[Born at Caprese, in Tuscany, 1474. Died at Rome, 1563. Aged 89.]
A demigod in art. All learning and all knowledge came to Michael Angelo,
perhaps even more than to Leonardo da Vinci, his mighty contemporary, as
a rightful inheritance, to be magnificently accepted and sumptuously
enjoyed. Poet, musician, sculptor, architect, engineer, painter,
anatomist, man of science--his titles to renown are inexhaustible. His
genius was universal, his grasp boundless. All his works, of whatever
kind, bear the broad, deep stamp of his haughty, masculine spirit, and
constitute the immortal expression of strength, energy, and sublimest
passion. The feeling of Michael Angelo was strong, intense, grand,
penetrating; his thought as clear as it was profound. His life is a
series of conquests in the world of intellect. Domenico Ghirlandaio has
the honour of claiming Buonarotti for his pupil. By Ghirlandaio the
stripling was introduced to Lorenzo de’ Medici, who, as well as his
successor, became the steady friend of the great artist. Upon the
expulsion of the Medici, he went to Bologna, thence to Florence, and
thence again, upon the invitation of the Pope, to Rome. In 1503,
commissioned to paint one end of the great Hall of Council, Leonardo da
Vinci being intrusted with the other. Never before had two such spirits
met to contend for glory. His statue of Moses, and the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel, were produced under Pope Julius II. Under Leo X., and
Adrian, works of equal power issued from his inspired brain. In 1546, he
was commanded by the Pope to undertake the direction of the works at St.
Peter’s. He consented only upon condition that he received no salary,
and laboured “for the love of God alone.” For seventeen years he
prosecuted the pious service, and raised the sacred edifice as far as
the base of the cupola. The undying memorials of his chisel and pencil
speak the intellectual supremacy of the man beyond all words of praise.
They will command wonder, delight, admiration, respect, and awe, whilst
the world lasts. There is nothing factitious, no studied allurement, no
imposture in his work. It is all true, simple, sublime. Michael Angelo,
in 1530, directed in person the defence of Florence, and erected its
fortifications--which yet exist--when that city was besieged, and, after
a year of heroic defence, taken by the army of Charles V. The fall of
Florence, at this time, witnessed the last breath of Italian
independence. Look on his face! You see many furrowed lines there, and a
potent brow. The features and expression betray irascibility of temper,
jealous self-consciousness, towering sense of power. Michael Angelo had
all these. He was a lion aware of his strength. What if he used it as a
lion, at times vehemently, and regardless of the pain inflicted upon
others! He was also a staunch friend, disinterested, liberal, temperate,
upright, conscientious. The ancients had their Titans. Michael Angelo
too is the son of Heaven and Earth.
[This Bust is from the marble by Alessandro d’Este, and one of those
contributed to the Capitoline Museum, at the expense of Canova, when
he was President of the Academy of Saint Luke, at Rome. It conveys an
idea of coarseness which would hardly seem to belong to Michael
Angelo’s natural expression, marked as it is with power and energy. It
will be remembered how his nose was broken by a blow from his
fellow-student, Torrigiano. He was buried in Sta. Croce, at Florence,
his noble monument there being designed and executed under the
superintendence of Vasari, the historian of the painters. It consists
of a sarcophagus, supported by three figures, representing Painting,
Sculpture, and Architecture, and surmounted by his bust (of which No.
143A is a cast) and three crowns, with the motto “tergeminis tollit
honoribus.” This tomb and the bust were executed by three sculptors,
Domenico Lorenzi, a pupil of Bandinelli, Valerio Cioli, and Giovanni
dell’ Opera. There is, in the Capitoline Museum a bust of Michael
Angelo, said to be by his own hand; the head is of bronze, and the
rest of marble; and in the same place a painted portrait of him, by
Andrea del Sarto. Vasari mentions an alto-relievo of him in bronze, by
Danielo Ricciarelli, and a medal (“a very close resemblance”) by Cav.
Lioni, which was abundantly copied and distributed in his honour.]
143A. MICHAEL ANGELO BUONAROTTI. _Sculptor, Painter, Architect._