The cartoon having thus become a school for craftsmen, it was taken to the great upper room of the house of the Medici. But this meant that it was unwisely left in the hands of the craftsmen; and when Duke Giuliano fell ill, without warning it was torn into pieces. And now it is dispersed in various places. For example, there are some fragments still to be seen at Mantua in the house of Uberto Strozzi, a Mantuan gentleman, who preserves them with great reverence; and certainly anyone who sees them is inclined to think them of divine rather than human origin.
Michelangelo had become so famous because of his Pietà, the colossal statue of David at Florence, and the cartoon, that when in 1503 Alexander VI died and Julius II was elected Pope (at which time Buonarroti was about twenty-nine years old) Julius very graciously summoned him to Rome to build his tomb; and to meet the expenses of the journey he was paid a hundred crowns by the Pope’s agent. After he had arrived in Rome, however, many months were let go by before he was asked to do any work. But eventually the Pope chose for his tomb the design made by Michelangelo. This design was an eloquent proof of Michelangelo’s genius, for in beauty and magnificence, wealth of ornamentation and richness or statuary it surpassed every ancient or imperial tomb ever made. When he saw it Pope Julius grew more ambitious and resolved to set about rebuilding the church of St Peter’s at Rome, and to raise his tomb inside.
So Michelangelo started work with very high hopes, going first of all with two of his assistants to Carrara to excavate all the marble, on account of which he received a thousand crowns from Alamanni Salviati in Florence. He had nothing more by way of money or supplies for the eight months he spent in the mountains, where inspired by the masses of stone he conceived many fantastic ideas for carving giant statues in the quarries, in order to leave there a memorial of himself, as the ancients had done. After he had chosen all the marble that was wanted he had it loaded on board ship and taken to Rome, where the blocks filled half the square of St Peter’s around Santa Caterina and between the church and the corridor leading to Castel Sant’ Angelo. In the castle Michelangelo had prepared his room for executing the figures and the rest of the tomb; and so that he could come and see him at work without any bother the Pope had ordered a drawbridge to be built from the corridor to the room. This led to great intimacy between them, although in time the favours he was shown brought Michelangelo considerable annoyance and even persecution, and stirred up much envy among his fellow craftsmen.
Of this work Michelangelo executed during the lifetime and after the death of Julius four statues completed, and eight which were only blocked out, as I shall describe. Since the design of the tomb illustrates Michelangelo’s extraordinary powers of invention, we shall describe here the plan that he followed. To give a sense of grandeur he intended the tomb to be free-standing so as to be seen from all four sides. The sides measured twenty-four feet in one direction and thirty-six in the other, the dimensions therefore being a square and a half. All round the outer side of the tomb were a range of niches, divided one from the other by terminal figures (clothed from the middle upwards) which supported the first cornice with their heads; and each of these figures had fettered to it, in a strange and curious attitude, a nude captive standing on a projection of the base. These captives were meant to represent all the provinces subjugated by the Pope and made obedient to the Apostolic Church; and there were various other statues, also fettered, of all the liberal arts and sciences, which were thus shown to be subject to death no less than the pontiff himself, who employed them so honourably. On the corners of the first cornice were to go four large figures, representing the Active and the Contemplative Life, St Paul, and Moses. The tomb rose above the cornice in gradually diminishing steps, with a decorated bronze frieze, and with other figures, putti, and ornaments all around; and at the summit, completing the structure, were two figures, one of which was Heaven, smiling and supporting a bier on her shoulder, and the other, Cybele, the goddess of the Earth, who appeared to be grief-stricken at having to remain in a world robbed of all virtue through the death of such a great man, in contrast to Heaven who is shown rejoicing that his soul had passed to celestial glory. The tomb was arranged so that one might enter and come out between the niches at the ends of the quadrangle; and the interior was in the shape of an oval, curving like a temple. The sarcophagus to take the Pope’s dead body was to go in the middle. Finally, the tomb was to have forty marble statues, not to mention the other scenes, putti, and ornamentation, and the richly carved cornices and other architectural elements. To hurry the work on, Michelangelo arranged that some of the marble should be taken to Florence, where he intended at times to pass the summer in order to avoid the malaria of Rome; and there he executed one side of the work in several sections down to the last detail. With his own hand he finished in Rome two of the captives, which were truly inspired, and other statues which have never been surpassed. As they were never used for the tomb, these captives were given by Michelangelo to Roberto Strozzi, when he happened to be lying ill in his house. Subsequently they were sent as a gift to King Francis, and they are now at Ecouen in France. In Rome he also blocked out eight statues, and in Florence another five, along with a Victory surmounting the figures of a captive, which are now in the possession of Duke Cosimo, to whom they were given by Michelangelo’s nephew, Lionardo. His excellency has put the Victory in the Great Hall of his palace, which was painted by Vasari. Michelangelo also finished the Moses, a beautiful statue in marble ten feet high. With this no other modern work will ever bear comparison (nor, indeed, do the statues of the ancient world). For, seated in an attitude of great dignity, Moses rests one arm on the tablets that he is grasping in one hand, while with the other he is holding his beard, which falls in long ringlets and is carved in the marble so finely that the hairs (extremely difficult for the sculptor to represent) are downy and soft and so detailed that it seems that Michelangelo must have exchanged his chisel for a brush. Moreover, the face of Moses is strikingly handsome, and he wears a saintly and regal expression; indeed, one cries out for his countenance to be veiled, so dazzling and resplendent does it appear and so perfectly has Michelangelo expressed in the marble the divinity that God first infused in Moses’ most holy form. In addition, the draperies worn by Moses are carved and finished with beautiful folds in the skirt; and the arms with their muscles and the hands with their bones and tendons are so supremely beautiful, the legs, knees, and feet are covered with such carefully fashioned hose and sandals, and every part of the work is finished so expertly, that today more than ever Moses can truly be called the friend of God. For, through the skill of Michelangelo, God has wanted to restore and prepare the body of Moses for the Resurrection before that of anyone else. And well may the Jews continue to go there (as they do every Sabbath, both men and women, like flocks of starlings) to visit and adore the statue, since they will be adoring something that is divine rather than human.
Eventually everything was agreed and the work approached completion; and subsequently, of the four, one of the shorter sides was erected in San Pietro in Vincoli. It is said that while Michelangelo was working on the tomb, the marbles which had remained at Carrara were brought to the Ripa Grande port at Rome and then conveyed to St Peter’s square to join the rest. As those who had brought them had to be paid Michelangelo went (as he usually did) to see the Pope. But because that day his holiness was transacting some important business concerning Bologna, Michelangelo returned home and paid for the marble himself, thinking that he would straight away be repaid by his holiness. Then he went back another time to talk to the Pope about it, but he found difficulty in getting in for one of the grooms told him that he would have to be patient and that he had received orders not to admit him. At this a bishop who happened to be there said to the groom: ‘You can’t know who this man is.’
‘I know him only too well,’ replied the groom. ‘But it’s my job to do what I’m told to by my superiors and by the Pope.’
This attitude incensed Michelangelo, who h
ad never experienced such treatment before, and he angrily told the groom that he should let his holiness know that if ever he wanted to see him in future he would find he had gone elsewhere. Then he went back to his workplace, and at the second hour of the night he set out on post-horses, leaving two servants to sell everything in the house to the Jews and then follow him to Florence. After he had arrived at Poggibonzi, in the territory of Florence, Michelangelo felt safe; but shortly afterwards five couriers arrived with instructions from the Pope to bring him back. For all their entreaties, and despite the letter which ordered him to return to Rome under threat of punishment, he refused to listen to a word. Eventually, however, the couriers persuaded him to write a word or two in answer to his holiness, in which he asked to be forgiven but added that he would never again return to his presence, since he had had him driven off like a criminal, that his faithful service had not deserved such treatment, and that the Pope should look for someone else to serve him.
Having arrived at Florence, Michelangelo devoted himself during the three months he stayed there to finishing the cartoon for the Great Hall, which Piero Soderini wanted him to carry into execution. However, during that time three papal briefs arrived at the Signoria commanding that Michelangelo be sent back to Rome; and when he saw the Pope’s vehemence, as he distrusted him, Michelangelo contemplated, so it is said, going off to Constantinople to serve the Grand Turk, who was anxious to secure his services (through the agency of certain Franciscans) to build a bridge from Constantinople to Pera. However, against his will he was persuaded by Piero Soderini to go and meet the Pope as a public servant of Florence, protected by the title of ambassador. Finally, the Gonfalonier recommended him to his brother, Cardinal Soderini, for presentation to the Pope and sent him to Bologna, where his holiness had already arrived from Rome.
(Another explanation is given for Michelangelo’s flight from Rome: namely, that the Pope became angry with him because he would not allow any of his work to be seen; that Michelangelo distrusted his own men and suspected that the Pope, as did in fact happen more than once, disguised himself to see what was being done when he was away himself; and that on one of these occasions the Pope bribed his assistants to let him in to see the chapel of his uncle Sixtus, which as I describe later he was having painted by Michelangelo, only for Michelangelo, who had suspected this treachery and hidden himself, to hurl planks at him when he came in, without considering who it might be, and make him retreat in a fury. Anyhow, whatever happened, one way or another he quarrelled with the Pope and then grew afraid and had to run away.)
Michelangelo arrived at Bologna, where no sooner had he taken off his riding-boots than he was escorted by the Pope’s servants to his holiness who was in the Palace of the Sixteen. As Cardinal Soderini was ill he sent one of his bishops to accompany him, and when they arrived in front of the Pope and Michelangelo knelt down, his holiness looked at him askance as if he were angry and said:
‘So instead of your coming to meet us you have waited for us to meet you?’ (By this he meant that Bologna was nearer to Florence than to Rome.)
With a courteous gesture, and speaking in a firm voice, Michelangelo humbly begged the Pope’s forgiveness, saying to excuse himself that he had acted as he did in anger, not having been able to bear being dismissed like that, but that if he had done wrong his holiness should forgive him once more. Then the bishop who had presented Michelangelo to the Pope began to make excuses for him, saying to his holiness that such men were ignorant creatures, worthless except for their art, and that he should freely pardon him. The Pope lost his temper at this and whacked the bishop with a mace he was holding, shouting at him: ‘It’s you that are ignorant, insulting him in a way we wouldn’t dream of.’
Then, when the groom had driven the bishop out with his fists, the Pope, having exhausted his anger, gave Michelangelo his blessing. And Michelangelo was detained in Bologna with gifts and promises, until his holiness ordered him to make a bronze figure of himself, ten feet high. In this statue of Julius, Michelangelo produced a beautiful work of art, expressing in its attitude both grandeur and majesty, adding rich and magnificent draperies, and in the countenance displaying courage, resolution, alertness, and an awesome dignity. When ready, the statue was placed in a niche over the door of San Petronio.
It is said that while Michelangelo was working on it he was visited by an accomplished goldsmith and painter called Francia who wanted to see what he was doing, as he had heard so much praise of Buonarroti and his works but had never seen any of them. Francia was given permission to inspect the statue, and the necessary arrangements were made. When at last he saw Michelangelo’s artistry at first hand he was truly astonished. But then, on being asked what he thought of the figure, he remarked that it was a lovely casting, in a very fine material. Having heard Francia praise the statue for its bronze rather than its craftsmanship, Michelangelo said:
‘Well, I owe as much to Pope Julius who gave me the bronze as you owe to the chemists who give you your colours for painting.’
Then, losing his temper, in the presence of all the gentlemen standing around he called Francia a fool. As part of the same story, when a son of Francia’s was introduced to him as a very handsome young man Michelangelo said to him:
‘The living figures your father makes are better than those he paints.’
Among the gentlemen present was one (I don’t know his name) who asked Michelangelo what he thought was bigger, the statue of Julius or a pair of oxen. Michelangelo retorted:
‘Well, it depends on the oxen. You see, an ox from Florence isn’t as big as one from Bologna.’
Michelangelo finished the statue in clay before the Pope left Bologna for Rome, and so his holiness went to see it. The Pope did not know what was to be placed in the statue’s left hand, and when he saw the right hand raised in an imperious gesture he asked whether it was meant to be giving a blessing or a curse. Michelangelo replied that the figure was admonishing the people of Bologna to behave sensibly. Then he asked the Pope whether he should place a book in the left hand, and to this his holiness replied:
‘Put a sword there. I know nothing about reading.’
In the bank of Anton Maria da Lignano the Pope left a thousand crowns for the completion of the statue which was then, after Michelangelo had toiled on it for sixteen months, placed on the frontispiece in the main façade of San Petronio. (Later it was destroyed by the Bentivogli and the bronze was sold to Duke Alfonso of Ferrara, who used it to make a piece of artillery which was called La Giulia. All that was saved was the head, which is now in the duke’s wardrobe.)
Meanwhile, the Pope had returned to Rome while Michelangelo remained in Bologna to finish the statue. In his absence Bramante was constantly plotting with Raphael of Urbino to remove from the Pope’s mind the idea of having Michelangelo finish the tomb on his return. Bramante did this (being a friend and relation of Raphael and therefore no friend of Michelangelo’s) when he saw the way his holiness kept praising and glorifying Michelangelo’s work as a sculptor. He and Raphael suggested to Pope Julius that if the tomb were finished it would bring nearer the day of his death, and they said that it was bad luck to have one’s tomb built while one was still alive. Eventually they persuaded his holiness to get Michelangelo on his return to paint, as a memorial for his uncle Sixtus, the ceiling of the chapel that he had built in the Vatican. In this way Bramante and Michelangelo’s other rivals thought they would divert his energies from sculpture, in which they realized he was supreme. This, they argued, would make things hopeless for him, since as he had no experience of colouring in fresco he would certainly, they believed, do less creditable work as a painter. Without doubt, they thought, he would be compared unfavourably with Raphael, and even if the work were a success being forced to do it would make him angry with the Pope; and thus one way or another they would succeed in their purpose of getting rid of him. So when Michelangelo returned to Rome he found the Pope resolved to leave the tomb as it was for the time being, a
nd he was told to paint the ceiling of the chapel. Michelangelo, being anxious to finish the tomb, and considering the magnitude and difficulty of the task of painting the chapel, and his lack of experience, tried in every possible way to shake the burden off his shoulders. But the more he refused, the more determined he made the Pope, who was a wilful man by nature and who in any case was again being prompted by Michelangelo’s rivals, and especially Bramante. And finally, being the hottempered man he was, his holiness was all ready to fly into a rage.
Lives of the Artists Page 37