Chapter 10 The Crack of Two Forces-2

In the mighty sculptures and paintings of Michelangelo, expressions of love are absent; in them he speaks only his most heroic thoughts.It seems a shame to mix the weakness of his heart into the work.He entrusts it only to poetry.It is in this aspect that we should look for the gentle and timid heart hidden under the wild appearance: "I love: why was I born?" Poetry volume 109, thirty-fifth.Compare these love poems, in which love and pain are almost synonymous, with the sensual, youthful Raphael's sonnets (written on the verso of the Eucharistic Controversy).The Sistine project was completed, Julius II died, and Julius II died on February 21, 1513, three and a half months after the Sistine Ceiling was completed.Michelangelo returned to the Emerald, to the project he had been obsessed with: the tomb of Julius II.He signed a contract to complete the work in seventeen years.The contract was signed on March 6th, 1513. —This new plan is even more astonishing than the original plan, with a total of thirty-two colossi.For three years he devoted himself almost entirely to the work.During this period, Michelangelo seems to have accepted only one job - "Mineva Christ".During this period of remarkably calm—a period of mournful and lucid maturity, when the frenzy of the Sistine age calmed down, as if the stormy seas had calmed down—Michelangelo produced his most perfect work, in which his passion and The work with the most complete balance of will: "Moses" and "The Slave" now in the Louvre. "Moses" is one of the six colossal statues erected on the first floor of the Mausoleum of Julius II in the scheduled plan.Until 1545, Michelangelo was still working on this work. There are two "Slaves", Michelangelo's 1513 work, which he gave to Roberto Strozzi in 1546, a emerald republican who was fleeing at that time In France, "The Slave" was donated by him to King Francis I of France, and it is now in the Louvre.

But it was only for a moment; almost at once the frenzy of life repeated itself: he fell back into the night. The new pope, Leo X, tried to convert Michelangelo from promoting the cause of his predecessor to singing the victory of his own family.For him it was a matter of pride, not of sympathy or affection; for his Epicurean spirit would not have understood the melancholy genius of Michelangelo: all his favors were on Raphael alone.He was not without tenderness for Michelangelo; but Michelangelo frightened him.He felt very cramped with him.Piombo wrote to Mitchell: "When the Pope spoke of you, it was as if he were talking of one of his brothers; he almost had tears in his eyes. He told me that you were brought up together ( Michael’s childhood in the Medici school has been described above), and he does not admit that he knows you and loves you, but you must know that you scare everyone, even the Pope.” (1520. October 27) In the court of Leo X, people often used Michelangelo as a joke.A letter he wrote to Raphael's protector, the Archbishop Bienna, was ill-formed and entertained his enemies.Piombo and Mitchell said: "In the court people only talk about your letter; it makes everyone laugh." (July 3, 1520) But the figure who completed the Sistine is the glory of Italy ; Leo X wants to serve him.

He proposed to Michelangelo to build the Temple of the Medici in Emerald.Bramante died in 1514 for Michelangelo's rivalry with Raphael, who took advantage of his absence from Rome to establish himself as king of art.Raphael was appointed superintendent of the rebuilding of St. Peter's - involuntarily letting the new chains lock him up.In fact, it is impossible for him to take on this job without giving up his previous plan, and he will always be struggling with this contradiction.He tried to convince himself that he could work on the tomb of Julius II and the church of San Lorenzo, the Medici family temple, at the same time.He intended to leave most of the work to an assistant, and to make only the main figures himself.But according to his habit, he slowly abandoned this plan, he refused to share the honor with others.What was more, he feared that the Pope would withdraw his order; he begged Leo X to fasten him in this new chain. "I want to make the roof of this church a mirror for the architecture and sculpture of all Italy. The Pope and the Archbishop (Julius Te Medici, the future Pope Clement VII) must decide quickly Do you want me to do it, yes or no. If they want me to do it, then there should be a contract... Maisel Domenico, please give me a concrete answer about their idea, it will be my the greatest of all joys." (Letter to Domenico Boninseni, July 1517) On the nineteenth day of the first month of 1518, the Pope signed a covenant with him, and Michelangelo agreed. Hand over the works in eight years.