissioned Michelangelo to sculpt a statue of John the Baptist, as well as a sleeping Cupid. Although often confused in modern times for a type of angel, the Cupid was a strictly pagan entity, sometimes referred to as Eros or the god of love.

"After Michelangelo finished his work on the latter, he entered into further controversy—this time not so much for the pagan origins of his piece but for the fact that he and Lorenzo attempted to engage in a kind of fraud with the finished product. Lorenzo allegedly wanted to sell the piece at a higher price by dressing up Michelangelo’s newly christened Cupid as an ancient artifact. Lorenzo is said to have advised Michelangelo, “If you can manage to make it look as if it had been buried under the Earth I will forward it to Rome.” In Rome the Cupid would be sold as a priceless antique, rather than a newly minted sculpture. The fake antique managed to bring in the hefty sum of 200 ducats for its deception, being purchased by a certain Cardinal Raffaele Riario."

One think this might have taught them that hype about antique is stupid, but no! 

................................................................................................

"The opportunity would finally come to him in November of 1497 when the French ambassador to the Vatican, Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas, hired Michelangelo to work on what would be called Michelangelo’s Pietà, a touching scene illustrating Mary mourning her son Jesus Christ. For this art project, Michelangelo would be paid the large sum of 450 ducats, more than enough to keep him—as well as the family he was supporting back in Florence—afloat for quite some time.

"The situation back in Florence meanwhile, had become turbulent once again with the arrest of Girolamo Savonarola, the charismatic preacher who had been the acting head of the city-state since the Medicis had been deposed. Savonarola had been taken into custody on April 8, 1498, and after being subjected to weeks of severe torture, he was coerced into confessing that he was a false prophet merely seeking “worldly ambition.” After giving his confession, Savonarola was promptly executed by hanging and then burned in the public square, so that all would see that the end of the preacher’s stewardship had arrived."

Not burnt at stake, then? 

When did church begin that? 

................................................................................................

"In the aftermath of Savonarola’s demise, the affluent class of Florentine nobility attempted to fill the ensuing vacuum, but it was of no use, and Florence began to be seen as a ship without a captain at its helm. It was in this moment of vulnerability that ongoing skirmishes with the neighboring city-state of Pisa began to heat up into an all-out war. In the midst of these dire straits, the city leadership sought a morale booster for the populace of Florence. A new art project was proposed depicting the famous slayer of giants, the biblical King David. The narrative of the poor shepherd boy—future king—defeating the giant Goliath seemed to be the perfect symbol for the uneasy citizenry of Florence to rally behind.

"According to Michelangelo’s friend and original biographer Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo had first heard about the project by word of mouth, stating that, “From Florence, some of his friends urged him to return so that he might be awarded the carving of the marble that had lain ruined in the yard of the Opera del Duomo, which Gonfaloniere Piero Soderini then had in mind to give to the other famed Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci.”"

Electrifying thought - how would David have looked if it were carved by Leonardo da Vinci, the superior artist and philosopher, and more? 

................................................................................................

"Michelangelo made his return back to Rome in 1505 at the express invitation of the then reigning pontiff, Pope Julius II, who hired him to work on a project for his own tomb. Pope Julius was a very ambitious man, and it is said that no sooner than the papal miter was placed on his head, he began to think of his legacy. And in terms of popes, a lasting legacy usually meant having an impressive tomb. Initially the project entailed the construction of 40 statues and was slated to be completed in five years’ time. In reality, Michelangelo would work on the Pope’s tomb for nearly 40 years.

"He would temporarily deviate from this project for other various side projects, one of which would be arguably his most famous masterpiece of all, the extravagant mural painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo completed this epic piece of illustrated biblical history in about four years’ time, from 1508 to 1512.

"According to one of Michelangelo’s early biographers, Ascanio Condivi, it was initially at the conniving of an architect and alleged foe by the name of Bramante that Michelangelo was awarded this monumental task. According to this theory, Bramante who knew Michelangelo primarily for his work as a sculptor believed that such a feat as painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel would be too overwhelming and Michelangelo would be doomed to failure in the task. It is said that it was out of his capricious wish for Michelangelo to fail that he persuaded the Pope to hand the job over to Michelangelo.

"At the time Michelangelo was initially hired on to paint the Twelve Apostles on the triangular vaultings of the ceiling, as well as the creation of a simple decoration on the center of the ceiling. Michelangelo of course would eventually convince the Pope to allow him to greatly expand upon these initial designs, proposing an entire illustrative representation of the Bible from creation, the fall, to salvation through Christ, a work that would ultimately span over 500 square feet with over 300 characters painted.

................................................................................................

"Michelangelo then immediately began work on what would become The Crucifixion of St. Peter. The subject matter of this painting involves the extra-biblical account of how Peter met his end—being crucified upside down by the Romans. In this painting, Michelangelo brilliantly takes care of the harsh reality Peter had been dealt, rendering an image that many others had found quite difficult to fathom—that of a man hanging from a crucifix upside down. It seems that Michelangelo’s studies of corpses and their anatomy gave him a much-needed edge in understanding exactly how the human body might present itself when subjected to such a condition. The Crucifixion of St. Peter was completed in 1550 and would be the last major painting the artist would render."

Funny, why isn't this crucifixion talked of more? 

Because it may affect people diluting the virulent antisemitic diatribe they've absorbed from church preaching it gor seventeen centuries, based in false propaganda? 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"The ingenious artist we know as Michelangelo lived during the Renaissance in Northern Italy, and you could say that he was indeed a renaissance man—he was a painter, sculptor, poet, and an engineer all rolled up into one. Even though it has been some 450 years since his passing, his legacy remains one of the strongest on record. If the burgeoning art student of today wishes to learn from the best, he takes his notes directly from Michelangelo. 

"He lived for his art, and despite the chaos of kings, popes, and the civil government around him, Michelangelo Buonarroti made sure that his works of artistic expression would withstand the scrutiny of time.

 ... "

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"“It is necessary to keep one’s compass in one’s eyes and not in the hand, for the hands execute, but the eye judges.” 

"—Michelangelo"

................................................................................................

"His full name was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. Like all Italians of that era, his long name was meant to signify his long lineage in the particular region from which he had sprung.

"Michelangelo arrived into this world in the early morning hours of March 6, 1475 in the small Italian village of Caprese. He came from a family of bankers, but in all irony, by the time of his birth his own family was nearly bankrupt. The bank had collapsed, and in order to keep the family afloat Michelangelo’s father, Ludovico di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni, took a government posting as a local podestà, which is an Italian term for a kind of chief administrator. Interestingly enough, Lodovico received this posting completely by chance; in fact, he had been awarded the position after his name had been pulled out of a bag. This random lottery was apparently how local authorities filled the position with eligible citizens. Michelangelo’s mom was a woman named Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena who claimed descent from a countess, Mathilde of Canossa. Before Michelangelo broke out into the art world later in life, this supposed link to the countess was the family’s one and only claim to fame.

................................................................................................

"Shortly after Michelangelo’s birth, he was sent to the care of a local wet nurse—a woman whose sole profession is to raise children, her own and those of others. This was a fairly solid tradition at the time, with most children Michelangelo’s age being reared away from home during the first few years of their life. The surrogate mother assigned to Michelangelo was the wife of a stone mason whose family lived in the town of Settignano near a farm owned by Michelangelo’s father. Michelangelo would later recall how much this early experience with a family of stone cutters affected his life with the humorous quip, “with my wet nurse’s milk, I sucked in the hammer and chisels I used for my statues.” It was supposedly these early roots that put a love for the excavation of stone and ultimately of the making of fine sculptures into young Michelangelo.

"Sadly, after these happy times with the stone masons, Michelangelo’s first taste of tragedy would come at the young and impressionable age of six, when his mother Francesca passed away after a long bout of sickness in 1481. It is said that Francesca was a young mother, perhaps only 18 years old when Michelangelo was born, making her around 24 years of age when she died.

................................................................................................

"Not long after her passing, in 1485, Ludovico decided to send Michelangelo off to grammar school in order to master the reading and writing of Italian script, and—more importantly for professional circles—to learn Latin. Michelangelo’s father meanwhile, as his son was sent to Florence, married his second wife, a woman named Lucrezia Ubaldini. Some would later contend that it was for this reason that Michelangelo was pushed out the door—in order to better facilitate the entrance of his stepmother Lucrezia.

"At any rate, the ambitious young Michelangelo was more than ready to strike it out on his own. He was only around ten years old when he began his formal education, but he was eager to learn. His education would take a detour however when he met a young artist named Francesco Granacci who would introduce him to a world outside of Italian and Latin grammar. Granacci had already obtained for himself an apprenticeship at the local art studio of the famed Florentine artisans, the two brothers Domenico and Davide Ghirlandaio.

................................................................................................

"The Ghirlandaio studio was a successful commercial enterprise, and was in high demand at the time, regularly producing a high volume of portraits and frescos for eager buyers. Michelangelo was greatly intrigued by the artists that he encountered at the art studio and began to spend more and more time observing them at work. But when his father received word of Michelangelo’s new interest, he was distraught, believing his son to be squandering his finite resources on art rather than studying his schoolwork.

"According to Michelangelo’s later recollection, his family was so upset about his growing pastime in art that he even suffered physical violence on occasion because of it. It has been alleged that his father and even some of his uncles beat him up over his love of art. Luckily Michelangelo’s cash-strapped father began to sing a different tune when he realized just how much of a money maker the Ghirlandaio studio could be. When he received word that Michelangelo would be the recipient of a regular salary of 24 gold florins for the three years of his internship, he finally gave his consent.

"Soon Michelangelo’s talent would prove itself in gold, setting up a lifelong pattern of Michelangelo being the number one bread winning Buonarroti. It was this meagerness at home that gave Michelangelo the determination to succeed and to help support his family."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"Although 13-year-old Michelangelo was at first more than eager to get his feet wet as an artist, he would later shake his head in disdain when he thought of the commercialized art studio for which he worked. He toiled in a veritable sweatshop of paint, in which he created cheesy mementos for tourists, monotonous frescos for monasteries, and unfulfilling portraits of patrons. It was an assembly line of artwork in which high volume was desired over high quality. Nevertheless, Michelangelo was a dutiful apprentice for the next couple of years that he spent laboring away at the Ghirlandaio studio.

"At the age of 15, when his years of indentured service were drawing to a close, Michelangelo finally found his exit from the monotony of the studio. Florence at this time was a bustling city ruled by an even more bustling leader, Lorenzo the Magnificent, or as he was otherwise known, Lorenzo de’ Medici. Lorenzo was the ruling head in charge of Florence and the family from which he hailed, the Medicis. He was an avid patron of the arts and would later be known to have essentially helped fund the Italian Renaissance. Besides his political career, Lorenzo himself was artistically inclined, and so considered many of the artists he backed as his own peers.

................................................................................................

"Just as Michelangelo’s apprenticeship with the Ghirlandaio brothers was coming to an end, he was encouraged to begin to work at Lorenzo’s personal sculpture garden. This was a special project of Lorenzo’s in which he encouraged local artists of all stripes to volunteer their time creating sculptures for a sprawling garden near the Medici Palace. This was meant to provide local talent with a chance to demonstrate their ability while also giving the avid art patron Lorenzo a chance to pick out the best artists from the batch.

"As Michelangelo’s friend and later biographer Ascanio Condivi would later describe this seminal event, Michelangelo had apparently been working on the duplication of an old stone sculpture of the head of a faun—a mythical creature from ancient Roman times that was represented as being half goat, half man. As Condivi explains, the original sculpture was adorned “with a long beard and laughing countenance, though the mouth, on account of its antiquity, could hardly be recognised for what it was.” So, Michelangelo in his duplication of the piece had to rely heavily on his imagination to create a functional mouth for his version of the sculpture.

"Shortly after Michelangelo finished up his interpretation of the faun head sculpture, Lorenzo happened to stop by for a visit. Condivi states that Lorenzo “found the boy engaged in polishing the head and, approaching quite near, he was much amazed, considering first the excellence and then the boy’s age.” But although he was impressed by the work, he found a means for employing good-natured ridicule as well. Examining the sculpture, Lorenzo ruefully remarked, “Oh you have made this Faun old and left him all his teeth. Don’t you know that old men of that age are always missing a few?” After this good-natured little jab, Lorenzo offered to take the youth to live in his palace as a full-time work study. Michelangelo must have been jumping for joy at such a prospect.

................................................................................................

"The whole reason for participating at Lorenzo’s garden was to gain recognition, and now he was being handpicked by Lorenzo himself. Michelangelo’s father Lodovico was not quite so thrilled however. Although he had already consented for his son to make a living as an artist at the Ghirlandaio studio, he believed that the raucous and libertine atmosphere that the Medicis were known for would be a bad influence on his son. Nevertheless, Lorenzo insisted on meeting Lodovico in person to discuss the matter further.

"If Lorenzo the Magnificent was banking on being able to persuade Michelangelo’s father with the power of his personality, he wasn’t disappointed; overawed and impressed with Lorenzo’s wealth, power, and charm, Lodovico felt he had no choice but to accept. It is said that Lodovico then swore allegiance to Lorenzo, telling him, “not only Michelangelo, but all of us, with our lives and all our best faculties, are at the service of your Magnificence.” Lodovico, still struggling to find a form of steady employment, also asked Lorenzo to grant him a posting at the local customs house as a reward for his cooperation. It is said that upon hearing this, Lorenzo simply smiled, put his hand on Lodovico’s shoulder and told him, “[This is why] you will always be poor!” Lorenzo, who wielded all power and influence in Florence, was expecting Lodovico to ask for something much bigger than a measly post at a customs office. His father’s performance before Lorenzo the Magnificent may have been somewhat lacking, but nevertheless, Michelangelo had made his debut."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” 

"—Michelangelo"

................................................................................................

"It is not entirely clear how much is accurate in Michelangelo’s recollection of his time spent at the Medici mansion. He always maintained that Lorenzo had always treated him well, providing him with a “good room in his own house with all that he needed, treating him like a son, with a seat at his table.” It is said that in many ways, Lorenzo was the father figure that Michelangelo had always desired. It is certainly not hard to see why. Because while Michelangelo would always have the memories of his father beating him within an inch of his life simply for wishing to be an artist, Lorenzo was the mentor who was determined to make Michelangelo’s dreams a reality.

"In all, Michelangelo would spend two years at the Medici Palace, but within those finite years ... "

Since when isn't human life finite? 

It's obvious that the author is illiterate enough to confuse "finite" with short duration. 

" ... he would condense enough knowledge to last him a lifetime. His main instructor was the acclaimed artist Angelo Ambrogini, commonly known as Poliziano. It was under his tutelage that Michelangelo created his epic Battle of the Centaurs that depicted a classic mythological scene of men and half men, half beast creatures battling it out. This work is said to have been an allegory of humanity overcoming his lesser, beast-like nature. This sort of symbolism was always encouraged by both Poliziano and Lorenzo, who often instructed his protégés to view artwork as coming from the mind rather than the hands.

"As well as Michelangelo was getting along with his new benefactors, his esteemed position with them did not always sit so well with his artistic peers. This tension famously manifested itself when fellow student and sculptor Pietro Torrigiano became so frustrated with Michelangelo’s success that he punched him in the face. Michelangelo apparently had the bad habit of looking over the shoulders of his fellow art students while they were working and would frequently would give them unsolicited critiques and advice. In the case of Pietro Torrigiano, Michelangelo had struck a nerve when he offered his criticism, and Torrigiano promptly slammed his fist into Michelangelo’s nose. Those who were in attendance were stunned to hear the cracking of cartilage and bone before Michelangelo dropped to the ground, knocked out cold.

................................................................................................

"Some could slough this off as mere teenage angst playing itself out—but that teenage angst would leave Michelangelo permanently disfigured. He would have a flattened and slightly crooked nose for the rest of his life thanks to the blow Torrigiano had dealt him. The repercussions for Torrigiano were severe as well. Knowing that Michelangelo was one of Lorenzo’s favorite students, Torrigiano realized that his wrath wouldn’t be far behind. Fearing what punishment might lay in store for him for his actions, he abandoned his studies and fled the city, placing himself in self-imposed exile.

"Torrigiano wouldn’t return to Florence until several decades later after Lorenzo had already passed on—his fear of “the Magnificent” was apparently that strong. Lorenzo, who had been suffering from terrible bouts of gout and several other ailments, would perish shortly after Torrigiano’s departure, dying in 1492 at the age of 43. Although his 20-year-old son Piero immediately took over the Medici Palace, without Lorenzo Michelangelo no longer found it to be a suitable abode and so journeyed back to the home of his father, Lodovico.

................................................................................................

"With his funds drying up and his previously promising career seeming to be uncertain, these were tough times for Michelangelo. Even so, he attempted to rally his artistic ambition by purchasing a cheap slab of marble and embarking on a new project. He ended up carving a statue of the Greek demigod Hercules. Even though most of his contemporaries were devout Christians, there were still some who desired interpretations of classic figures of Rome’s pagan past. It could be said that there was a strong sense of uncertainty in many of his art patron’s tastes. In the midst of this ideological indecision, some would even commission works of these other gods only to condemn and denounce those very works years later. This was certainly the case for one of Michelangelo’s young contemporaries, an artist named Sandro Botticelli.

"Just like Michelangelo, Botticelli had been on the payroll of Lorenzo de’ Medici. For Lorenzo, Botticelli had created such pagan works as the Primavera and The Birth of Venus with great zeal. But shortly after Lorenzo’s demise, Botticelli destroyed many such similar works at the behest of a popular friar and preacher named Girolamo Savonarola, who held public bonfires to burn such heretically deemed works of art.

"Shortly after he sold off his Hercules statue, Michelangelo too would—albeit much less dramatically—switch gears and turn toward the Christian world for his artistic inspiration as well. His next major project was one that had been commissioned by Niccolò Bichiellini, the church prior of Santo Spirito in Florence. Michelangelo was to create a replica of Christ’s cross, which would be placed over the altar of the church. In exchange for his work, Niccolò granted Michelangelo access to the church’s adjoining hospital, granting him the privilege of being able to carry out the dissection of the corpses that were housed there. This probably would seem like a strange privilege to be granted for most of us, but for Michelangelo it was a rare chance to study human anatomy up close and personal. Although Michelangelo would later admit that the gruesomeness of the task before him made holding his lunch rather difficult, it gave him an incredible grasp of the human form that few could ever match."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"“For those who feel it, nothing makes the soul so religious and pure as the endeavor to create something perfect; for God is perfection, and whoever strives after it, is striving after perfection, and whoever strives after it, is striving after something divine. True painting is only the image of the perfection of God, a shadow of the pencil with which he paints, a melody, a striving after harmony.” 

"—Michelangelo"

................................................................................................

"It wasn’t long after Lorenzo’s demise that his son and successor Piero de’ Medici began to lose hold of the reins of power. As his authority over the happenings of Florence began to slip, the populist preacher Girolamo Savonarola’s power and prestige grew. By 1494, Savonarola was whipping Florence’s faithful into an antagonistic frenzy against what he proclaimed to be the decadence of Florentine society.

"Michelangelo himself later claimed to have been moved by the religious zealot’s charismatic tirades, while at the same time fearing his narrow-minded worldview. Knowing that social chaos couldn’t be far behind, Michelangelo quietly left Florence in early October seeking calmer pastures in which to wait out the unrest. Michelangelo’s prescience proved to be well placed when shortly thereafter French troops invaded nearby Tuscany and soon threatened Florence as well.

................................................................................................

"It is said that the inexperienced new leader Piero choked under this sudden pressure and instead of standing up to the aggression immediately caved to the enemy’s demands. Taking advantage of Piero’s apparent weakness, the nearby subject city of Pisa took the opportunity to declare its independence from Florence. As a result of these setbacks, Florence itself began to rebel against Piero openly, and when he entered the city on November 9, he was nearly seized by the maddened populace, forcing Piero to run for his life.

"This would be yet another drastic reversal of fortune for Michelangelo since any association with Piero was now considered to be anathema. So, knowing better than to return to Florence, Michelangelo traveled to Bologna. Here he attempted to set up shop, but after a local artisan leveled accusations at him of thieving the intellectual property of others artists, Michelangelo found himself run out of town. This artisan had even threatened to beat him if he didn’t leave Bologna immediately. It seems rather incredible that Michelangelo had been so badly treated by this man, but it just goes to show you how precarious his social standing was at this point in his life. Michelangelo ultimately wouldn’t attempt to return to Florence until the following year. With the ouster of the Medicis, the power structure of the city-state was now made up of a Great Council of some 3,000 appointed citizens. But the true leader of this mini republic was the charismatic Christian cleric Girolamo Savonarola.

................................................................................................

"Nevertheless, there was a small remnant of the Medici family that had managed to hang on to some semblance of power. One of these familial survivors, a man named Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, began to partner with Michelangelo for the furtherance of new art projects. Lorenzo hired Michelangelo to create two specific works of art. Drawing once again on the contradictory tastes of the Medicis, Lorenzo commissioned Michelangelo to sculpt a statue of John the Baptist, as well as a sleeping Cupid. Although often confused in modern times for a type of angel, the Cupid was a strictly pagan entity, sometimes referred to as Eros or the god of love.

"After Michelangelo finished his work on the latter, he entered into further controversy—this time not so much for the pagan origins of his piece but for the fact that he and Lorenzo attempted to engage in a kind of fraud with the finished product. Lorenzo allegedly wanted to sell the piece at a higher price by dressing up Michelangelo’s newly christened Cupid as an ancient artifact. Lorenzo is said to have advised Michelangelo, “If you can manage to make it look as if it had been buried under the Earth I will forward it to Rome.” In Rome the Cupid would be sold as a priceless antique, rather than a newly minted sculpture. The fake antique managed to bring in the hefty sum of 200 ducats for its deception, being purchased by a certain Cardinal Raffaele Riario."

One think this might have taught them that hype about antique is stupid, but no! 

................................................................................................

"But it wasn’t long before the fraud was found out. Many contend that Michelangelo was banking on the discovery of his fakery all along since it would be a means of advertising his expertise. In other words, if he could so perfectly duplicate such detailed classic art to the extent of even confounding Rome’s best antique dealers, he would be known as an artist of tremendous ability. If this was indeed Michelangelo’s intention, he would seem to have achieved his goal because the immediate response to the fake Cupid was to have Michelangelo sent to Rome to create even more pieces of artwork just like it. 

"Michelangelo, now 21 years old, left for the old metropolis of Rome at the request of Cardinal Raffaele Riario in the summer of 1496."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"“I was never the kind of painter or sculptor who kept a shop.” 

"—Michelangelo"

................................................................................................

"The ambitious young artist Michelangelo Buonarroti made his way to the city of Rome on June 25, 1496. Rome of that era—with plenty of rampant corruption and decadence—was often held in equal measures of esteem and contempt. All of these veins of Roman life ran in simultaneous succession, even while the city desperately attempted to reclaim the glory of the past. But for Michelangelo, Rome, flaws and all, held the singular promise of maximum exposure for his art and the possibility of being hired by the greatest patron of the arts of his day—the Pope.

"Michelangelo knew all too well that the man who held the papacy was perhaps the only person with enough resources to match his own ambition. But upon his arrival, his invitation to the Vatican would have to wait. His initial living quarters would be the much more modest, still-unfinished home of Cardinal Raffaele Riario. At this time, Michelangelo was coming of age, and as such he was seeking to make a name for himself. In order to do so he needed big projects that would leave a lasting impression.

................................................................................................

"The opportunity would finally come to him in November of 1497 when the French ambassador to the Vatican, Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas, hired Michelangelo to work on what would be called Michelangelo’s Pietà, a touching scene illustrating Mary mourning her son Jesus Christ. For this art project, Michelangelo would be paid the large sum of 450 ducats, more than enough to keep him—as well as the family he was supporting back in Florence—afloat for quite some time.

"The situation back in Florence meanwhile, had become turbulent once again with the arrest of Girolamo Savonarola, the charismatic preacher who had been the acting head of the city-state since the Medicis had been deposed. Savonarola had been taken into custody on April 8, 1498, and after being subjected to weeks of severe torture, he was coerced into confessing that he was a false prophet merely seeking “worldly ambition.” After giving his confession, Savonarola was promptly executed by hanging and then burned in the public square, so that all would see that the end of the preacher’s stewardship had arrived."

Not burnt at stake, then? 

When did church begin that? 

................................................................................................

"In the aftermath of Savonarola’s demise, the affluent class of Florentine nobility attempted to fill the ensuing vacuum, but it was of no use, and Florence began to be seen as a ship without a captain at its helm. It was in this moment of vulnerability that ongoing skirmishes with the neighboring city-state of Pisa began to heat up into an all-out war. In the midst of these dire straits, the city leadership sought a morale booster for the populace of Florence. A new art project was proposed depicting the famous slayer of giants, the biblical King David. The narrative of the poor shepherd boy—future king—defeating the giant Goliath seemed to be the perfect symbol for the uneasy citizenry of Florence to rally behind.

"According to Michelangelo’s friend and original biographer Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo had first heard about the project by word of mouth, stating that, “From Florence, some of his friends urged him to return so that he might be awarded the carving of the marble that had lain ruined in the yard of the Opera del Duomo, which Gonfaloniere Piero Soderini then had in mind to give to the other famed Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci.”"

Electrifying thought - how would David have looked if it were carved by Leonardo da Vinci, the superior artist and philosopher, and more? 

................................................................................................

"It was apparently the mention of his older rival Leonardo da Vinci that piqued Michelangelo’s interest more than anything else. Not wanting to be outdone by an artist that he considered only a part-time sculptor since Leonardo was primarily a painter, Michelangelo decided to seek out the project for himself. Thanks to his recent success with the Pietà in Rome, Michelangelo could return to Florence fully confident in his work and with plenty of resources at his disposal.

"With his acclaim preceding him, it wasn’t long before he was awarded the contract. The words of this famous agreement are still legible, reading in part, “Michelangelo began to work and carve the said giant on 13 September, 1501, a Monday; although previously, on the 9th, he had given it one or two blows with his hammer, to strike off a certain [nodule] that it had on its breast. But on the said day, that is the 13th, he began to work with determination and strength.”

................................................................................................

"From here on out Michelangelo worked with frantic speed and had already made considerable inroads toward completion of the project by February of 1502; he was even granted a hefty advance of 400 gold florins for his hard work. By early 1504 the work was nearly complete, and by this time Michelangelo’s financiers had finally become anxious enough to request a preview of the statue. According to Vasari, a leading Florentine official known as a gonfaloniere by the name of Piero Soderini was particularly interested in a sneak peek.

"As Vasari describes it, “It happened at this time that Piero Soderini, having seen it in place, was well pleased with it, but said to Michelangelo, at a moment when he was retouching it in certain parts, that it seemed to him that the nose of the figure was too thick. In order to satisfy him [Michelangelo] climbed upon the staging, which was against the shoulders, and quickly took up a chisel in his left hand, with a little of marble dust that lay upon the planks of the staging, and then, beginning to strike lightly with the chisel, [and he] let fall the dust little by little, not changing the nose a whit from what it was before.”

................................................................................................

"In other words, Michelangelo had simply knocked a bunch of dust down without changing the structure of the statue’s nose in the slightest. Vasari claims that Michelangelo then directed the official, “Look at it now.” According to Vasari, Soderini was then immensely relieved and satisfied at this apparent sleight of hand on Michelangelo’s part and promptly replied, “I like it better—you have given it life” Michelangelo was quite used to pleasing his anxious patrons in such fashion. He knew that these men of authority were used to relieving the worry that flitted across their minds by issuing commands to those under their charge. This helped ease their anxiety by allowing them to feel that they were in control of the situation. 

"Michelangelo as an artist, on the other hand, felt he knew best when it came to his work and wasn’t about to let others tell him what to do. But he also knew how the mere act of appearing to appease his benefactors could go a long way in relieving their concern. Michelangelo finished the work soon after this bit of professional chicanery, and the statue of David became one of the greatest accomplishments of his career."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"Michelangelo made his return back to Rome in 1505 at the express invitation of the then reigning pontiff, Pope Julius II, who hired him to work on a project for his own tomb. Pope Julius was a very ambitious man, and it is said that no sooner than the papal miter was placed on his head, he began to think of his legacy. And in terms of popes, a lasting legacy usually meant having an impressive tomb. Initially the project entailed the construction of 40 statues and was slated to be completed in five years’ time. In reality, Michelangelo would work on the Pope’s tomb for nearly 40 years.

"He would temporarily deviate from this project for other various side projects, one of which would be arguably his most famous masterpiece of all, the extravagant mural painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo completed this epic piece of illustrated biblical history in about four years’ time, from 1508 to 1512.

"According to one of Michelangelo’s early biographers, Ascanio Condivi, it was initially at the conniving of an architect and alleged foe by the name of Bramante that Michelangelo was awarded this monumental task. According to this theory, Bramante who knew Michelangelo primarily for his work as a sculptor believed that such a feat as painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel would be too overwhelming and Michelangelo would be doomed to failure in the task. It is said that it was out of his capricious wish for Michelangelo to fail that he persuaded the Pope to hand the job over to Michelangelo.

"At the time Michelangelo was initially hired on to paint the Twelve Apostles on the triangular vaultings of the ceiling, as well as the creation of a simple decoration on the center of the ceiling. Michelangelo of course would eventually convince the Pope to allow him to greatly expand upon these initial designs, proposing an entire illustrative representation of the Bible from creation, the fall, to salvation through Christ, a work that would ultimately span over 500 square feet with over 300 characters painted.

................................................................................................

"Michelangelo’s work on the ceiling began in the spring of 1508. He made a diary entry for that day, which stated in part, “I record how today, the tenth of May in 1508, I Michelangelo, sculptor, received from His Holiness, our Lord Pope Julius II, 500 ducats—for the purpose of painting the ceiling of the chapel of Pope Sixtus, which I shall begin working on today under the conditions and according to the agreements that appear in a document made by monsignor Remolo di Pavia and signed by me.”

"Shortly after making this entry, Michelangelo then began the exhaustive work required to prepare for the actual painting of the ceiling. This involved the installation of scaffolding and preparation of the ceiling surface by his assistants. These efforts were apparently much to the chagrin of the nearby priests attempting to hold service since the dust and noise interfered with prayers and the reading of the liturgy.

................................................................................................

"Finally, by early October Michelangelo began the laborious task of painting the ceiling. Acknowledging the hard work ahead of him, he famously penned a rueful sonnet to commemorate the back-breaking project at hand. The sonnet read in part, “I’ve already got myself a goitre from this hardship such as the water gives the cats in Lombardy. My belly is pushed by force underneath my chin. My beard toward Heaven. I feel the back of my skull upon my neck. I’m getting a harpy’s breast. My brush, always dripping down above my face, makes it a splendid floor.” Thus far in the sonnet Michelangelo had already painted quite an imaginary picture of himself contorted in every direction as he painted the ceiling of the Cristine Chapel."

" ... After laying out all the reasons why the work was so hard, he then ends his litany of complaints by reminding us that Michelangelo, the sculptor, is not a painter after all.

"Even though in many ways Michelangelo did not relish the switch from his preferred medium of artistry, he did his best to fulfill the often-mercurial wishes of his papal benefactor. He and his assistants began their work painting from the eastern side of the ceiling, steadily heading in a westward direction. Working at a frenetic pace, Michelangelo managed to cover half of the ceiling by July of 1510. Although painting wasn’t his medium of choice, he was by now really getting into the swing of things and felt confident enough that he could fulfill the project on a grand scale.

................................................................................................

"But even as Michelangelo was gaining more confidence in his painting, the political situation in Rome was getting more precarious with relations between the Pope and his former French allies stationed in the Alps deteriorating. The French had previously aided the Pope in military maneuvers against the aggressive Venetians back in 1509 but were now moving aggressively toward Rome itself. As such, Pope Julius II, a man not unaccustomed to warfare, led a fully equipped army to meet the French threat head-on.

"While the Pope was away battling the French, Michelangelo was battling his own misgivings about just how to proceed with his new masterpiece. He was noted to have complained at the time, “The Pope has gone away and has left me no instructions, so that I find myself without any money and do not know what I ought to do.” As his frustration grew to intolerable levels, Michelangelo took it upon himself to track down Pope Julius and complain to him in person. He found him staying at a papal residence in Bologna, Italy, to oversee the conflict. Here Michelangelo witnessed the Pope’s duress, seeing him under the sway of severe anxiety as a consequence of the many failures on the field against the French.

"But nevertheless, even this shaken pontiff was ready to reassure Michelangelo that all would still go as planned. Pope Julius promptly informed him that all funding for the Sistine Chapel would go ahead just as he had intended. Furthermore, when the artist returned to Rome, he found an additional 500 ducats waiting for him. Michelangelo also found a special deed which gave him express permission to live in luxurious lodgings at the Piazza Rusticucci completely free of charge. No matter what happened, Pope Julius had made it abundantly clear to Michelangelo that no matter how far the French pushed back his beleaguered troops, the painting of the Sistine Chapel would continue to go forward."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"Michelangelo finished up his work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel towards the end of 1512. The Pope was expressly pleased with the work, but he didn’t have very long to enjoy it. Pope Julius II passed away in early 1513, just ten days after presiding over the official, public unveiling of the Sistine Chapel. Feeling weak, he went to bed early, suffering from a high fever. The Pope would remain relegated to his sick bed until finally passing on February 21, 1513 at the age of 69.

"Pope Julius II was replaced by Pope Leo X, who just so happened to be the surviving son of Michelangelo’s old backer, Lorenzo de’ Medici. After taking the reins of papal power on March 11, 1513, this new Pope didn’t waste much time putting Michelangelo to work, expanding his duty in finishing Julius’ tomb. Not long after this, in 1516, Pope Leo assigned him a new task—that of rebuilding the fading exterior of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

"Michelangelo spent the next few years composing drafts and constructing models in anticipation of the project. But before he even acquisitioned any new stone from the rock quarry, the project was abandoned. The new Pope apparently couldn’t gather the funds necessary to carry it out to fruition, so the scheme was shut down. It wasn’t until 1520 that the Pope would rehire Michelangelo for another great work on a family funerary chapel in the Basilica of San Lorenzo.

................................................................................................

"It seems that much of Michelangelo’s employ during this period was indeed in the renovation of tombs. He constructed one of his greatest sculptures, the Moses, in the ongoing tomb construction project for Julius, and when it came to the Medici Chapel as it were later called, commissioned by Pope Leo, he made sure he went all out here as well. This was especially the case when it came to the tombs of Medicis who had already passed on, as was most especially evident in the tomb he constructed for Lorenzo the Magnificent himself. But one of the main attractions of this work has always been Michelangelo’s Medici Madonna. This piece shows a thoughtful and austere Virgin Mary, holding a baby Jesus who clings to her closely.

"Pope Leo X would die before Michelangelo finished his work on the Medici Chapel, passing away in December of 1521 at just 45 years of age. His immediate successor was Adrian VI. Adrien’s reign as pope would prove to be even more brief, however, lasting only from January 9, 1522 to September 14, 1523. Adrian VI was then succeeded by another Medici, the late Leo’s cousin Giulio, who became Pope Clement VII. Clement assigned Michelangelo with the job of renovating the inside of the Laurentian Library of San Lorenzo’s Church in 1524.

................................................................................................

"The political situation of Europe meanwhile, had once again been cast into doubt. Pope Clement from the very beginning of his papacy found himself torn between the two major powers of Europe. There had been an ongoing conflict between the Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, and King Francis of France. The conglomerate of states known as the Holy Roman Empire was based out of Central Europe but by the early 1500s laid claim to territories in Spain and Northern Italy. France, on the other hand, was a resurgent power in its own right, and under the auspices of King Francis, the French were ever seeking to expand their dominion.

"Caught in the middle of this maelstrom, Pope Clement was forced to carry out what can only be described as a duplicitous form of foreign policy in which he had to play the two great powers against each other. Indeed, Machiavelli himself could have taken pride in Pope Clement’s finagling—as he signed deals with one side, only to immediately switch to the other when conditions proved more favorable to do so. This contentious situation Pope Clement found himself in finally reached a head on May 5, 1527 when troops from the Holy Roman Imperial Army encircled and besieged Rome itself. It seems rather ironic that a group of countries calling themselves the Holy Roman Empire would lay siege to Rome, but this was just the strange and often contradictory climate of the day.

"Known as the year full of atrocities, it is said that as soon as the imperial soldiers breached Rome’s fortifications slaughter began to be carried out against the city populace. The Pope himself was forced to hole up in the ancient Roman fortress of Castel Sant’Angelo, leaving a serious vacuum in leadership during the crisis. The disastrous situation was only averted when the Pope and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V managed to broker a truce after Pope Clement had surrendered.

................................................................................................

"Shortly after this deal was brokered, Michelangelo was given a new assignment. He was commissioned to build a statue of the ancient mythological figure of Hercules, with the intention of having this mythic representation of might standing beside the sculpture of the biblical David that Michelangelo had already built. But the Pope soon changed his mind, and these plans were scrapped at the last minute, and the job was awarded to another local sculptor named Baccio Bandinelli. This would have been a major insult to Michelangelo in years past, but considering all of the turmoil and near devastation that Michelangelo and practically all of Italy had undergone in the past few war-torn years, he seemed to take the news in stride.

"The news that he most certainly did not take in stride, however, was word of his father’s passing in 1531. Lodovico was 87 years of age and not expected to live much longer, but the loss was upsetting for Michelangelo all the same. He had also lost one of his four brothers just a few years prior. He penned a sad stanza to commemorate the event that read in part, “I still thought I’d relieve the weight of woe through tears and sobbing, or at least in part. But fate, abounding, filled to overflow grief’s source and stream, now welling unconfined with another death—no worst pain here below! The death—your own, dear father.” 

"Despite past misunderstandings and intermittent bickering, Michelangelo cared deeply for his father and would always remember him with heartfelt emotion for the rest of his life."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"With Michelangelo back in Rome, just before his own demise in 1534 Pope Clement VII assigned the artist with a new painting for the Sistine Chapel, this time to paint a fresco of The Last Judgment, a painting depicting the last judgment of mankind, to adorn the main altar wall. In order to begin work on this mural, Michelangelo first had to lay waste to several paintings that were already in existence such as three by the veteran Italian artist Pietro Perugino.

"Perugino was the former instructor of Michelangelo’s rival Raphael, and there was certainly no love lost between the two of them. In fact, on one occasion Michelangelo is said to have delivered quite a withering insult to the old artist calling him a “goffo nell’arte” which roughly translated means “a bungler of art.” It is perhaps fitting that Michelangelo was casting such judgments onto his contemporaries even as he began work on a painting meant to tell the story of the greatest judgment of all.

"The painting depicts the Second Coming of Christ, as well as the supposed Last Judgement of humanity by God. This fresco depicts all of the souls of Earth either ascending to their heavenly reward or falling down to their dismal punishment. The painting is quite beautiful in its rendering, despite the heavy subject matter it is meant to illustrate. There is surprising grace and balance in this massive illustration, with over 300 characters of angels, saints, and sinners all in place and accounted for.

................................................................................................

"In all, this masterpiece would take Michelangelo some four years to finish, between 1536 and 1541. To put things in perspective, Michelangelo had finished his work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel some 25 years before. Michelangelo was 67 years old at the time. In the year following his start of this project, on September 1, 1535, Pope Clement’s successor, Pope Paul III, issued out an official decree designating Michelangelo as the “supreme architect, sculptor, and painter of our Apostolic Palace.”

"Michelangelo was pleased with the steady work that such a position gave him, but he was also greatly frustrated by how hands-on Pope Paul’s oversight could be. Whereas previous popes would give him an assignment and rarely check in on the artist’s progress, Pope Paul proved to be a disturbance to Michelangelo, checking in on him on a routine basis. Michelangelo himself described it at the time, “Even his Holiness annoys and wearies me. When at times he talks to me and asks me somewhat roughly why do I not come to see him, for I believe that I serve him better in not going when he asks me. Little needing me, when I wish to work for him in my house; and I tell him that as Michel Angelo, I serve him more thus than standing before him all day, as others do.”

"As a contract artist, Michelangelo faced the dilemma that many contractors face; his benefactor was greatly interested in his work, almost to a fault, to where Michelangelo felt so pestered by it that he could barely get any work done. The last time the eager, papal art patron barged in on the artist was one year prior to the completion of The Last Judgment in 1540, and it provides us a rather humorous account of what transpired. Pope Paul paid his impromptu visit with the Vatican’s Master of Ceremonies Biagio da Cesena at his side. Even though the Pope was greatly impressed with what he saw, da Cesena was apparently appalled by it. He took great offense to the fact that most of the painted figures were being presented completely naked.

................................................................................................

"Da Cesena expressed his disdain to Michelangelo, but rather than appeasing the frustrated critic, Michelangelo decided to make an example of him in the most comic way possible. He painted da Cesena himself right into the mural, presenting him as a demon guarding the gates of hell. Even though the being had horns and other clearly demonic features, the face was all da Cesena. Everyone that knew poor da Cesena couldn’t help but notice the likeness this demon had to the Master of Ceremonies, and as a result da Cesena was understandably upset. Upon complaining to Pope Paul, however, the Pope treated the whole thing as a joke, informing the priest that if only da Cesena had been placed in purgatory he would have ordered the depiction’s removal from the painting. But since Michelangelo had depicted da Cesena in the right place—at the gates of hell—there wasn’t much he could do about it.

"Michelangelo finished his work on the painting in 1541 and presented it to the general public for the first time on All Saints’ Eve—a date that most today would equate with today’s Halloween. The reception of the painting was mostly positive, but there was some consternation in regard to how Christ and Mother Mary were depicted. Just like Biagio da Cesena before him, a certain cardinal named Carafa took offense to the fact that Michelangelo had chosen to illustrate them in the nude and lobbied to have the offending images either covered up or removed.

"But perhaps the even more thought-provoking statement that Michelangelo managed to work into the tapestry was his supposed self-portrait. He painted—of all things—a depiction of his own flayed skin being held up by Saint Bartholomew, the martyr who is said to have met an equally dismal fate. Many believe that this was Michelangelo’s statement as to how he really felt during those troubling times he spent working for the papacy—one way or another he often felt as though he were being skinned alive."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"Michelangelo then immediately began work on what would become The Crucifixion of St. Peter. The subject matter of this painting involves the extra-biblical account of how Peter met his end—being crucified upside down by the Romans. In this painting, Michelangelo brilliantly takes care of the harsh reality Peter had been dealt, rendering an image that many others had found quite difficult to fathom—that of a man hanging from a crucifix upside down. It seems that Michelangelo’s studies of corpses and their anatomy gave him a much-needed edge in understanding exactly how the human body might present itself when subjected to such a condition. The Crucifixion of St. Peter was completed in 1550 and would be the last major painting the artist would render."

Funny, why isn't this crucifixion talked of more? 

Because it may affect people diluting the virulent antisemitic diatribe they've absorbed from church preaching it gor seventeen centuries, based in false propaganda? 

"As usual, Michelangelo’s patron died before the completion of a major project, this time with Pope Paul III passing away on November 10, 1549. With him would pass Michelangelo’s last great papal patron of the arts. If Michelangelo wished to continue his work he would have to find his funding elsewhere. Fortunately for Michelangelo, at this point in his life, his reputation preceded him, and there would be no shortage of wealthy lords and nobles willing to bankroll him to finish their projects. There could now be no doubt that his art would sustain him for the rest of his life."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"With most of his major accomplishments already behind him, the aged artist was able to take the time to reflect on his life and soak up the adulation and admiration that he had always craved. At the end of his life, most of his critics had either stopped criticizing, or had simply passed on out of this world. For the new generation of artists arising in his midst, Michelangelo was nothing short of a living legend.

"As the once frenetic energy of the aging artist slowed down, it was on February 12, 1564 that he put chisel to stone for the final time. On that day he busied himself perfecting his Rondanini Pietà. As the day grew shorter, he intended to reserve the remainder of his labor for the next day. But the next day was Sunday, and not wanting to disturb the Sabbath, Michelangelo put off the project for one more day, determining to get back to it on Monday. But when Monday came around, before he could get back to his sculpture, he suffered from a stroke. Michelangelo would never get the chance to finish his Rondanini Pietà, expiring just a few days later on February 18, 1564 at the age of 88."

"After he died everyone wanted a piece of Michelangelo—in many cases quite literally. As ghoulish as it may sound, it seems that immediately after his demise, there was a major argument as to who would get the artist’s body. The city of Rome was clamoring to keep him there as an adopted son, while his hometown of Florence was of course demanding that he be returned for proper burial on Florentine soil. Michelangelo himself, never forgetting his roots, had stated many times before his death that he would indeed like to be buried where the rest of his families remains had been gathered—in Florence.

"Rome was determined to keep Michelangelo’s body, however, with the reigning Pope Pius IV proclaiming his full intent of interring the great artist in St. Peter’s Basilica. As ridiculous as it sounds, in the end Michelangelo actually had to be snuck out of Rome in order to be brought back to Florence. After conniving a way to gain access, a group of his former compatriots engaged in a bit of sleight of hand with the artist’s corpse by sneaking it out with a wagon load of other material and labeling the load as merchandise. In this manner, Michelangelo Buonarroti was driven all the way back to Florence. His body was smuggled back into the town of his birth as if mortal remains were considered contraband by the prevailing authorities."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

" ... There can be no doubt that Michelangelo was indeed one of the greatest artists that ever lived. Although he was not known as the most socially adept of famed artisans, even in the midst of his reclusive nature he managed to touch the hearts of many. Although he had walked with royalty and held court with numerous popes, Michelangelo never forgot his roots. 

"In many ways, it could be said that the sense of rustic nobility that he had gleaned from his childhood adoptive family—those simple stone cutters in Settignano—stuck with him for the rest of his life. This honest austerity helped to guide his moral compass and keep any potential excesses in check. ... "

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Table of Contents 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Introduction 

Humble Beginnings 

Michelangelo Meets the Medicis 

Fist Fights and Dissections 

All Roads Lead to Rome 

Rivalry with Leonardo da Vinci 

The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel 

The Year of Atrocities 

Skinned Alive 

Michelangelo’s Final Works 

Last Days and Death 

Conclusion

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

REVIEW 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Introduction 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"The ingenious artist we know as Michelangelo lived during the Renaissance in Northern Italy, and you could say that he was indeed a renaissance man—he was a painter, sculptor, poet, and an engineer all rolled up into one. Even though it has been some 450 years since his passing, his legacy remains one of the strongest on record. If the burgeoning art student of today wishes to learn from the best, he takes his notes directly from Michelangelo. 

"He lived for his art, and despite the chaos of kings, popes, and the civil government around him, Michelangelo Buonarroti made sure that his works of artistic expression would withstand the scrutiny of time.

 ... "

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter 1. Humble Beginnings 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................ 

"“It is necessary to keep one’s compass in one’s eyes and not in the hand, for the hands execute, but the eye judges.” 

"—Michelangelo"

................................................................................................

"His full name was Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni. Like all Italians of that era, his long name was meant to signify his long lineage in the particular region from which he had sprung.

"Michelangelo arrived into this world in the early morning hours of March 6, 1475 in the small Italian village of Caprese. He came from a family of bankers, but in all irony, by the time of his birth his own family was nearly bankrupt. The bank had collapsed, and in order to keep the family afloat Michelangelo’s father, Ludovico di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni, took a government posting as a local podestà, which is an Italian term for a kind of chief administrator. Interestingly enough, Lodovico received this posting completely by chance; in fact, he had been awarded the position after his name had been pulled out of a bag. This random lottery was apparently how local authorities filled the position with eligible citizens. Michelangelo’s mom was a woman named Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena who claimed descent from a countess, Mathilde of Canossa. Before Michelangelo broke out into the art world later in life, this supposed link to the countess was the family’s one and only claim to fame.

................................................................................................

"Shortly after Michelangelo’s birth, he was sent to the care of a local wet nurse—a woman whose sole profession is to raise children, her own and those of others. This was a fairly solid tradition at the time, with most children Michelangelo’s age being reared away from home during the first few years of their life. The surrogate mother assigned to Michelangelo was the wife of a stone mason whose family lived in the town of Settignano near a farm owned by Michelangelo’s father. Michelangelo would later recall how much this early experience with a family of stone cutters affected his life with the humorous quip, “with my wet nurse’s milk, I sucked in the hammer and chisels I used for my statues.” It was supposedly these early roots that put a love for the excavation of stone and ultimately of the making of fine sculptures into young Michelangelo.

"Sadly, after these happy times with the stone masons, Michelangelo’s first taste of tragedy would come at the young and impressionable age of six, when his mother Francesca passed away after a long bout of sickness in 1481. It is said that Francesca was a young mother, perhaps only 18 years old when Michelangelo was born, making her around 24 years of age when she died.

................................................................................................

"Not long after her passing, in 1485, Ludovico decided to send Michelangelo off to grammar school in order to master the reading and writing of Italian script, and—more importantly for professional circles—to learn Latin. Michelangelo’s father meanwhile, as his son was sent to Florence, married his second wife, a woman named Lucrezia Ubaldini. Some would later contend that it was for this reason that Michelangelo was pushed out the door—in order to better facilitate the entrance of his stepmother Lucrezia.

"At any rate, the ambitious young Michelangelo was more than ready to strike it out on his own. He was only around ten years old when he began his formal education, but he was eager to learn. His education would take a detour however when he met a young artist named Francesco Granacci who would introduce him to a world outside of Italian and Latin grammar. Granacci had already obtained for himself an apprenticeship at the local art studio of the famed Florentine artisans, the two brothers Domenico and Davide Ghirlandaio.

................................................................................................

"The Ghirlandaio studio was a successful commercial enterprise, and was in high demand at the time, regularly producing a high volume of portraits and frescos for eager buyers. Michelangelo was greatly intrigued by the artists that he encountered at the art studio and began to spend more and more time observing them at work. But when his father received word of Michelangelo’s new interest, he was distraught, believing his son to be squandering his finite resources on art rather than studying his schoolwork.

"According to Michelangelo’s later recollection, his family was so upset about his growing pastime in art that he even suffered physical violence on occasion because of it. It has been alleged that his father and even some of his uncles beat him up over his love of art. Luckily Michelangelo’s cash-strapped father began to sing a different tune when he realized just how much of a money maker the Ghirlandaio studio could be. When he received word that Michelangelo would be the recipient of a regular salary of 24 gold florins for the three years of his internship, he finally gave his consent.

"Soon Michelangelo’s talent would prove itself in gold, setting up a lifelong pattern of Michelangelo being the number one bread winning Buonarroti. It was this meagerness at home that gave Michelangelo the determination to succeed and to help support his family."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................ 

Chapter 2. Michelangelo Meets the Medicis 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"Although 13-year-old Michelangelo was at first more than eager to get his feet wet as an artist, he would later shake his head in disdain when he thought of the commercialized art studio for which he worked. He toiled in a veritable sweatshop of paint, in which he created cheesy mementos for tourists, monotonous frescos for monasteries, and unfulfilling portraits of patrons. It was an assembly line of artwork in which high volume was desired over high quality. Nevertheless, Michelangelo was a dutiful apprentice for the next couple of years that he spent laboring away at the Ghirlandaio studio.

"At the age of 15, when his years of indentured service were drawing to a close, Michelangelo finally found his exit from the monotony of the studio. Florence at this time was a bustling city ruled by an even more bustling leader, Lorenzo the Magnificent, or as he was otherwise known, Lorenzo de’ Medici. Lorenzo was the ruling head in charge of Florence and the family from which he hailed, the Medicis. He was an avid patron of the arts and would later be known to have essentially helped fund the Italian Renaissance. Besides his political career, Lorenzo himself was artistically inclined, and so considered many of the artists he backed as his own peers.

................................................................................................

"Just as Michelangelo’s apprenticeship with the Ghirlandaio brothers was coming to an end, he was encouraged to begin to work at Lorenzo’s personal sculpture garden. This was a special project of Lorenzo’s in which he encouraged local artists of all stripes to volunteer their time creating sculptures for a sprawling garden near the Medici Palace. This was meant to provide local talent with a chance to demonstrate their ability while also giving the avid art patron Lorenzo a chance to pick out the best artists from the batch.

"As Michelangelo’s friend and later biographer Ascanio Condivi would later describe this seminal event, Michelangelo had apparently been working on the duplication of an old stone sculpture of the head of a faun—a mythical creature from ancient Roman times that was represented as being half goat, half man. As Condivi explains, the original sculpture was adorned “with a long beard and laughing countenance, though the mouth, on account of its antiquity, could hardly be recognised for what it was.” So, Michelangelo in his duplication of the piece had to rely heavily on his imagination to create a functional mouth for his version of the sculpture.

"Shortly after Michelangelo finished up his interpretation of the faun head sculpture, Lorenzo happened to stop by for a visit. Condivi states that Lorenzo “found the boy engaged in polishing the head and, approaching quite near, he was much amazed, considering first the excellence and then the boy’s age.” But although he was impressed by the work, he found a means for employing good-natured ridicule as well. Examining the sculpture, Lorenzo ruefully remarked, “Oh you have made this Faun old and left him all his teeth. Don’t you know that old men of that age are always missing a few?” After this good-natured little jab, Lorenzo offered to take the youth to live in his palace as a full-time work study. Michelangelo must have been jumping for joy at such a prospect.

................................................................................................

"The whole reason for participating at Lorenzo’s garden was to gain recognition, and now he was being handpicked by Lorenzo himself. Michelangelo’s father Lodovico was not quite so thrilled however. Although he had already consented for his son to make a living as an artist at the Ghirlandaio studio, he believed that the raucous and libertine atmosphere that the Medicis were known for would be a bad influence on his son. Nevertheless, Lorenzo insisted on meeting Lodovico in person to discuss the matter further.

"If Lorenzo the Magnificent was banking on being able to persuade Michelangelo’s father with the power of his personality, he wasn’t disappointed; overawed and impressed with Lorenzo’s wealth, power, and charm, Lodovico felt he had no choice but to accept. It is said that Lodovico then swore allegiance to Lorenzo, telling him, “not only Michelangelo, but all of us, with our lives and all our best faculties, are at the service of your Magnificence.” Lodovico, still struggling to find a form of steady employment, also asked Lorenzo to grant him a posting at the local customs house as a reward for his cooperation. It is said that upon hearing this, Lorenzo simply smiled, put his hand on Lodovico’s shoulder and told him, “[This is why] you will always be poor!” Lorenzo, who wielded all power and influence in Florence, was expecting Lodovico to ask for something much bigger than a measly post at a customs office. His father’s performance before Lorenzo the Magnificent may have been somewhat lacking, but nevertheless, Michelangelo had made his debut."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................ 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter 3. Fist Fights and Dissections 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"“Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” 

"—Michelangelo"

................................................................................................

"It is not entirely clear how much is accurate in Michelangelo’s recollection of his time spent at the Medici mansion. He always maintained that Lorenzo had always treated him well, providing him with a “good room in his own house with all that he needed, treating him like a son, with a seat at his table.” It is said that in many ways, Lorenzo was the father figure that Michelangelo had always desired. It is certainly not hard to see why. Because while Michelangelo would always have the memories of his father beating him within an inch of his life simply for wishing to be an artist, Lorenzo was the mentor who was determined to make Michelangelo’s dreams a reality.

"In all, Michelangelo would spend two years at the Medici Palace, but within those finite years ... "

Since when isn't human life finite? 

It's obvious that the author is illiterate enough to confuse "finite" with short duration. 

" ... he would condense enough knowledge to last him a lifetime. His main instructor was the acclaimed artist Angelo Ambrogini, commonly known as Poliziano. It was under his tutelage that Michelangelo created his epic Battle of the Centaurs that depicted a classic mythological scene of men and half men, half beast creatures battling it out. This work is said to have been an allegory of humanity overcoming his lesser, beast-like nature. This sort of symbolism was always encouraged by both Poliziano and Lorenzo, who often instructed his protégés to view artwork as coming from the mind rather than the hands.

"As well as Michelangelo was getting along with his new benefactors, his esteemed position with them did not always sit so well with his artistic peers. This tension famously manifested itself when fellow student and sculptor Pietro Torrigiano became so frustrated with Michelangelo’s success that he punched him in the face. Michelangelo apparently had the bad habit of looking over the shoulders of his fellow art students while they were working and would frequently would give them unsolicited critiques and advice. In the case of Pietro Torrigiano, Michelangelo had struck a nerve when he offered his criticism, and Torrigiano promptly slammed his fist into Michelangelo’s nose. Those who were in attendance were stunned to hear the cracking of cartilage and bone before Michelangelo dropped to the ground, knocked out cold.

................................................................................................

"Some could slough this off as mere teenage angst playing itself out—but that teenage angst would leave Michelangelo permanently disfigured. He would have a flattened and slightly crooked nose for the rest of his life thanks to the blow Torrigiano had dealt him. The repercussions for Torrigiano were severe as well. Knowing that Michelangelo was one of Lorenzo’s favorite students, Torrigiano realized that his wrath wouldn’t be far behind. Fearing what punishment might lay in store for him for his actions, he abandoned his studies and fled the city, placing himself in self-imposed exile.

"Torrigiano wouldn’t return to Florence until several decades later after Lorenzo had already passed on—his fear of “the Magnificent” was apparently that strong. Lorenzo, who had been suffering from terrible bouts of gout and several other ailments, would perish shortly after Torrigiano’s departure, dying in 1492 at the age of 43. Although his 20-year-old son Piero immediately took over the Medici Palace, without Lorenzo Michelangelo no longer found it to be a suitable abode and so journeyed back to the home of his father, Lodovico.

................................................................................................

"With his funds drying up and his previously promising career seeming to be uncertain, these were tough times for Michelangelo. Even so, he attempted to rally his artistic ambition by purchasing a cheap slab of marble and embarking on a new project. He ended up carving a statue of the Greek demigod Hercules. Even though most of his contemporaries were devout Christians, there were still some who desired interpretations of classic figures of Rome’s pagan past. It could be said that there was a strong sense of uncertainty in many of his art patron’s tastes. In the midst of this ideological indecision, some would even commission works of these other gods only to condemn and denounce those very works years later. This was certainly the case for one of Michelangelo’s young contemporaries, an artist named Sandro Botticelli.

"Just like Michelangelo, Botticelli had been on the payroll of Lorenzo de’ Medici. For Lorenzo, Botticelli had created such pagan works as the Primavera and The Birth of Venus with great zeal. But shortly after Lorenzo’s demise, Botticelli destroyed many such similar works at the behest of a popular friar and preacher named Girolamo Savonarola, who held public bonfires to burn such heretically deemed works of art.

"Shortly after he sold off his Hercules statue, Michelangelo too would—albeit much less dramatically—switch gears and turn toward the Christian world for his artistic inspiration as well. His next major project was one that had been commissioned by Niccolò Bichiellini, the church prior of Santo Spirito in Florence. Michelangelo was to create a replica of Christ’s cross, which would be placed over the altar of the church. In exchange for his work, Niccolò granted Michelangelo access to the church’s adjoining hospital, granting him the privilege of being able to carry out the dissection of the corpses that were housed there. This probably would seem like a strange privilege to be granted for most of us, but for Michelangelo it was a rare chance to study human anatomy up close and personal. Although Michelangelo would later admit that the gruesomeness of the task before him made holding his lunch rather difficult, it gave him an incredible grasp of the human form that few could ever match."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter 4. All Roads Lead to Rome 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"“For those who feel it, nothing makes the soul so religious and pure as the endeavor to create something perfect; for God is perfection, and whoever strives after it, is striving after perfection, and whoever strives after it, is striving after something divine. True painting is only the image of the perfection of God, a shadow of the pencil with which he paints, a melody, a striving after harmony.” 

"—Michelangelo"

................................................................................................

"It wasn’t long after Lorenzo’s demise that his son and successor Piero de’ Medici began to lose hold of the reins of power. As his authority over the happenings of Florence began to slip, the populist preacher Girolamo Savonarola’s power and prestige grew. By 1494, Savonarola was whipping Florence’s faithful into an antagonistic frenzy against what he proclaimed to be the decadence of Florentine society.

"Michelangelo himself later claimed to have been moved by the religious zealot’s charismatic tirades, while at the same time fearing his narrow-minded worldview. Knowing that social chaos couldn’t be far behind, Michelangelo quietly left Florence in early October seeking calmer pastures in which to wait out the unrest. Michelangelo’s prescience proved to be well placed when shortly thereafter French troops invaded nearby Tuscany and soon threatened Florence as well.

................................................................................................

"It is said that the inexperienced new leader Piero choked under this sudden pressure and instead of standing up to the aggression immediately caved to the enemy’s demands. Taking advantage of Piero’s apparent weakness, the nearby subject city of Pisa took the opportunity to declare its independence from Florence. As a result of these setbacks, Florence itself began to rebel against Piero openly, and when he entered the city on November 9, he was nearly seized by the maddened populace, forcing Piero to run for his life.

"This would be yet another drastic reversal of fortune for Michelangelo since any association with Piero was now considered to be anathema. So, knowing better than to return to Florence, Michelangelo traveled to Bologna. Here he attempted to set up shop, but after a local artisan leveled accusations at him of thieving the intellectual property of others artists, Michelangelo found himself run out of town. This artisan had even threatened to beat him if he didn’t leave Bologna immediately. It seems rather incredible that Michelangelo had been so badly treated by this man, but it just goes to show you how precarious his social standing was at this point in his life. Michelangelo ultimately wouldn’t attempt to return to Florence until the following year. With the ouster of the Medicis, the power structure of the city-state was now made up of a Great Council of some 3,000 appointed citizens. But the true leader of this mini republic was the charismatic Christian cleric Girolamo Savonarola.

................................................................................................

"Nevertheless, there was a small remnant of the Medici family that had managed to hang on to some semblance of power. One of these familial survivors, a man named Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de’ Medici, began to partner with Michelangelo for the furtherance of new art projects. Lorenzo hired Michelangelo to create two specific works of art. Drawing once again on the contradictory tastes of the Medicis, Lorenzo commissioned Michelangelo to sculpt a statue of John the Baptist, as well as a sleeping Cupid. Although often confused in modern times for a type of angel, the Cupid was a strictly pagan entity, sometimes referred to as Eros or the god of love.

"After Michelangelo finished his work on the latter, he entered into further controversy—this time not so much for the pagan origins of his piece but for the fact that he and Lorenzo attempted to engage in a kind of fraud with the finished product. Lorenzo allegedly wanted to sell the piece at a higher price by dressing up Michelangelo’s newly christened Cupid as an ancient artifact. Lorenzo is said to have advised Michelangelo, “If you can manage to make it look as if it had been buried under the Earth I will forward it to Rome.” In Rome the Cupid would be sold as a priceless antique, rather than a newly minted sculpture. The fake antique managed to bring in the hefty sum of 200 ducats for its deception, being purchased by a certain Cardinal Raffaele Riario."

One think this might have taught them that hype about antique is stupid, but no! 

................................................................................................

"But it wasn’t long before the fraud was found out. Many contend that Michelangelo was banking on the discovery of his fakery all along since it would be a means of advertising his expertise. In other words, if he could so perfectly duplicate such detailed classic art to the extent of even confounding Rome’s best antique dealers, he would be known as an artist of tremendous ability. If this was indeed Michelangelo’s intention, he would seem to have achieved his goal because the immediate response to the fake Cupid was to have Michelangelo sent to Rome to create even more pieces of artwork just like it. 

"Michelangelo, now 21 years old, left for the old metropolis of Rome at the request of Cardinal Raffaele Riario in the summer of 1496."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter 5. Rivalry with Leonardo da Vinci 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"“I was never the kind of painter or sculptor who kept a shop.” 

"—Michelangelo"

................................................................................................

"The ambitious young artist Michelangelo Buonarroti made his way to the city of Rome on June 25, 1496. Rome of that era—with plenty of rampant corruption and decadence—was often held in equal measures of esteem and contempt. All of these veins of Roman life ran in simultaneous succession, even while the city desperately attempted to reclaim the glory of the past. But for Michelangelo, Rome, flaws and all, held the singular promise of maximum exposure for his art and the possibility of being hired by the greatest patron of the arts of his day—the Pope.

"Michelangelo knew all too well that the man who held the papacy was perhaps the only person with enough resources to match his own ambition. But upon his arrival, his invitation to the Vatican would have to wait. His initial living quarters would be the much more modest, still-unfinished home of Cardinal Raffaele Riario. At this time, Michelangelo was coming of age, and as such he was seeking to make a name for himself. In order to do so he needed big projects that would leave a lasting impression.

................................................................................................

"The opportunity would finally come to him in November of 1497 when the French ambassador to the Vatican, Cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas, hired Michelangelo to work on what would be called Michelangelo’s Pietà, a touching scene illustrating Mary mourning her son Jesus Christ. For this art project, Michelangelo would be paid the large sum of 450 ducats, more than enough to keep him—as well as the family he was supporting back in Florence—afloat for quite some time.

"The situation back in Florence meanwhile, had become turbulent once again with the arrest of Girolamo Savonarola, the charismatic preacher who had been the acting head of the city-state since the Medicis had been deposed. Savonarola had been taken into custody on April 8, 1498, and after being subjected to weeks of severe torture, he was coerced into confessing that he was a false prophet merely seeking “worldly ambition.” After giving his confession, Savonarola was promptly executed by hanging and then burned in the public square, so that all would see that the end of the preacher’s stewardship had arrived."

Not burnt at stake, then? 

When did church begin that? 

................................................................................................

"In the aftermath of Savonarola’s demise, the affluent class of Florentine nobility attempted to fill the ensuing vacuum, but it was of no use, and Florence began to be seen as a ship without a captain at its helm. It was in this moment of vulnerability that ongoing skirmishes with the neighboring city-state of Pisa began to heat up into an all-out war. In the midst of these dire straits, the city leadership sought a morale booster for the populace of Florence. A new art project was proposed depicting the famous slayer of giants, the biblical King David. The narrative of the poor shepherd boy—future king—defeating the giant Goliath seemed to be the perfect symbol for the uneasy citizenry of Florence to rally behind.

"According to Michelangelo’s friend and original biographer Giorgio Vasari, Michelangelo had first heard about the project by word of mouth, stating that, “From Florence, some of his friends urged him to return so that he might be awarded the carving of the marble that had lain ruined in the yard of the Opera del Duomo, which Gonfaloniere Piero Soderini then had in mind to give to the other famed Renaissance artist, Leonardo da Vinci.”"

Electrifying thought - how would David have looked if it were carved by Leonardo da Vinci, the superior artist and philosopher, and more? 

................................................................................................

"It was apparently the mention of his older rival Leonardo da Vinci that piqued Michelangelo’s interest more than anything else. Not wanting to be outdone by an artist that he considered only a part-time sculptor since Leonardo was primarily a painter, Michelangelo decided to seek out the project for himself. Thanks to his recent success with the Pietà in Rome, Michelangelo could return to Florence fully confident in his work and with plenty of resources at his disposal.

"With his acclaim preceding him, it wasn’t long before he was awarded the contract. The words of this famous agreement are still legible, reading in part, “Michelangelo began to work and carve the said giant on 13 September, 1501, a Monday; although previously, on the 9th, he had given it one or two blows with his hammer, to strike off a certain [nodule] that it had on its breast. But on the said day, that is the 13th, he began to work with determination and strength.”

................................................................................................

"From here on out Michelangelo worked with frantic speed and had already made considerable inroads toward completion of the project by February of 1502; he was even granted a hefty advance of 400 gold florins for his hard work. By early 1504 the work was nearly complete, and by this time Michelangelo’s financiers had finally become anxious enough to request a preview of the statue. According to Vasari, a leading Florentine official known as a gonfaloniere by the name of Piero Soderini was particularly interested in a sneak peek.

"As Vasari describes it, “It happened at this time that Piero Soderini, having seen it in place, was well pleased with it, but said to Michelangelo, at a moment when he was retouching it in certain parts, that it seemed to him that the nose of the figure was too thick. In order to satisfy him [Michelangelo] climbed upon the staging, which was against the shoulders, and quickly took up a chisel in his left hand, with a little of marble dust that lay upon the planks of the staging, and then, beginning to strike lightly with the chisel, [and he] let fall the dust little by little, not changing the nose a whit from what it was before.”

................................................................................................

"In other words, Michelangelo had simply knocked a bunch of dust down without changing the structure of the statue’s nose in the slightest. Vasari claims that Michelangelo then directed the official, “Look at it now.” According to Vasari, Soderini was then immensely relieved and satisfied at this apparent sleight of hand on Michelangelo’s part and promptly replied, “I like it better—you have given it life” Michelangelo was quite used to pleasing his anxious patrons in such fashion. He knew that these men of authority were used to relieving the worry that flitted across their minds by issuing commands to those under their charge. This helped ease their anxiety by allowing them to feel that they were in control of the situation. 

"Michelangelo as an artist, on the other hand, felt he knew best when it came to his work and wasn’t about to let others tell him what to do. But he also knew how the mere act of appearing to appease his benefactors could go a long way in relieving their concern. Michelangelo finished the work soon after this bit of professional chicanery, and the statue of David became one of the greatest accomplishments of his career."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter 6. The Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"Michelangelo made his return back to Rome in 1505 at the express invitation of the then reigning pontiff, Pope Julius II, who hired him to work on a project for his own tomb. Pope Julius was a very ambitious man, and it is said that no sooner than the papal miter was placed on his head, he began to think of his legacy. And in terms of popes, a lasting legacy usually meant having an impressive tomb. Initially the project entailed the construction of 40 statues and was slated to be completed in five years’ time. In reality, Michelangelo would work on the Pope’s tomb for nearly 40 years.

"He would temporarily deviate from this project for other various side projects, one of which would be arguably his most famous masterpiece of all, the extravagant mural painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo completed this epic piece of illustrated biblical history in about four years’ time, from 1508 to 1512.

"According to one of Michelangelo’s early biographers, Ascanio Condivi, it was initially at the conniving of an architect and alleged foe by the name of Bramante that Michelangelo was awarded this monumental task. According to this theory, Bramante who knew Michelangelo primarily for his work as a sculptor believed that such a feat as painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel would be too overwhelming and Michelangelo would be doomed to failure in the task. It is said that it was out of his capricious wish for Michelangelo to fail that he persuaded the Pope to hand the job over to Michelangelo.

"At the time Michelangelo was initially hired on to paint the Twelve Apostles on the triangular vaultings of the ceiling, as well as the creation of a simple decoration on the center of the ceiling. Michelangelo of course would eventually convince the Pope to allow him to greatly expand upon these initial designs, proposing an entire illustrative representation of the Bible from creation, the fall, to salvation through Christ, a work that would ultimately span over 500 square feet with over 300 characters painted.

................................................................................................

"Michelangelo’s work on the ceiling began in the spring of 1508. He made a diary entry for that day, which stated in part, “I record how today, the tenth of May in 1508, I Michelangelo, sculptor, received from His Holiness, our Lord Pope Julius II, 500 ducats—for the purpose of painting the ceiling of the chapel of Pope Sixtus, which I shall begin working on today under the conditions and according to the agreements that appear in a document made by monsignor Remolo di Pavia and signed by me.”

"Shortly after making this entry, Michelangelo then began the exhaustive work required to prepare for the actual painting of the ceiling. This involved the installation of scaffolding and preparation of the ceiling surface by his assistants. These efforts were apparently much to the chagrin of the nearby priests attempting to hold service since the dust and noise interfered with prayers and the reading of the liturgy.

................................................................................................

"Finally, by early October Michelangelo began the laborious task of painting the ceiling. Acknowledging the hard work ahead of him, he famously penned a rueful sonnet to commemorate the back-breaking project at hand. The sonnet read in part, “I’ve already got myself a goitre from this hardship such as the water gives the cats in Lombardy. My belly is pushed by force underneath my chin. My beard toward Heaven. I feel the back of my skull upon my neck. I’m getting a harpy’s breast. My brush, always dripping down above my face, makes it a splendid floor.” Thus far in the sonnet Michelangelo had already painted quite an imaginary picture of himself contorted in every direction as he painted the ceiling of the Cristine Chapel."

" ... After laying out all the reasons why the work was so hard, he then ends his litany of complaints by reminding us that Michelangelo, the sculptor, is not a painter after all.

"Even though in many ways Michelangelo did not relish the switch from his preferred medium of artistry, he did his best to fulfill the often-mercurial wishes of his papal benefactor. He and his assistants began their work painting from the eastern side of the ceiling, steadily heading in a westward direction. Working at a frenetic pace, Michelangelo managed to cover half of the ceiling by July of 1510. Although painting wasn’t his medium of choice, he was by now really getting into the swing of things and felt confident enough that he could fulfill the project on a grand scale.

................................................................................................

"But even as Michelangelo was gaining more confidence in his painting, the political situation in Rome was getting more precarious with relations between the Pope and his former French allies stationed in the Alps deteriorating. The French had previously aided the Pope in military maneuvers against the aggressive Venetians back in 1509 but were now moving aggressively toward Rome itself. As such, Pope Julius II, a man not unaccustomed to warfare, led a fully equipped army to meet the French threat head-on.

"While the Pope was away battling the French, Michelangelo was battling his own misgivings about just how to proceed with his new masterpiece. He was noted to have complained at the time, “The Pope has gone away and has left me no instructions, so that I find myself without any money and do not know what I ought to do.” As his frustration grew to intolerable levels, Michelangelo took it upon himself to track down Pope Julius and complain to him in person. He found him staying at a papal residence in Bologna, Italy, to oversee the conflict. Here Michelangelo witnessed the Pope’s duress, seeing him under the sway of severe anxiety as a consequence of the many failures on the field against the French.

"But nevertheless, even this shaken pontiff was ready to reassure Michelangelo that all would still go as planned. Pope Julius promptly informed him that all funding for the Sistine Chapel would go ahead just as he had intended. Furthermore, when the artist returned to Rome, he found an additional 500 ducats waiting for him. Michelangelo also found a special deed which gave him express permission to live in luxurious lodgings at the Piazza Rusticucci completely free of charge. No matter what happened, Pope Julius had made it abundantly clear to Michelangelo that no matter how far the French pushed back his beleaguered troops, the painting of the Sistine Chapel would continue to go forward."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................ 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter 7. The Year of Atrocities 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................ 

"Michelangelo finished up his work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel towards the end of 1512. The Pope was expressly pleased with the work, but he didn’t have very long to enjoy it. Pope Julius II passed away in early 1513, just ten days after presiding over the official, public unveiling of the Sistine Chapel. Feeling weak, he went to bed early, suffering from a high fever. The Pope would remain relegated to his sick bed until finally passing on February 21, 1513 at the age of 69.

"Pope Julius II was replaced by Pope Leo X, who just so happened to be the surviving son of Michelangelo’s old backer, Lorenzo de’ Medici. After taking the reins of papal power on March 11, 1513, this new Pope didn’t waste much time putting Michelangelo to work, expanding his duty in finishing Julius’ tomb. Not long after this, in 1516, Pope Leo assigned him a new task—that of rebuilding the fading exterior of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence.

"Michelangelo spent the next few years composing drafts and constructing models in anticipation of the project. But before he even acquisitioned any new stone from the rock quarry, the project was abandoned. The new Pope apparently couldn’t gather the funds necessary to carry it out to fruition, so the scheme was shut down. It wasn’t until 1520 that the Pope would rehire Michelangelo for another great work on a family funerary chapel in the Basilica of San Lorenzo.

................................................................................................

"It seems that much of Michelangelo’s employ during this period was indeed in the renovation of tombs. He constructed one of his greatest sculptures, the Moses, in the ongoing tomb construction project for Julius, and when it came to the Medici Chapel as it were later called, commissioned by Pope Leo, he made sure he went all out here as well. This was especially the case when it came to the tombs of Medicis who had already passed on, as was most especially evident in the tomb he constructed for Lorenzo the Magnificent himself. But one of the main attractions of this work has always been Michelangelo’s Medici Madonna. This piece shows a thoughtful and austere Virgin Mary, holding a baby Jesus who clings to her closely.

"Pope Leo X would die before Michelangelo finished his work on the Medici Chapel, passing away in December of 1521 at just 45 years of age. His immediate successor was Adrian VI. Adrien’s reign as pope would prove to be even more brief, however, lasting only from January 9, 1522 to September 14, 1523. Adrian VI was then succeeded by another Medici, the late Leo’s cousin Giulio, who became Pope Clement VII. Clement assigned Michelangelo with the job of renovating the inside of the Laurentian Library of San Lorenzo’s Church in 1524.

................................................................................................

"The political situation of Europe meanwhile, had once again been cast into doubt. Pope Clement from the very beginning of his papacy found himself torn between the two major powers of Europe. There had been an ongoing conflict between the Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire, and King Francis of France. The conglomerate of states known as the Holy Roman Empire was based out of Central Europe but by the early 1500s laid claim to territories in Spain and Northern Italy. France, on the other hand, was a resurgent power in its own right, and under the auspices of King Francis, the French were ever seeking to expand their dominion.

"Caught in the middle of this maelstrom, Pope Clement was forced to carry out what can only be described as a duplicitous form of foreign policy in which he had to play the two great powers against each other. Indeed, Machiavelli himself could have taken pride in Pope Clement’s finagling—as he signed deals with one side, only to immediately switch to the other when conditions proved more favorable to do so. This contentious situation Pope Clement found himself in finally reached a head on May 5, 1527 when troops from the Holy Roman Imperial Army encircled and besieged Rome itself. It seems rather ironic that a group of countries calling themselves the Holy Roman Empire would lay siege to Rome, but this was just the strange and often contradictory climate of the day.

"Known as the year full of atrocities, it is said that as soon as the imperial soldiers breached Rome’s fortifications slaughter began to be carried out against the city populace. The Pope himself was forced to hole up in the ancient Roman fortress of Castel Sant’Angelo, leaving a serious vacuum in leadership during the crisis. The disastrous situation was only averted when the Pope and Holy Roman Emperor Charles V managed to broker a truce after Pope Clement had surrendered.

................................................................................................

"Shortly after this deal was brokered, Michelangelo was given a new assignment. He was commissioned to build a statue of the ancient mythological figure of Hercules, with the intention of having this mythic representation of might standing beside the sculpture of the biblical David that Michelangelo had already built. But the Pope soon changed his mind, and these plans were scrapped at the last minute, and the job was awarded to another local sculptor named Baccio Bandinelli. This would have been a major insult to Michelangelo in years past, but considering all of the turmoil and near devastation that Michelangelo and practically all of Italy had undergone in the past few war-torn years, he seemed to take the news in stride.

"The news that he most certainly did not take in stride, however, was word of his father’s passing in 1531. Lodovico was 87 years of age and not expected to live much longer, but the loss was upsetting for Michelangelo all the same. He had also lost one of his four brothers just a few years prior. He penned a sad stanza to commemorate the event that read in part, “I still thought I’d relieve the weight of woe through tears and sobbing, or at least in part. But fate, abounding, filled to overflow grief’s source and stream, now welling unconfined with another death—no worst pain here below! The death—your own, dear father.” 

"Despite past misunderstandings and intermittent bickering, Michelangelo cared deeply for his father and would always remember him with heartfelt emotion for the rest of his life."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................ 

Chapter 8. Skinned Alive 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"With Michelangelo back in Rome, just before his own demise in 1534 Pope Clement VII assigned the artist with a new painting for the Sistine Chapel, this time to paint a fresco of The Last Judgment, a painting depicting the last judgment of mankind, to adorn the main altar wall. In order to begin work on this mural, Michelangelo first had to lay waste to several paintings that were already in existence such as three by the veteran Italian artist Pietro Perugino.

"Perugino was the former instructor of Michelangelo’s rival Raphael, and there was certainly no love lost between the two of them. In fact, on one occasion Michelangelo is said to have delivered quite a withering insult to the old artist calling him a “goffo nell’arte” which roughly translated means “a bungler of art.” It is perhaps fitting that Michelangelo was casting such judgments onto his contemporaries even as he began work on a painting meant to tell the story of the greatest judgment of all.

"The painting depicts the Second Coming of Christ, as well as the supposed Last Judgement of humanity by God. This fresco depicts all of the souls of Earth either ascending to their heavenly reward or falling down to their dismal punishment. The painting is quite beautiful in its rendering, despite the heavy subject matter it is meant to illustrate. There is surprising grace and balance in this massive illustration, with over 300 characters of angels, saints, and sinners all in place and accounted for.

................................................................................................

"In all, this masterpiece would take Michelangelo some four years to finish, between 1536 and 1541. To put things in perspective, Michelangelo had finished his work on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel some 25 years before. Michelangelo was 67 years old at the time. In the year following his start of this project, on September 1, 1535, Pope Clement’s successor, Pope Paul III, issued out an official decree designating Michelangelo as the “supreme architect, sculptor, and painter of our Apostolic Palace.”

"Michelangelo was pleased with the steady work that such a position gave him, but he was also greatly frustrated by how hands-on Pope Paul’s oversight could be. Whereas previous popes would give him an assignment and rarely check in on the artist’s progress, Pope Paul proved to be a disturbance to Michelangelo, checking in on him on a routine basis. Michelangelo himself described it at the time, “Even his Holiness annoys and wearies me. When at times he talks to me and asks me somewhat roughly why do I not come to see him, for I believe that I serve him better in not going when he asks me. Little needing me, when I wish to work for him in my house; and I tell him that as Michel Angelo, I serve him more thus than standing before him all day, as others do.”

"As a contract artist, Michelangelo faced the dilemma that many contractors face; his benefactor was greatly interested in his work, almost to a fault, to where Michelangelo felt so pestered by it that he could barely get any work done. The last time the eager, papal art patron barged in on the artist was one year prior to the completion of The Last Judgment in 1540, and it provides us a rather humorous account of what transpired. Pope Paul paid his impromptu visit with the Vatican’s Master of Ceremonies Biagio da Cesena at his side. Even though the Pope was greatly impressed with what he saw, da Cesena was apparently appalled by it. He took great offense to the fact that most of the painted figures were being presented completely naked.

................................................................................................

"Da Cesena expressed his disdain to Michelangelo, but rather than appeasing the frustrated critic, Michelangelo decided to make an example of him in the most comic way possible. He painted da Cesena himself right into the mural, presenting him as a demon guarding the gates of hell. Even though the being had horns and other clearly demonic features, the face was all da Cesena. Everyone that knew poor da Cesena couldn’t help but notice the likeness this demon had to the Master of Ceremonies, and as a result da Cesena was understandably upset. Upon complaining to Pope Paul, however, the Pope treated the whole thing as a joke, informing the priest that if only da Cesena had been placed in purgatory he would have ordered the depiction’s removal from the painting. But since Michelangelo had depicted da Cesena in the right place—at the gates of hell—there wasn’t much he could do about it.

"Michelangelo finished his work on the painting in 1541 and presented it to the general public for the first time on All Saints’ Eve—a date that most today would equate with today’s Halloween. The reception of the painting was mostly positive, but there was some consternation in regard to how Christ and Mother Mary were depicted. Just like Biagio da Cesena before him, a certain cardinal named Carafa took offense to the fact that Michelangelo had chosen to illustrate them in the nude and lobbied to have the offending images either covered up or removed.

"But perhaps the even more thought-provoking statement that Michelangelo managed to work into the tapestry was his supposed self-portrait. He painted—of all things—a depiction of his own flayed skin being held up by Saint Bartholomew, the martyr who is said to have met an equally dismal fate. Many believe that this was Michelangelo’s statement as to how he really felt during those troubling times he spent working for the papacy—one way or another he often felt as though he were being skinned alive."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter 9. Michelangelo’s Final Works 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"After finishing his final masterpiece at the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo became more and more involved with engineering and architecture. He was commissioned to create new innovations at Capitoline Hill, for example, in which he erected a bronze statue of Marcus Aurelius. Marcus Aurelius was an ancient Roman emperor and stoic philosopher. And perhaps he just as well as any other was able to encapsulate the struggle that was occurring in the Rome of Michelangelo’s day. Aurelius was that rare breed of a scholar and statesmen. Just like many in Michelangelo’s own time, he often found himself torn between his conscience and the will to conform to others.

"As for Michelangelo himself, it was soon into his role as an architect that Michelangelo received his next major assignment—painting two vast murals in St. Peter’s Basilica. One mural was to depict the martyrdom of St. Peter and the other was to illustrate the St. Paul’s conversion to Christianity. In his rendering of The Conversion of Saul, this scene from the Bible is dynamically demonstrated, with Jesus being shown emerging from the clouds striking Saul blind with a blast of light. Michelangelo, the master of dramatic expression, has horses and human beings scattering as Saul—soon to be the converted Apostle Paul—falls to the ground. This dramatic painting was finished in 1545.

................................................................................................

"Michelangelo then immediately began work on what would become The Crucifixion of St. Peter. The subject matter of this painting involves the extra-biblical account of how Peter met his end—being crucified upside down by the Romans. In this painting, Michelangelo brilliantly takes care of the harsh reality Peter had been dealt, rendering an image that many others had found quite difficult to fathom—that of a man hanging from a crucifix upside down. It seems that Michelangelo’s studies of corpses and their anatomy gave him a much-needed edge in understanding exactly how the human body might present itself when subjected to such a condition. The Crucifixion of St. Peter was completed in 1550 and would be the last major painting the artist would render."

Funny, why isn't this crucifixion talked of more? 

Because it may affect people diluting the virulent antisemitic diatribe they've absorbed from church preaching it gor seventeen centuries, based in false propaganda? 

"As usual, Michelangelo’s patron died before the completion of a major project, this time with Pope Paul III passing away on November 10, 1549. With him would pass Michelangelo’s last great papal patron of the arts. If Michelangelo wished to continue his work he would have to find his funding elsewhere. Fortunately for Michelangelo, at this point in his life, his reputation preceded him, and there would be no shortage of wealthy lords and nobles willing to bankroll him to finish their projects. There could now be no doubt that his art would sustain him for the rest of his life."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Chapter 10. Last Days and Death 

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

"With most of his major accomplishments already behind him, the aged artist was able to take the time to reflect on his life and soak up the adulation and admiration that he had always craved. At the end of his life, most of his critics had either stopped criticizing, or had simply passed on out of this world. For the new generation of artists arising in his midst, Michelangelo was nothing short of a living legend.

"As the once frenetic energy of the aging artist slowed down, it was on February 12, 1564 that he put chisel to stone for the final time. On that day he busied himself perfecting his Rondanini Pietà. As the day grew shorter, he intended to reserve the remainder of his labor for the next day. But the next day was Sunday, and not wanting to disturb the Sabbath, Michelangelo put off the project for one more day, determining to get back to it on Monday. But when Monday came around, before he could get back to his sculpture, he suffered from a stroke. Michelangelo would never get the chance to finish his Rondanini Pietà, expiring just a few days later on February 18, 1564 at the age of 88."

"After he died everyone wanted a piece of Michelangelo—in many cases quite literally. As ghoulish as it may sound, it seems that immediately after his demise, there was a major argument as to who would get the artist’s body. The city of Rome was clamoring to keep him there as an adopted son, while his hometown of Florence was of course demanding that he be returned for proper burial on Florentine soil. Michelangelo himself, never forgetting his roots, had stated many times before his death that he would indeed like to be buried where the rest of his families remains had been gathered—in Florence.

"Rome was determined to keep Michelangelo’s body, however, with the reigning Pope Pius IV proclaiming his full intent of interring the great artist in St. Peter’s Basilica. As ridiculous as it sounds, in the end Michelangelo actually had to be snuck out of Rome in order to be brought back to Florence. After conniving a way to gain access, a group of his former compatriots engaged in a bit of sleight of hand with the artist’s corpse by sneaking it out with a wagon load of other material and labeling the load as merchandise. In this manner, Michelangelo Buonarroti was driven all the way back to Florence. His body was smuggled back into the town of his birth as if mortal remains were considered contraband by the prevailing authorities."

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

Conclusion

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

" ... There can be no doubt that Michelangelo was indeed one of the greatest artists that ever lived. Although he was not known as the most socially adept of famed artisans, even in the midst of his reclusive nature he managed to touch the hearts of many. Although he had walked with royalty and held court with numerous popes, Michelangelo never forgot his roots. 

"In many ways, it could be said that the sense of rustic nobility that he had gleaned from his childhood adoptive family—those simple stone cutters in Settignano—stuck with him for the rest of his life. This honest austerity helped to guide his moral compass and keep any potential excesses in check. ... "

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI: A LIFE 

FROM BEGINNING TO END 

(BIOGRAPHIES OF PAINTERS), by

HOURLY HISTORY. 

................................................

................................................

December 20, 2022 - December 20, 2022. 

Purchased December 20, 2022.  

ASIN:- B07KQ9R6K6

................................................

................................................

................................................................................................

................................................................................................

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5175360497

................................................................................................

................................................................................................