Decoration of the Medici Chapel in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo. Medici Chapel in Florence

In the palace of Lorenzo the Magnificent (1489-1492)

G. Vasari. Portrait of Lorenzo de' Medici. Florence, Uffizi Gallery

“And deciding to help Michelangelo and take him under his protection, he sent for his father Lodovico and informed him about this, declaring that he would treat Michelangelo as his own son, to which he willingly agreed. After which the Magnificent gave him room in his own house and ordered him to be served, so he always sat at the table with his sons and other worthy and noble persons who were with the Magnificent, who gave him this honor; and all this happened in next year after his admission to Domenico, when Michelangelo was fifteen or sixteen years old, and he spent four years in this house, until the death of the Magnificent Lorenzo, which followed in 1492. All this time, Michelangelo received from the lord this allowance to support his father in the amount of five ducats a month, and to please him, the lord gave him a red cloak, and placed his father in the customs office" Vasari

The sculptor’s enormous talent, which manifested itself early, gives Michelangelo access to the court of Lorenzo de’ Medici, one of the most brilliant and largest centers Italian culture Renaissance. The ruler of Florence managed to attract such famous philosophers, poets, artists, like Pico della Mirandola, the head of the Neoplatonist school Marsilio Ficino, the poet Angelo Poliziano, the artist Sandro Botticelli. There Michelangelo had the opportunity to meet young representatives of the Medici family, two of whom later became popes (Leo X and Clement VII).

Giovanni de' Medici later became Pope Leo X. Although he was only a teenager at the time, he had already been appointed a cardinal of the Catholic Church. Michelangelo also met Giuliano de' Medici. Decades later, already a renowned sculptor, Michelangelo worked on his tomb.

At the Medici court, Michelangelo becomes his own man and falls into the circle of enlightened poets and humanists. Lorenzo himself was an excellent poet. The ideas of the Platonic Academy, created under the patronage of Lorenzo, had a huge influence on the formation of the young sculptor’s worldview. He became interested in the search for the perfect form - the main task of art, according to Neoplatonists.

Some of the main ideas of Lorenzo's Medici circle served as a source of inspiration and torment for Michelangelo in his later life, in particular the contradiction between Christian piety and pagan sensuality. It was believed that pagan philosophy and Christian dogmas could be reconciled (this is reflected in the title of one of Ficino’s books - “Plato’s Theology of the Immortality of the Soul”); that all knowledge, if rightly understood, is the key to divine truth. Physical beauty, embodied in the human body, is an earthly manifestation of spiritual beauty. Bodily beauty may be glorified, but this is not enough, for the body is the prison of the soul, which strives to return to its Creator, but can only achieve this in death. According to Pico della Mirandola, during life a person has free will: he can ascend to the angels or plunge into an unconscious animal state. The young Michelangelo was influenced by the optimistic philosophy of humanism and believed in the limitless possibilities of man. In the luxurious chambers of the Medici, in the atmosphere of the newly discovered Platonic Academy, in communication with people such as Angelo Poliziano and Pico Mirandolsky, the boy turned into a young man, matured in intelligence and talent.

Michelangelo's perception of reality as spirit embodied in matter undoubtedly goes back to the Neoplatonists. For him, sculpture was the art of "isolating" or freeing the figure enclosed in a stone block. It is possible that some of his most striking works, which appear "unfinished", may have been deliberately left that way, because it was at this stage of "liberation" that the form most adequately embodied the artist's intention.

Surrounded by luxury, beautiful paintings and sculptures, in the elegant interiors of the Medici Palace, with access to the richest collection of monuments of ancient culture - coins, medallions, ivory cameos, jewelry - Michelangelo received the foundations of fine art. It was probably during this period that he chose sculpting as his life’s work. Having become familiar with the high, refined culture of the court of Lorenzo Medici, imbued with the ideas of the progressive thinkers of that time, having assimilated the ancient tradition and high skill of his immediate predecessors, Michelangelo began independent creativity, starting work on sculptures for the Medici collection.

Early works (1489-1492)

“Let us return, however, to the garden of the Magnificent Lorenzo: this garden was overflowing with antiquities and very decorated with excellent paintings, and all this was collected in this place for beauty, for study and for pleasure, and the keys to it were always kept by Michelangelo, who far surpassed others in care in all his actions and always with lively persistence, showing his readiness. For several months, he copied Masaccio's paintings in Carmine, reproducing these works so effectively that both artists and non-artists were amazed, and envy of him grew along with his fame." Vasari

At the court of Lorenzo de' Medici, the Magnificent Lorenzo, surrounded by talented people, humanist thinkers, poets, artists, under the patronage of a generous and attentive nobleman, in a palace where art became a cult, Michelangelo's main calling was discovered - sculpture. His earliest works in this art form reveal the true scale of his talent. Created by a sixteen-year-old boy, small relief compositions and the statues, based on the study of nature, but executed completely in the ancient spirit, are imbued with classical beauty and nobility:
- head of a laughing faun(1489, the statue has not survived),
- bas-relief “Madonna of the Stairs”, or “Madonna della Scala”(1490-1492, Buonarotti Palace, Florence),
- bas-relief “Battle of the Centaurs”(c. 1492, Buonarroti Palace, Florence),
-"Hercules"(1492, the statue has not survived),
- wooden crucifix(c. 1492, Church of Santo Spirito, Florence).

"Madonna of the Stairs" marble bas-relief (1490-1492)

Michelangelo "Madonna of the Stairs", c. 1490 -1491 Italian. Madonna della scala marble. Casa Buonarroti, Florence, Italy

Marble bas-relief. Fragment. 1490-1492 Michelangelo Buonarroti. Florence, Buonarroti Museum

“The same Lionardo, several years ago, kept in his house, in memory of his uncle, a bas-relief of the Mother of God, carved from marble by Michelangelo himself, a little more than a cubit high; in it, he, being a young man at that time and planning to reproduce the style of Donatello, did it so successfully, as if you see the hand of that master, but there is even more grace and design here. Lionardo then presented this work to Duke Cosimo de’ Medici, who revered it as the only thing of its kind, for no other bas-relief besides this sculpture was made by Michelangelo’s hand.” Vasari

At the beginning of his creative career, Michelangelo acted primarily as a sculptor. Already his first works testify to his originality and are marked by the features of the new, what his teachers could not give him: the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio and the sculptor Bertoldo. His first relief, “Madonna of the Stairs” (1489-1492, Florence, Buonarroti Museum), carved in marble when he was barely sixteen years old, differs from the works of his predecessors in the plastic power of the images, emphasized by the seriousness of the interpretation of the theme used hundreds of times.

“Madonna of the Stairs” is made in the traditional technique of 15th-century Italian sculptors of low, finely nuanced relief, reminiscent of Donatello’s reliefs, with which it is also related by the presence of babies (putti) depicted on the upper steps of the stairs. At the bottom of the stairs sits a Madonna with a child in her arms (hence the name of the relief). The subtle gradation of the sculpting of the forms of this three-plane relief gives it a picturesque character, as if emphasizing the connection of this type of sculpture with painting. If we take into account the fact that Michelangelo began his studies with the painter, then the reason for his early appeal to this type of sculpture and its corresponding interpretation becomes clearer. But the young Michelangelo, however, gives an example of the perfection of a non-traditional image: the Madonna and the Child Christ are endowed with power and inner drama unusual for Quattrocento art.

The main place in the relief belongs to the Madonna, majestic and serious. Her image is associated with the tradition of ancient Roman art. However, her special concentration, the strong-sounding heroic note, the contrast of powerful arms and legs with the grace and freedom of interpretation of the picturesquely melodious folds of her long robe, the baby in her arms, amazing in its childish strength - all this comes from Michelangelo himself. The special compactness, density, balance of the composition found here, the skillful comparison of volumes and shapes of different sizes and interpretations, the accuracy of the drawing, the correct construction of the figures, the subtlety of the processing of details anticipate his subsequent works. There is one more feature in “Madonna of the Stairs” that will characterize many of the artist’s works in the future - enormous internal fullness, concentration, the beating of life with external calm.

Madonnas of the 15th century are pretty and somewhat sentimental. Michelangelo's Madonna is tragically thoughtful, self-absorbed, she is not a pampered patrician or even a young mother touching in her love for her baby, but a stern and majestic maiden who is aware of her glory and knows about the tragic test destined for her.

Michelangelo sculpted Mary when she, holding a child at her breast, had to decide the future - the future for herself, for the baby, for the world. The entire left side of the bas-relief is occupied by heavy stair steps. Maria sits in profile on a bench, to the right of the stairs: the wide stone balustrade seems to end somewhere behind Maria’s right thigh, at the feet of her child. The viewer, looking at the thoughtful and tense face of the Mother of God, cannot help but feel what decisive moments she is experiencing, holding Jesus to her chest and, as if weighing in the palm of her hand the whole weight of the cross on which her son was destined to be crucified.

The Virgin, known as the Madonna della Scala, is now in the Buonarroti Museum in Florence.

Bas-relief "Battle of the Centaurs" (c. 1492)

Michelangelo. Battle of the Centaurs, 1492 Italian. Battaglia dei centauri, marble. Casa Buonarroti, Florence, Italy

Marble bas-relief. Fragment. OK. 1492. Michelangelo Buonarroti. Florence, Buonarroti Museum

“At this very time, on the advice of Poliziano, a man of extraordinary learning, Michelangelo, on a piece of marble received from his lord, carved the battle of Hercules with the centaurs, so beautiful that sometimes, looking at it now, one can take it for the work not of a youth, but of a master highly valued and tested in the theory and practice of this art. Nowadays it is kept in memory of him in the house of his nephew Leonardo, as a rare thing, which it is.” Vasari

The marble relief "Battle of the Centaurs" (Florence, Palazzo Buonarroti) (or "Battle of the Centaurs with the Lapiths") was carved in the form of a Roman sarcophagus from Carrian marble by the young Michelangelo for his noble patron, Lorenzo de' Medici, but probably due to whose death in 1492, remained unfinished.

The bas-relief depicts a scene from Greek myth about the battle of the Lapith people with semi-animal centaurs who attacked them during a wedding feast. According to another version, the scene depicts one of the episodes of ancient mythology - the battle of the centaurs, the abduction of Deianira, the wife of Hercules, or the battle of Hercules with the centaurs. This work clearly shows the master's study of ancient Roman sarcophagi, as well as the influence of the work of such masters as Bertoldo, Pollailo and Pisani.

The plot was suggested by Angelo Poliziano (1454-1494), the closest friend of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Its meaning is the victory of civilization over barbarism. According to the myth, the Lapiths were victorious, but in Michelangelo's interpretation the outcome of the battle is unclear.

Protruding from the flat surface of marble are about two dozen naked figures of Greek warriors fighting mythical centaurs. This early work of the young master reflected his passion for depicting the human body. The sculptor created compact and tense masses of naked bodies, demonstrating virtuoso skill in conveying movement through the play of light and shadow. The chisel marks and jagged edges remind us of the stone from which the figures are made. This relief gives the impression of truly explosive force; it amazes with its powerful dynamics, violent movement that permeates the entire composition, and the richness of its plasticity. In this high relief there is nothing of the graphic nature of the three-plane construction. It was solved by purely plastic means and anticipates another side of Michelangelo’s subsequent creations - his ineradicable desire to reveal all the diversity and richness of plasticity, movements of the human body. It was with this relief that the young sculptor declared with all his might the innovation of his method. And if in the theme “Battle of the Centaurs” there is a connection between Michelangelo’s art and one of its sources - ancient sculpture and, in particular, with the reliefs of ancient Roman sarcophagi, then new aspirations are clearly expressed in the interpretation of the theme. Michelangelo is little interested in the moment of narration, the story that was so detailed among the Roman masters. The main thing for the sculptor is the opportunity to show the heroism of a person who reveals his spiritual power and physical strength in battle.

In a tangle of bodies intertwined in mortal combat, we find Michelangelo’s first, but already surprisingly widespread embodiment main topic his work is based on the theme of struggle, understood as one of the eternal manifestations of existence. The figures of the fighters filled the entire relief field, amazing in its plastic and dramatic integrity. Among the tangle of combatants, individual ideally beautiful nude figures stand out, modeled with precise knowledge of the human anatomical structure. Some of them are brought to the foreground and presented in high relief, approaching a round sculpture. This allows you to select multiple viewpoints. Others are relegated to the background, their relief is lower and emphasizes the overall spatiality of the solution. Deep shadows contrast with midtones and brightly lit protruding parts of the relief, which gives the image a lively and extremely dynamic character. Some incompleteness of individual parts of the relief enhances by contrast the expressiveness of the fragments, finished with all care and subtlety. The manifested features of monumentality in this relatively small-sized work anticipate Michelangelo’s further conquests in this area.

"The second warrior from the left is preparing to throw a huge stone with his right hand. The blow can be addressed to the one who is in the center, in top row, and at the same time, his pose and turn of the body are contrasted with a warrior standing with his back to the viewer and pulling the resting enemy by the hair with his right hand. He, in turn, is about to be hit by a man supporting his comrade with his left hand. They form the following contrapposto. This pair naturally suggests a transition to the old man on the left, pushing a stone with both hands, and to the young warrior at the left edge of the bas-relief - someone grabbed him by the neck from behind. It is remarkable that any fragment simultaneously participates in several oppositions at once: this achieves end-to-end consistency of all contrasts, facilitating the perception of the whole. In this complex interweaving of bodies, a special order of contrapposto movements can still be discerned. The composition can be read from any fragment, but it unfolds more expressively from the central group. Thus, in the bas-relief there is the equality of all those participating in the battle, causing some discord, and at the same time an unobtrusive, rather even potential, hierarchy of mise-en-scenes, indicating the habit of order thinking. Michelangelo had nowhere and no one to borrow a polyvisual composition that embraces the idea of ​​order. Here I had to do everything for the first time and myself, but this does not mean timid or inept." V. I. Loktev

Researchers are still arguing about which episode of ancient mythology was reproduced young master, and this plot ambiguity itself confirms that the goal he set for himself was not to strictly follow a specific narrative, but to create an image of a broader plan. Many figures in relief, their dramatic meaning and sculptural interpretation, as if in a sudden revelation, foreshadow the motives of Michelangelo’s future works; the plastic language of the relief, with its freedom and energy, giving rise to an association with violently shimmering lava, reveals similarities with Michelangelo’s sculptural style of much later years. The freshness and completeness of the worldview, the swiftness of the rhythm give the relief an irresistible charm and uniqueness. It is not for nothing that Condivi testifies that Michelangelo in his old age, looking at this relief, said that he “realized the mistake he made in not giving himself entirely to sculpture” (Correspondence of Michelangelo Buonarroti and the life of the master, written by his student Ascanio Condivi).

But ahead of his time in The Battle of the Centaurs, Michelangelo got too far ahead. 3and with this bold breakthrough into the future, years of slower and more consistent creative development, deepened interest in the great heritage of ancient and Renaissance art, and accumulation of experience in line with various, sometimes very contradictory traditions would inevitably come. Later, the master worked on a similar battle multi-figure composition “The Battle of Kashin” (1501-1504); a copy of the cardboard he created has survived to this day.

Study of anatomy. Statue "Hercules" (1492)

“After the death of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Michelangelo returned to his father’s house, infinitely saddened by the death of such a man, a friend of all talents. It was then that Michelangelo acquired a large block of marble, in which he carved Hercules, four braccia high, who stood for many years in the Palazzo Strozzi and was considered a miraculous creation, and then in the year of the siege this Hercules was sent by Giovanbattista della Palla to France to King Francis. They say that Piero de' Medici, who had long used his services when he became the heir of his father Lorenzo, often sent for Michelangelo when buying ancient cameos and other carved works, and one winter, when it was snowing heavily in Florence, ordered him to sculpt his in the courtyard there was a statue made of snow, which came out most beautiful, and Michelangelo revered him for his virtues to such an extent that the latter’s father, noticing that his son was valued on an equal basis with nobles, began to dress him more magnificently than usual.” Vasari

In 1492, Lorenzo died and Michelangelo left his house. When Lorenzo died, Michelangelo was seventeen years old. He conceived and executed a statue of Hercules larger than a man, in which his powerful talent was manifested. This was the first, complete attempt of a genius striving to express heroic ideas in art.

Michelangelo hardly knew the entertainment of a young man of his age, working on the statue of Hercules, he continued to study at the same time. Michelangelo studied anatomy on corpses, with the permission of the prior of the hospital of Santo Spirito. According to prof. S. Stam, Michelangelo began dissecting corpses around 1493. In one of the remote halls of the monastery of Santo Spirito, he spent his nights alone, dissecting corpses with an anatomical knife by the light of a lamp. Giving different positions to body parts and muscles, he studied sizes and proportions and carefully finished the drawings, thus replacing a living nature with a dead body. Creating a living image, he seemed to see through the skin that covered the body, the entire mechanism of these movements.

The master retained his passion for anatomy throughout his life. The famous anatomist Andreas Vesalius (1515-1564) testified that Michelangelo was going to write an unusual anatomical treatise. The unwritten anatomy, about which Michelangelo said that it would be unlike the past, would become a textbook for a new compositional style.

Unfortunately, “Hercules” has not survived (it is depicted in the engraving of Israel Sylvester “The Courtyard of the Castle of Fontainebleau”). The snow figure was completed on January 20, 1494.

Wooden crucifix (1492)

Michelangelo Crucifixion of the Church of Santo Spirito, 1492 Italian. Crocifisso di Santo Spirito, wood, polychrome. Height: 142 cm, Santo Spirito, Florence

Fragment. 1492 Michelangelo Buonarroti. Church of Santo Spirito, Florence

“For the church of Santo Spirito in the city of Florence, he made a wooden crucifix, placed and still stands above the semicircle of the high altar with the consent of the prior, who provided him with premises where, often dissecting corpses for the study of anatomy, he began to perfect that great art of drawing which he subsequently acquired" Vasari

For many years the work was considered lost until it was discovered in the Florentine church of Santo Spirito. The wooden polychrome crucifix of the sacristy in the Church of Santo Spirito, known from sources but only recently identified, turned out to be completely unusual for our ideas about Michelangelo. The crucifix was created by a young 17-year-old master for the prior of the church, who patronized him.

Probably, the young master could follow the type of crucifix widespread in Italy in the 15th century, which dates back to Gothic times and therefore falls outside the circle of the most advanced quests for sculpture of the late Quattrocento. Head of Christ with eyes closed lowered to the chest, the rhythm of the body is determined by crossed legs. The head and legs of the figure are placed in contrapposto, the Savior’s face is given a soft expression, and fragility and passivity are felt in the body. The subtlety of this work distinguishes it from the power of the figures in the marble relief. Among the works of Michelangelo that have come down to us there are no similar works.

Already in these early works of Michelangelo one can feel the originality and strength of his talent. Performed by a 15-17 year old artist, they not only seem completely mature, but also truly innovative for their time. In these youthful works, the main features of Michelangelo’s work emerge - a tendency towards monumental enlargement of forms, monumentality, plastic power and drama of images, reverence for the beauty of man; they show the presence of the young Michelangelo’s own sculptural style. Here before us ideal images of the mature Renaissance, built both on the study of antiquity and on the traditions of Donatello and his followers.

Along with his studies in sculpture, Michelangelo did not stop studying painting, mainly monumental, as evidenced by his drawings from Giotto’s frescoes. Along the way, independent motifs arise in Michelangelo’s graphics. The fifteen-year-old boy was convinced that it was impossible to draw, let alone create a sculpture, by looking at a person only from the outside. He was the first sculptor who decided to study the internal structure of the human body. This was strictly prohibited, so he even had to proceed with the law. He secretly, at night, entered the mortuary located at the monastery, opened the bodies of the dead, studied anatomy in order to show people in his drawings and in marble all the perfection of the human body.

The death in 1491 of Bertoldo, and the next year of Lorenzo de' Medici, seemed to have completed the period of Michelangelo's four-year training in the Medici gardens. The artist’s independent creative path begins, which, however, began already during his years of study, when he performed his first works, marked by the features of a bright individuality. These early works of his also testify to the qualitative shift that occurred in Italian sculpture - the transition from the Early to the High Renaissance.

Bologna (1494-1495)

Patron and regular customer Michelangelo Lorenzo The Magnificent died in 1492. Lorenzo de' Medici was a strong, charismatic ruler and successful leader. His son Pierrot, who inherited his father's empire, lacked these character traits. Within a few months he had completely lost influence. The life of the young sculptor has changed significantly since then. He had to leave beautiful Florence and go into exile.

After the death of Lorenzo de' Medici, due to the danger of a French invasion, the artist moved to Bologna for a while, following the remnants of the great Medici family. In Bologna, Michelangelo studied the works of Dante and Petrarch, under the influence of whose canzonas he began to create his first poems. He was greatly impressed by the reliefs of the Church of San Petronio, executed by Jacopo della Quercia. Here Michelangelo made three small statues for the tomb of St. Dominic, work on which was interrupted due to the death of the sculptor who began it.

After some time, Michelangelo moved to Venice. He lives in Venice until 1494, and then again moves to Bologna.

“A few weeks before the expulsion of the Medici from Florence, Michelangelo left for Bologna, and then to Venice, fearing, due to his closeness to this family, that some trouble would happen to him, since he too had seen the debauchery and bad rule of Piero dei Medici. Not finding anything to do in Venice, he returned to Bologna, where, due to an oversight, trouble befell him: when entering the gate, he did not take the exit certificate back, about which, for safety, Messer Giovanni Bentivogli issued an order, which stated that foreigners those with certificates are subject to a fine of 50 Bolognese lire. Michelangelo, who had found himself in such trouble and had nothing to pay, was accidentally drawn to the attention of Messer Francesco Aldovrandi, one of the sixteen rulers of the city. When he was told what had happened, he took pity on Michelangelo and released him, and he lived with him for more than a year. Once Aldovrandi went with him to look at the shrine of St. Dominic, on which, as was said earlier, the old sculptors were working: Giovanni Pisano, and after him the master Nicola d'Arca. There were missing two figures about an elbow high: an angel carrying a candlestick , both St. Petronius and Aldovrandi asked whether Michelangelo would dare to make them, to which he answered in the affirmative. And indeed, having received the marble, he executed them in such a way that they became the best figures there, for which Messer Francesco Aldovrandi ordered to pay him thirty ducats. Michelangelo spent a little more than a year in Bologna and would have stayed there longer: such was the courtesy of Aldovrandi, who loved him both for his drawing and because he, as a Tuscan, liked Michelangelo’s pronunciation and enjoyed listening to him read to him the works of Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio and other Tuscan poets" Vasari

Michelangelo tries his hand at various creative tasks, in additions to the already existing sculptural ensemble of Benedetto da Maiano, the tomb of St. Dominic in the Church of San Domenico in Bologna, for which he created small ones marble statues:

St. Proclus (1494) and St. Petronius (1494)
Marble. 1494 Michelangelo Buonarroti. Church of San Domenico, Bologna

Angel holding a candelabra (1494-1495) for the altar of the chapel
Marble. 1494-1495 Michelangelo Buonarroti. Church of San Domenico, Bologna

Marble. Fragment. 1494-1495 Michelangelo Buonarroti. Church of San Domenico, Bologna

Their images are full of inner life and bear a clear imprint of the individuality of their creator. The figure of a kneeling angel is very natural and beautiful, precisely designed to be viewed from a certain point of view. With simple, economical gestures, he grasps the carved stand of the candelabra, the spacious robe flows in voluminous folds around his bowed legs. With the cuteness of her features and the detached expression on her face, the angel resembles an antique statue.

Inscribed in the previously created ensemble of the tomb, these statues did not disturb its harmony. The statues of St. Petronius and St. Proclus clearly show the influence of the works of Donatello, Masaccio and Jacopo della Quercia. They can be compared with the statues of saints in the outer niches of the facade of the Church of Or San Michele in Florence, created in early period works of Donatello, which Michelangelo could freely study in his hometown.

First return to Florence

By the end of 1495, despite fairly good living conditions and the first successful orders completed in Bologna, Michelangelo nevertheless decided to return to Florence. However, the city of childhood became unkind to the servants of art. The accusatory sermons of the stern ascetic monk Savonarola slowly but steadily changed the worldview of the Florentines. In the squares of the city, where until recently talented artists, poets, philosophers, and architects were extolled, bonfires began to burn, in which books and paintings were burned. Already Sandro Botticelli, succumbing to the general disgust for the brilliantly beautiful, but defiled by sinful idolatry, personally throws his masterpieces into the fire. According to the teachings of the fiery monk, masters were supposed to create works of exclusively religious content. In such conditions, the young sculptor could not stay for long; his imminent departure was inevitable.

“... he returned with pleasure to Florence, where for Lorenzo, son of Pierfrancesco de' Medici, he carved from marble St. John as a child and immediately from another piece of marble a life-sized sleeping Cupid, and when it was finished, through Baldassarre del Milanese it , as a beautiful thing, was shown to Pierfrancesco, who agreed with this and said to Michelangelo: “If you bury it in the ground and then send it to Rome, forging it as an old one, I am sure that it will pass for an ancient one there and you will get much more for it, than if you sell it here." They say that Michelangelo decorated it in such a way that it looked ancient, which is nothing to be surprised at, because he had enough talent to do both this and better. Others claim that Milanese took it to Rome and buried it in one of his vineyards, and then sold it as an ancient one to Cardinal St. George for two hundred ducats. They also say that it was sold by someone acting for Milanese and writing to Pierfrancesco, deceiving the cardinal, Pierfrancesco and Michelangelo, that Michelangelo should have been given thirty crowns, since more was supposedly not received for Cupid. However, later it was learned from eyewitnesses that Cupid was made in Florence, and the cardinal, having found out the truth through his messenger, ensured that the person acting for Milanese took back Cupid, which then fell into the hands of Duke Valentino, who presented it to the Marchioness Mantuan, who sent him to her possessions, where he remains today. This whole story served as a reproach to Cardinal St. George, who did not appreciate the dignity of the work, namely its perfection, for new things are the same as ancient ones, if only they were excellent, and he who pursues more the name than the quality , only shows his vanity, but people of this kind, who attach more importance to appearances than to substance, are found at all times.” Vasari

Both statues - "Cupid" and "St. John" - have not survived.

In April or May 1496, Michelangelo completed “Cupid” and, following advice, gave it the appearance of an ancient Greek work, and sold it to Cardinal Riario in Rome, who, being sure that he was acquiring an antique, paid 200 ducats. An intermediary in Rome deceived Michelangelo and paid him only 30 ducats. Having learned about the forgery, the cardinal sent his man, who found Michelangelo and invited him to Rome. He agreed and on June 25, 1496 he entered the “eternal city”.

3. First Roman period (1496-1501)

“... Michelangelo’s fame became such that he was immediately summoned to Rome, where, by agreement with Cardinal St. George stayed with him for about a year, but did not receive any orders from him, since he knew little about these arts. At this very time, the cardinal's barber, who was also a painter and very diligently painted with tempera, became friends with Michelangelo, but did not know how to draw. And Michelangelo made for him a cardboard depicting St. Francis receiving the stigmata, and the barber executed it very carefully with paints on a small board, and this pictorial work is now in the first chapel of the church of San Pietro a Montorio, on the left hand of the entrance. What were Michelangelo's abilities, Messer Jacopo Galli, a Roman nobleman, a gifted man, understood perfectly well after this, who ordered him a marble Cupid of natural size, and then a statue of Bacchus... Thus, during this stay in Rome, he achieved, while studying art, such that both his lofty thoughts and the difficult manner he applied with the lightest of ease seemed incredible, scaring off both those who were unfamiliar with such things and those who were accustomed to good things; after all, everything that was created before seemed insignificant compared to his things" Vasari

In 1496, Michelangelo went to Rome with a letter of recommendation from Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, addressed to the cardinal-philanthropist Raphael Riario, who enjoyed significant influence in the circle of the Roman clergy. Like Lorenzo de' Medici, the cardinal was passionate fan ancient art and owned an extensive collection of ancient sculptures.

Michelangelo entered Rome at the age of 21. Rome was the center of life for many people living in northern Italy. It was also the religious center of the Roman Catholic Church. The Pope lived there in a church complex called the Vatican. Many of the great masterpieces of Renaissance art were created in Rome, particularly commissioned by the pope or other important church officials. New opportunities opened up for Michelangelo's work in Rome, but restrictions also appeared. The free-thinking young man did not want to limit himself only religious art, in whose works one should express religious ideas and aspirations, whose task, ultimately, is to renew and reinforce religious beliefs. Michelangelo felt closer to God, being in the process of creativity, creating magnificent statues that reflect the beauty of the human body.

For the artist and sculptor, Rome was of particular interest antique works arts that adorned the city and enriched it more than ever in the times of Michelangelo and Raphael thanks to excavations. Going beyond the Florentine artistic environment and closer contact with ancient tradition contributed to broadening the young master’s horizons and enlarging the scale of his artistic thinking. Not being carried away to the point of oblivion by ancient labels, he nevertheless carefully studied everything worthy of attention, which became one of the sources of his rich plasticity. Brilliant instinct Great master was deeply aware of the difference in the direction of ancient art and contemporary art. The ancients saw the naked body everywhere; in the Renaissance, the beauty of the body came to the fore again as an element necessary in art.

With a trip to Rome and work there, it opens up new stage works of Michelangelo. His works of this early Roman period are marked by a new scale, scope, and rise to the heights of mastery. Buonarroti's first stay in Rome lasted five years and in the late 1490s he created two major works:
- statue of "Bacchus"(1496-1497, National Museum, Florence), paying a peculiar tribute to the passion for ancient monuments,
- group “Lamentation of Christ”, or “Pieta”(1498-1501, St. Peter's Cathedral, Rome), where he puts new, humanistic content into the traditional Gothic scheme, expressing the grief of a young and beautiful woman about her lost son,
and not preserved:
- cardboard "St. Francis" (1496-1497) ,
- "Cupid" statue(1496-1497).

Rome is full of ancient monuments. In its very center there is now a kind of museum under open air- the ruins of a huge ensemble of ancient Roman forums. Many individual architectural monuments and sculptures of antiquity decorate the city squares and its museums.

A visit to Rome, contact with ancient culture, the monuments of which Michelangelo admired in the Medici collection in Florence, discovery the most famous monument antiquity - the statue of Apollo (later called the Belvedere, after the place where the statue was exhibited for the first time), which coincided with his arrival in Rome - all this helped Michelangelo to more deeply and deeply appreciate antique plastic. Having creatively mastered the achievements of ancient masters, sculptors of the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, Michelangelo showed the world his masterpieces. He endowed the generalized image of an ideally beautiful person, found in ancient art, with individual character traits, revealing the complexity of the inner world and mental life of a person.

Intoxicated Bacchus (1496-1498)

Michelangelo traveled to Rome, where he was able to explore many newly excavated ancient statues and ruins. Soon he created his first large-scale sculpture - more than life-size "Bacchus" (1496-1498, Bargello National Museum, Florence). This statue of the Roman god of wine, created in the city - the center of the Catholic Church, on a pagan rather than a Christian subject, rivaled ancient sculpture - the highest degree of praise in Renaissance Rome.

Bacchus and Satyr fragment
Marble. 1496-1498 Michelangelo Buonarroti. National Bargello Museum, Florence

Fragment. Marble. 1496-1498 Michelangelo Buonarroti. National Bargello Museum, Florence

Michelangelo showed the completed statue of Bacchus to Cardinal Riario, but he was restrained and did not express any particular enthusiasm for the work of the young sculptor. Probably, the range of his hobbies was limited to ancient Roman art, and therefore the works of his contemporaries were not of particular interest. However, other connoisseurs had a different opinion, and the statue by Michelangelo was generally highly appreciated. The Roman banker Jacopo Galli, who decorated his garden with a collection of Roman statues, was as passionate a collector as Cardinal Riario, and acquired a statue of Bacchus. Later, his acquaintance with the banker played a big role in Michelangelo’s career. Through his mediation, the sculptor made acquaintance with the French cardinal Jean de Villiers Fesanzac, from whom he received an important order.

“What were the abilities of Michelangelo, Messer Jacopo Galli, a Roman nobleman, a gifted man, perfectly understood after this, who ordered him a marble Cupid of natural size, and then a statue of Bacchus ten palms high, holding a cup in his right hand, and a tiger skin and a grape with his left a brush toward which a small satyr is reaching. From this statue one can understand that he wanted to achieve a certain combination of the marvelous members of his body, especially giving them the youthful flexibility characteristic of a man, and feminine fleshiness and roundness: one has to marvel at the fact that he is exactly in statues showed his superiority over all the new masters who worked before him" Vasari

Bacchus (Greek), also known as Bacchus (Latin), or Dionysus, is the patron saint of winegrowers and winemaking in Greek mythology, in ancient times he was revered in cities and villages, and merry holidays were held in his honor (hence the bacchanals).

Michelangelo's Bacchus is very convincing. Bacchus is represented by the sculptor in the form of a naked youth with a cup of wine in his hand. The human-sized statue of an intoxicated Bacchus is intended for all-round viewing. His posture is unstable. Bacchus seems ready to fall forward, but maintains his balance by leaning back; his gaze is turned to the cup of wine. The muscles of the back look elastic, but relaxed muscles of the abdomen and thighs demonstrate physical, and therefore spiritual, weakness. The lowered left hand holds the skin and grapes. The drunken god of wine is accompanied by a small satyr who feasts on a bunch of grapes.

Like The Battle of the Centaurs, Bacchus thematically directly connects Michelangelo with ancient mythology, with its life-affirming, clear images. And if the “Battle of the Centaurs” is closer in the nature of its execution to the reliefs of ancient Roman sarcophagi, then in the setting of the figure of “Bacchus” the principle found by ancient Greek sculptors, in particular Lysippos, who was interested in the problem of conveying unstable movement, was used. But as in “The Battle of the Centaurs,” Michelangelo gave his own interpretation of the theme here. In Bacchus, instability is perceived differently than in the sculpture of the ancient sculptor. This is not a moment’s respite after strenuous movement, but a long-term state caused by intoxication, when the muscles are limply relaxed.

The image of a small goat-footed satyr accompanying Bacchus is noteworthy. Carefree, smiling cheerfully, he steals grapes from Bacchus. The motif of casual fun that permeates this sculptural group is an exceptional phenomenon in Michelangelo. Throughout its long creative life he never returned to it again.

The sculptor achieved a difficult task: to create the impression of instability without compositional imbalance, which could disrupt the aesthetic effect. The young sculptor masterfully dealt with the purely technical difficulties of staging a large marble figure. Like the ancient masters, he introduced a support - a marble stump, on which he placed the satyr, thus playing up this technical detail compositionally and in meaning.

The impression of complete completion of the statue is given by the processing and polishing of the marble surface, and the careful execution of every detail. And although “Bacchus” does not belong to the highest achievements of the sculptor and, perhaps less than his other works, is marked by the individuality of the creator, it still testifies to his commitment to ancient images, the depiction of the naked body, as well as increased technical skill.

"Lamentation of Christ", or "Pieta" (c. 1498-1500)

Arriving in Rome in 1496, two years later Michelangelo received an order for a statue of the Virgin and Christ. He sculpted an incomparable sculptural group, including the figure of the Mother of God grieving over the body of the Savior taken down from the cross. This work undoubtedly marks the beginning creative maturity masters The Lamentation of Christ group was originally intended for the Chapel of the Virgin Mary in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, and is still located in St. Peter's Basilica, in the first chapel on the right.

St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. "Pieta"

Michelangelo "Pieta", 1499. Marble. Height: 174 cm. St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican

Marble. OK. 1498-1500. Michelangelo Buonarroti. Cathedral of St. Petra, Rome

Fragments:

Fragment. Marble. OK. 1498-1500. Michelangelo Buonarroti. Cathedral of St. Petra, Rome

The order for the sculptural group was received thanks to the guarantee of the banker Jacopo Galli, who acquired the statue of “Bacchus” and some other works by Michelangelo for his collection. The contract was concluded on August 26, 1498, the customer was the French cardinal Jean de Villiers Fesanzac. According to the contract, the master was obliged to complete the work in a year, and received 450 ducats for it. The work was completed around 1500, after the death of the cardinal, who died in 1498. Perhaps this marble group was originally intended for the future tomb of the customer. By the time the Lamentation of Christ ended, Michelangelo was only 25 years old.

The contract contains the words of the guarantor, who stated “that it will be best work made of marble that exists in our day, and that no master in our day can make it better.” Time has confirmed the words of Galli, who turned out to be a far-sighted and subtle connoisseur of art. “The Lamentation of Christ” still has an irresistible effect with its perfection and depth of artistic solution.

This grandiose order opens a new stage in the life of the young sculptor. He opened his own workshop and hired a team of assistants. During this period, he repeatedly visited the Carr quarries, where he himself chose marble blocks for his future sculptures. For the “Pieta” a short but fairly wide block of marble was required, since according to his plan, the body of her adult Son was placed on the lap of the Virgin Mary.

This composition became a key work of Michelangelo's early Roman period, marking the beginning of the High Renaissance in Italian sculpture. Some researchers compare the meaning of the marble group “Lamentation of Christ” with the meaning of the famous “Madonna in the Grotto” by Leonardo da Vinci, which opens the same stage in painting.

“... These things aroused the desire of Cardinal St. Dionysius, called the French Cardinal of Rouen, to leave, through the medium of an artist so rare, a worthy memory of himself in a city so famous, and he ordered him a marble, entirely round sculpture with the lamentation of Christ, which Upon its completion, it was placed in St. Peter's Cathedral in the chapel of the Virgin Mary, healer of fever, where the Temple of Mars used to be. Let it never occur to any sculptor, even if he were a rare artist, the thought that he could add something to such a design and to such grace and through his labors could someday achieve such subtlety and purity and cut marble with such skill as Michelangelo showed in this thing, for in it all the power and all the possibilities inherent in art are revealed. Among the beauties here, in addition to the divinely made robes, the deceased Christ attracts attention; and let it not even occur to anyone to see a naked body made so skillfully, with such beautiful limbs, with the muscles, vessels, and veins dressing its frame so finely trimmed, or to see a dead man more similar to a dead man than this dead man. Here is the most tender expression of the face, and a certain consistency in the binding and pairing of the arms, and in the connection of the torso and legs, and such a treatment of the blood vessels that you are truly thrown into amazement how the artist’s hand could, in the shortest possible time, so divinely and impeccably create such a wondrous thing; and, of course, it is a miracle that a stone, initially devoid of any form, could ever be brought to that perfection that nature has difficulty imparting to flesh. Michelangelo put so much love and work into this creation that only on it (which he did not do in his other works) he wrote his name along the belt tightening the chest of the Mother of God; It turned out that one day Michelangelo, approaching the place where the work was placed, saw there a large number of visitors from Lombardy, highly praising it, and when one of them turned to the other with the question of who did it, he answered: “ Our Milanese Gobbo." Michelangelo remained silent, and it seemed at least strange to him that his works were attributed to another. One night he locked himself there with a lamp, taking the chisels with him, and carved his name on the sculpture. And truly she is as one most beautiful poet said about her, as if addressing a real and living figure:
Dignity and beauty
And sorrow: you will groan over this marble!
He is dead, having lived, and taken down from the cross
Beware of raising your songs,
So as not to call from the dead until the time comes
The one who accepted grief alone
For everyone who is our master,
You are now father, husband and son,
O you, his wife, and mother, and daughter." Vasari

This beautiful marble sculpture remains to this day a monument to the full maturity of the artist’s talent. Sculpted in marble, this sculptural group amazes with its bold handling of traditional iconography, the humanity of the created images, and high craftsmanship. This is one of the most famous works in the history of world art.

“And it was not for nothing that he acquired the greatest glory for himself, and although some, after all, but still ignorant people say that his Mother of God is too young, have they not noticed or do they not know that virgins who have not been discredited in any way hold back for a long time and keep their facial expression undistorted, but in those burdened with grief, as Christ was, the opposite is observed? Why such a work brought his talent more honor and glory than all the previous ones taken together.” Vasari

Young Mary is shown with dead Christ on the knees is an image borrowed from Northern European art. The most early versions The Pietà also included the figures of St. John the Baptist and Mary Magdalene. Michelangelo, however, limited himself to two key figures - the Virgin and Christ. Some researchers suggest that Michelangelo depicted himself and his mother in the sculptural group, who died when he was only six years old. Art historians note that his Virgin Mary is as young as the sculptor’s mother at the time of her death.

The theme of mourning Christ was popular in both Gothic art and the Renaissance, but here it is treated rather restrainedly. Gothic knew two types of such mourning: either with the participation of the young Mary, whose ideally beautiful face is not able to darken the grief that befell her, or with the elderly Mother of God, gripped by terrible, heartbreaking despair. Michelangelo in his group decisively departs from the usual attitudes. He depicted Mary as young, but at the same time she is infinitely far from the conventional beauty and emotional immobility of Gothic Madonnas of this type. Her feeling is a living human experience, embodied with such depth and richness of shades that here for the first time we can talk about introducing a psychological element into the image. 3 and the young mother’s external restraint reveals the full depth of her grief; the mournful silhouette of a bowed head, a hand gesture that sounds like a tragic question, everything adds up to an image of enlightened grief.

(To be continued)

The Medici Chapel in Florence is located on the territory of the Church of San Lorenzo and is considered one of the most beautiful and sad places in the city. Thanks to the great masters of the Renaissance, the luxury of earthly existence of the Medici clan was embodied in their decoration last resort. Crypts and tombstones made famous masters Renaissance, remind of the perishability of earthly existence and the eternity of the universe.

The Church of San Lorenzo, founded in 393 by Saint Ambrose, was reconstructed in the 11th century, after which it acquired the appearance of a rectangular basilica with columns of different sizes at the base. Architect Filippo Bruneleschi, commissioned by Cosimo the Elder de' Medici, added a building in the shape of a hemispherical dome to the medieval church in the 15th century and covered it with red tiles.

The long rectangular room of the Basilica of San Lorenzo ends in a bifurcation, on the left side of which is the old sacristy (sacristy) and the transition to the Laurenziano Library building, on the right side is the Medici Chapel, and at the end rises the Chapel of the Princes. The rough cladding of the church's exterior contrasts with its magnificent interior decoration.

Interior decoration

The Church of San Lorenzo is the tomb of many prominent Florentine painters, historians and political figures. For the most famous personalities, sarcophagi are installed on the marble floor and on the upper tiers of the walls. The basilica's pillars are topped by Gothic ceiling vaults made of gray stone. In the huge vertical niches there are canvases by the great Florentine painters Pietro Marchesini “St. Matthew” 1723, “The Crucifixion” 1700 Francesco Conti, “The Crucifixion and the Two Mourners” by Lorenzo Lippi.

Part of the wall is decorated with a huge fresco depicting the Great Martyr St. Lawrence by the artist Bronzino, and a musical organ is installed on the dais. Through the bronze lattice, under the altar of the church, one can see the burial place of Cosimo the Elder Medici, which was arranged by the townspeople themselves, expressing deep gratitude and appreciation to the philanthropist and ruler of Florence.

In the center of the hall, on high supports, there are two sarcophagus-like lecterns. They are decorated with bronze reliefs depicting scenes from the life of Christ. This last works Donatello, a unique master of bronze casting, the founder of the sculptural portrait and the round statue, who spent the last years of his life in Florence and rests under a marble slab in the Church of San Lorenzo.

Old sacristy

The sacristy (sacristy) serves to store church supplies and prepare priests for divine services, but in the Basilica of San Lorenzo it has a different purpose. The old sacristy turned into the crypt of the founder of the Medici family, Giovanni di Bicci. Designed by the architect Filippo Brunneleschi, the tomb is a perfect square room, the architecture of which is dominated by strict geometric lines.

Being influenced by ancient masters, Brunneleschi uses columns and pilasters characteristic of Roman architecture in the interior. The walls are decorated with overlays made of gray-green marble, which, in combination with beige plaster, emphasize the regular shape of the sacristy. A corridor under gloomy arches leads to the lower burial chambers and to the tomb of Medici Cosimo the Elder. The walls of the crypt are decorated with red altar velvet with patterns of silver ornate plates.

Bronze busts of the resting Medici and precious church utensils are placed everywhere. Special attention deserves a silver processional cross from 877, a reliquary of the Holy Departed from 1715, a golden tabernacle from Lorenzo Dolci from 1787. There is also an archbishop's shrine from 1622 and vessels with holy relics. The wooden doors of the crypt are skillfully decorated with carvings.

New sacristy

The New Sacristy, or Chapel, was designed and recreated by the architect Michelangelo, commissioned by Giulio de' Medici of Pope Clement VII in 1520. The room was intended for the burials of the great Tuscan dukes from the Medici family. Michelangelo at that time was in a rather difficult position, being on the one hand a supporter of the Republicans, who were waging a fierce struggle with the Medici, on the other hand he was a court sculptor working for his enemies.

The master built a temple and a crypt for the family, which, if they won, could severely punish their architect. The road to the Medici Chapel leads through the entire Basilica of San Lorenzo and turns right, where going down the steps you can get into the room with the tombs.

Sarcophagus of the Duke of Neymours

The muted colors of the room and thin rays of light breaking through a small window in the ceiling create a feeling of sadness and peace in the family tomb. In one of the niches on the wall there is a marble sculpture of Giuliano the Duke of Neymours, youngest son Lorenzo Medici. The figure of a young man sitting on a throne is dressed in the armor of a Roman warrior, and his head is thoughtfully turned to the side. On either side of the sarcophagus lie majestic sculptures that represent day and night by Michelangelo.

Sarcophagus of the Duke of Urbino

On the opposite side of the wall, opposite Giuliano's coffin, is a sculpture of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, grandson of Lorenzo de' Medici. The Duke of Urbino Lorenzo is represented in the image of an ancient Greek warrior, sitting in armor above his tomb, and at his feet there are majestic sculptures recreating morning and evening.

Sarcophagi of the brothers Lorenzo the Magnificent and Giuliano

The third burial of the Chapel is the graves of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his 25-year-old brother Giuliano, who died at the hands of the conspirators in 1478. The tombstone is made in the form of a long tabletop, on which are installed the marble statues “Madonna and Child” by Michelangelo, “Saint Cosmas” by Angelo di Montorsoli and “Saint Domian” by Raphael di Montelupo. The entire composition of the Chapel is united by the rapidly running moments of life and the endless passage of time.

Chapel of the Princes

The entrance to the Chapel of the Princes is possible from Piazza del Madonna del Brandini, which is located on the opposite side of the Church of San Lorenzo. This luxurious room contains six burial places of the hereditary Grand Dukes of Tuscany. The Hall of the Princes was designed by Mateo Nigetti in 1604, and decorated by Florentine artisans from the Pietra dura workshop, owned by the Medici family.

Various types of marble and semi-precious stones were used to cover the walls. Thin stone plates were selected according to the ornament and tightly fastened at the joints. The installed sarcophagi are decorated with the Medici family coats of arms. The dukes were moneylenders and the founders of the extensive banking system of Western Europe.

On their coat of arms there are six balls, which were considered to be the interest rate on loans issued. The mosaic tiles at the bottom of the wall represent the coats of arms of Tuscan cities. There are only two sculptures installed in the recesses - these are Dukes Ferdinand I and Cosimo II. Due to the fact that the Chapel was not completely completed, other niches remained empty.

What else to see

The most valuable collection of books and ancient manuscripts is in the Laurenziano Library. The library building and the magnificent gray staircase leading to it are the work of Michelangelo. The collection of manuscript collections began with Cosimo the Elder Medici and was continued by Lorenzo I Medici, after whom the literary repository was named. To get to the library you need to cross the well-kept churchyard.

Excursions

The reign of the Medici dukes lasted about 300 years and ended in the middle of the 18th century. The Medici skillfully used art and architecture to demonstrate their wealth and power. Court sculptors, architects and artists received orders to build palaces and produce paintings. At the beginning of the 15th century, several Medici families chose the Church of San Lorenzo as a burial place for members of their family.

Each branch of the dynasty paid for the construction and reconstruction of a specific area in the basilica. Some of the clan were honored to be in the Chapel of the Princes, while others rest in the niches of the crypt. All the subtleties and interweavings in the biography of the most famous Tuscan family will be explained to travelers by competent guides who have extensive experience in conducting excursions in Florence and are fluent in historical material.

Mysteries of the Medici Chapel

The Medici clan of Dukes created the history of Florence from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Their family members included popes and two queens of France. The Medici were not only influential rulers, but also patrons of the arts who patronized the great creators of the Renaissance. Possessing enormous power and untold wealth, the Medici Dukes, according to historical evidence, first tried to buy, but having been refused, they made several attempts to steal the Holy Sepulcher from Jerusalem in order to place it in the middle of the Chapel of the Princes.

Who is buried in the Chapel of the Princes of the Basilica of San Lorenzo? What precious stones decorated octagonal tomb of the Dukes? Who owned the jewelry and granite workshops of Florence and how were they used? How mosaic surfaces were connected to each other various breeds and why are the connecting seams not visible on the wall cladding? Curious tourists will get answers to these and many other questions by taking advantage of an individual excursion with a professional guide.

Great Medici tombs

Two years after the death of Pope Leo X, the grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Pope Clement XVII, continued to finance the construction of a chapel in the new sacristy of San Lorenzo. The sculptor Michelangelo and his apprentices worked on the design of the Medici Chapel for more than 10 years. Michelangelo's favorite material was white marble from the Carrara quarries. The master himself was often present during the selection of blocks for his work.

The allegorical sculptures of Day, Night, Morning and Evening, in the Medici Chapel, were also made by the architect from white Carrara marble and carefully polished to a shine. Explore all corners of the Church of San Lorenzo and not get lost in the corridors of the tombs, learn a lot of interesting information in a short period of time and see the iconic sights of Florence and the Medici Chapel - this is only possible with the help of competent guides and individual excursions.

Medici and Renaissance

Freedom of creative choice was possible in Republican Florence, but starting from the 15th century, all talented craftsmen were completely dependent on the Medici court. Michelangelo was a supporter of the Republicans and opposed the tyranny of the Medici, while fulfilling multiple orders from the family. Fearing the ducal wrath, the sculptor continued to design the Church of San Lorenzo, the Laurenziano Library and the new sacristy.

After the defeat of the Republicans, Michelangelo hid from his masters in the sacristy under the Chapel of San Lorenzo and remained there until the Pope forgave his rebellion. After these events, in 1534 the master moved to Rome without finishing the design of the Medici Chapel. Work on the tomb of Lorenzo the Magnificent was continued by Vasari, and the sculptures of Cosimo and Domiano were completed by Michelangelo's students. The great Michelangelo himself (1475-1564) - sculptor, poet, painter and engineer, is buried in the marble tomb of San Lorenzo.

A special role in the design of the Basilica of San Lorenzo was played by the genius of sculpture Donatello (1386-1466). Two huge pulpits, each standing on four columns, are decorated with bronze plates made by the master. The theme for their design was biblical themes that describe the life of St. Lawrence, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Descent from the Cross. Being an unpretentious person, Donatello did not work for money, was content with modest food and did not wear rich clothes.

The funds he earned were free access for students, and according to the stories of contemporaries, “they were kept in a basket suspended from the ceiling in the sculptor’s workshop.” Combining antiquity and the Renaissance in his works, Donatello paid great attention to drawing and test castings in wax and clay. Unfortunately, not a single diagram or sample has survived to this day.

These and other interesting facts about the role of the Medici in centuries-old history Renaissance Florence, tourists learn from competent guides during individual excursions.

Opening hours and ticket prices

Complex historical buildings in the Church of San Lorenzo, varies in visiting times and requires separate purchase of tickets.

Opening hours of the Basilica of San Lorenzo:

• from 10.00 to 17.00 daily
• from 13.30 to 17.30 on Sunday
• closed on Sundays from November to February

Ticket offices close at 16.30.

Ticket prices:

• 6 euros for visiting the basilica;
• 8.5 euros for a joint visit to the Basilica and Laurenziano Library.

Opening hours of the Medici Chapel:

• from 08.15 to 15.45;
• Closed January 1, December 25, May 1, 1st to 3rd, and 5th Monday of the month, 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month.

Tickets to the Chapel cost 8 euros.

Where is it and how to get there

The Church of San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapel are located at Piazza di San Lorenzo, 9, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia.

City bus No. 1 takes tourists to the San Lorenzo stop.

If you travel by car, you can use the underground parking at Florence Santa Maria Novella train station, which is within walking distance of the basilica.

Medici Chapel in Florence on the map

It’s sweet for me to sleep like a sculptured stone in a niche,
as long as the world lives in shame and torment;
not feeling, not knowing is a blessed fate;
Are you still here? So keep your voice down.
Translation by Elena Katsyuba.

The names of Lorenzo and Giuliano de' Medici are also associated with one of the greatest masterpieces of the High Renaissance - the Medici Chapel - a sculptural ensemble made by Michelangelo and located in the so-called New Sacristy (sacristy) of the Church of San Lorenzo (the family church of the Medici family) in Florence. After the death of Pope Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere, pont. 1503-1513), one of the most demanding, but also generous patrons of the arts, a man of exorbitant ambitions, the pope under whom began the construction of the unprecedented scale of St. Peter's Cathedral, where Michelangelo was to build a majestic tomb decorated with fifty statues, in which Julius rests; completed by Michelangelo and open for viewing are the frescoes of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the chapel of St. Sixtus, patron of the Rovere family; Raphael painted the palace rooms (stanzas) of the pope's apartments in the Vatican; Leo X (Pont. 1513-1521), Giovanni de' Medici, the second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was elected pope.
Florence. c.San Lorenzo
Perhaps because he was born in the year of the memorable Florentine tournament, the so-called Giostra (1475), and perhaps due to natural inclination, Leo X, having adopted his father’s diplomatic abilities, also adopted an exorbitant love of luxury and entertainment. The papal estates, mines and treasury left by Julius II were not enough to pay for hunts, feasts, and celebrations. Both Erasmus of Rotterdam and the young monk Martin Luther were horrified by visiting Rome during these years. There was not enough money, and Leo X carried out several financial projects, two of which: the official sale of church positions (“simony”) and the sale of “releases” (“indulgences”), finally exhausted the patience of a large part of Western Christians. Luther issued his “Theses,” and the pope responded with a bull ordering the burning of Luther’s works. The Reformation began in Germany.
Leo X died suddenly, without even having time to receive unction. Of course, during the years of his pontificate, the construction of St. Peter's Cathedral was progressing poorly, and there was nothing to think about the grandiose tomb of Pope Julius II. True, he suggested that Michelangelo create the facade of the Church of San Lorenzo, unfinished by Brunelleschi, so that this temple would become “the mirror of all Italy,” and Michelangelo gladly agreed to leave for his beloved Florence, where he worked hard for four years until, in 1520, all according to the same due to lack of money, work on the facade was not stopped.
However, in the same year, Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, the future Pope Clement VII (Pont. 1523-1534), the illegitimate son of Giuliano de' Medici and the same age as his cousin Giovanni (Leo X), who grew up in the house of his uncle (Lorenzo the Magnificent) after the murder of his father, offered Michelangelo another option for work in San Lorenzo. He proposed creating in the new sacristy of the church an ensemble of tombstones for recently deceased family members: Lorenzo, the son of Pietro Medici (the elder brother of Leo X) and Giuliano, the youngest of the sons of Lorenzo the Magnificent - not famous for anything except their family names: Lorenzo and Giuliano.
At first, Michelangelo, depressed by the failure with the façade of the church, accepted the idea without enthusiasm: he did not have any special feelings for the dead. But he remembered the years spent in the brilliant circle of Lorenzo the Magnificent and honored his memory. And in the New Sacristy there should have been sarcophagi with the ashes of the elders Lorenzo and Giuliano.

The architectural and plastic design of the tomb was dictated by the small size of the chapel, forming a square with a side of 11 meters in plan. To place in such a small room a structure designed for a circular bypass, as he initially intended (focusing on compositional ideas tomb of Julius II) was impossible, and Michelangelo chose the traditional composition of wall tombs.

Tomb of Giuliano Medici
The compositions of the tombs on the side walls are symmetrical. Near the wall to the left of the entrance is the tomb of Giuliano. In a rectangular wall niche is the figure of Giuliano, a seated young Florentine in the garb of a Roman patrician with his head uncovered, facing the front wall of the chapel. Below it is a sarcophagus, on the currencies of which there are two allegorical figures: female - Night and male - Day. Night - she sleeps, leaning her bowed head on her right hand, under her left hand is a mask, near her hip is an owl. Day - awake, he leans on his left elbow, half turned towards the viewer in such a way that half of his face is hidden by his powerful right shoulder and back. The face of the Day is worked out sketchily.

Tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici
Opposite, near the wall to the right of the entrance is the tomb of Lorenzo. He is also dressed in Roman clothes, but a helmet is pulled over his eyes, hiding them in the shadows. His pose is full of deep thoughtfulness, his left hand, in which he holds the wallet, is raised to his face and rests on a casket with jewelry, standing on his knee. The head is slightly turned to the right, towards the front wall.

"Evening"
The composition of the sarcophagus is similar, on the currencies there are figures: male - Evening, female - Morning. Both figures are turned towards the viewer. Evening tends to sleep, Morning awakens.

Italy | Michelangelo Buonarroti | (1475-1564) | Medici Chapel | 1526-1533 | marble | New Sacristy of San Lorenzo, Florence |
Near the front wall of the chapel, opposite the entrance and the altar, in a rectangular niche framed by dark columns, orders in the Brunelleschi style, there is a simple rectangular sarcophagus with the ashes of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano. On the lid of the sarcophagus there are figures: a seated Madonna with a child on her lap (in the center), St. Cosmas and St. Domiana on the sides. The figures of the saints were not sculpted by Michelangelo, but, respectively, by Montorsoli and Raffaello da Montelupo. The Medici Madonna is the key image of the chapel: she is placed in the center of the front wall, the views of the saints are turned to her, and the dukes look at her from their niches. She sits, leaning her right hand on the pedestal, on her extended left knee - a baby, half-turned to her mother so that the viewer does not see his face. Madonna holds the child with her left hand. Her facial expression and entire posture are filled with thoughtful detachment.

Contemporaries were struck by the same thing that strikes today - the perfection of the architectural and plastic ensemble of the chapel as a whole, the perfection of the plastic connection of all the sculptures in space, the extraordinary - even for the genius Michelangelo - realism of each of the sculptures, rising to a high generalization, a symbol. ABOUT symbolic meanings A lot has been said about allegories of Morning, Day, Evening and Night. As you know, the figure of the Night attracted particular attention, and an exchange of poetic epigraphs took place between Giovanni Strozzi and Michelangelo. We want to dwell on the sculptures of Lorenzo and Giuliano and touch upon the problem of the “ideal portrait”.
Neither in appearance nor in faces did contemporaries see any portrait resemblance to the recently deceased relatives of Pope Leo X and Clement VII. We think this is easy to explain. It was not these specific people who were depicted by the sculptor above their sarcophagi. The legend of Florence was another Lorenzo and another Giuliano, brothers - those who rested near the front wall. Brothers - and that’s why the tombstones are symmetrical.

During the construction of the chapel from 1520 to 1534, with two long breaks, such thunderstorms swept over Italy in general and over Florence that it seems surprising that the Medici Chapel was almost completed. The pontificate of Clement VII was marked by the sack of Rome by the army of Charles V of Habsburg, which the Eternal City had not seen since the invasion of the barbarians, and ended, in addition to the flaring up Reformation, also with a schism between the Roman and English churches, whose head Henry VIII proclaimed himself. Some church historians consider Clement VII to be the last pope of the Renaissance. And if you follow this, albeit very conventional, chronology, the Medici Chapel is seen as an unsurpassed in perfection tombstone of the brilliant Florentine Renaissance.

Michelangelo wrote “The Last Judgment” as a witness to a different time.

Manon&Gabrielle."Lorenzo and Giuliano".

Medici Tombs (1520-1534)

“The death of Leo led to such confusion among artists and art both in Rome and in Florence that during the life of Adrian VI, Michelangelo remained in Florence and worked on the tomb of Julius. But when Adrian died and Clement VII, who strived in the arts of architecture, sculpture and painting, was elected pope leave behind glory no less than Leo and his other predecessors... Michelangelo was summoned to Rome by Pope Clement VII, by whose order he began the library of San Lorenzo and the New Sacristy, where the marble tombs of his ancestors were to be placed dads...

He placed there four tombs adorning the walls, intended for the ashes of the fathers of two popes: Lorenzo the elder and Giuliano, his brother, as well as for Giuliano, brother of Leo, and for Duke Lorenzo, his nephew. And since he planned to imitate the old sacristy created by Filippo Brunellesco, but with decorations of a different order, he decorated it with a complex order in a more varied and newer spirit than that which the old and modern masters, for by the novelty of such beautiful cornices, capitals and bases, doors, niches and tombs, he created something very different from what was done in size, in order and according to rules in accordance with generally accepted custom, with Vitruvius and with antiquity by people who did not want anything add to the old one. And these liberties greatly encouraged those who, having seen his work, began to imitate him; after which new inventions appeared in their ornaments, rather as whims than according to reason or rules. Therefore, artists are infinitely and forever indebted to him for the fact that he broke the bonds and chains in those things that they invariably created on a single beaten path" Vasari.

Michelangelo worked for almost fifteen years on the Medici tomb in Florence, commissioned by Pope Clement VII, who was from the Medici family.

The matter was about perpetuating the memory not of the former famous Medici, but of those representatives of this family who openly established monarchical rule in Florence, two dukes who died early and were unremarkable. The new sacristy of the Church of San Lorenzo (Medici Chapel) was a pair of the Old one, built by Brunelleschi a century earlier; it was left unfinished due to Michelangelo's departure to Rome in 1534. The new sacristy was conceived as a funeral chapel for Giuliano de' Medici, brother of Pope Leo, and Lorenzo, his nephew, who died young.

In 1520 Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, the future Pope Clement VII (with the approval of Pope Leo X, the second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent), commissioned Michelangelo to build the Medici chapel and tombs. Initially, the construction of four tombs was planned: Lorenzo the Magnificent, his brother Giuliano, who died as a result of the Pazzi conspiracy, and his grandson Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours (brother of Piero and Leo X). Work began in 1521, but the death of Pope Leo X stopped work. Work began again only in 1523 after the election of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici as pontiff under the name of Pope Clement VII, but the plan no longer included the pair of tombs of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano, which were to stand in the central niche of the chapel. In 1524, Clement VII decided to add the sarcophagi of Leo X and his own to the most honorable places in the chapel.

The Pope, wanting to monopolize the genius of Michelangelo, offered the master to become a monk in the Franciscan Order (in 1524), promising a lucrative benefit. After Michelangelo refused, he gave him a house near the Church of San Lorenzo and assigned him a salary three times higher than Michelangelo asked.

In a free cubic space (with a square side of about 12 m), topped with a vault, Michelangelo placed the Medici wall tombs. Michelangelo not only increased the scale of the tombs, he also used life-size figures in them for the first time. On one side there is an altar, on the contrary - a statue of the Madonna and Child. On the sides in the lower tier, the sarcophagi of the Medici dukes - Lorenzo of Urbino and Giuliano of Nemours - are placed exactly opposite each other - organically integrated into the overall structure of the interior. Their idealized statues are placed in niches; glances are turned to the Mother of God and the Child. All these images seem to be separated by a certain distance from the viewer and reside in their own special world of grief and tension. The general concept of the allegory is complemented by the figures of “Morning”, “Evening”, “Day” and “Night”.

The deep pessimism that gripped him in the face of the death of political and civil liberties in Italy, the crisis of Renaissance humanism, was reflected in the figurative structure of the sculptures of the Medici tomb. Internal tension and at the same time nagging doubt, a premonition of doom - this is what all these figures express. As P. Muratov very accurately noted, “sadness is spread everywhere here and moves in waves from wall to wall”. With the architecture and sculptural decoration of the chapel, Michelangelo erected a monument not to the Medici, but to Florence. He mourned in it the death of the freedom of his native city. The Medici Chapel became a stage in the development of Michelangelo's work, and at the same time world art. The Renaissance did not yet know such a synthesis of architecture and sculpture. At the same time, the harmonious clarity and balance, which the architects of the early and High Renaissance so strived for, gave way to internal tension, the effectiveness of all architectural forms. Thus, the Medici Chapel reflected the new situation that was then developing in Italy.

This architectural and sculptural ensemble revealed the features of a new style. The harmonic clarity and balance of the forms of the early Renaissance, the majesty of the massive full-blooded forms of the High Renaissance give way here to the internal tension and dynamics of the forms of the late Renaissance.

In 1527, when the revolution broke out in Florence, drawing the great sculptor into its whirlpool, not a single statue for the Medici Chapel was yet ready. In the midst of the siege, he retired at the first opportunity to his solitude, where he secretly worked on the statue of Lorenzo de' Medici. The people would have killed him if they had found him at this work, but Michelangelo separated art from politics and eternal ideas from temporary passions.

When Michelangelo left for Rome in 1534, the sculptures had not yet been installed and were in various stages of completion. The surviving sketches testify to the hard work that preceded their creation: there were designs for a single tomb, a double and even a free-standing tomb.

A funerary portrait statue of Lorenzo the Magnificent was never created. The ashes of Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano rest in a place of honor at the foot of the Madonna statue, with the forthcoming Sts. Cosmas and Damian, heavenly patrons of the Medici.

"The architectural composition of the Medici Chapel has a restless, tense character. Comparatively small sarcophagi are opposed by large-scale false windows of the second tier. The spaces between the windows are so closely filled with paired pilasters that the windows seem squeezed together. These pilasters protrude forward, the cornice above them is loosened, but the pilasters themselves are not as freely developed as half-columns in Bramante. On the windows there are arched pediments, they are opposed by garlands on the attic.
No matter which part of the tomb you take, the violation of accepted architectural forms and types is striking everywhere. Some parts protrude forward, others go back, the cornices break, the divisions double. The entire chapel gives rise to a contradictory impression of movement and rigidity, effort and constraint. There is not a single architectural line in it that does not affect another, that does not cause opposition and resistance. In the architecture of the Medici Chapel, dissonance that cannot be resolved triumphs.
In the development of the relationship between sculpture and architecture, the Medici Chapel marks an important step. In antiquity, the figures of pediments easily and freely enter into the architecture; in Gothic architecture, as it were, is overgrown with sculptural bodies. The statues, which were placed in niches in the 15th century, found their natural spatial environment in them. In the Medici Chapel, the sculptural figures form pyramidal groups, but the figures of the dukes crowning the pyramids are placed in niches and at the same time stick out somewhat from them. The figures of the times of day come forward even more: they are too large for the sarcophagi, they are forced to make an effort not to roll off them, and at the same time they are constrained, spread out, and cannot straighten their limbs." M. Alpatov.

Medici Chapel

No one really knew what the figures in the chapel represented. Clement did not see them because he was not in Florence after the restoration. Duke Alessandro Michelangelo did not allow Duke into the chapel. He visited it only once - the artist was then in Rome - when the Viceroy of Naples visited Florence, asking to show him the chapel. They then climbed through the window, secretly, like boys climbing into someone else's orchard to steal apples, forgetting about the prim Spanish etiquette and the dignity befitting their important persons.

When Michelangelo left the chapel for the last time and locked it, it presented a rather chaotic spectacle. Everything was more or less ready: walls, niches, interior architectural decoration. But the statues were not put in place, the altar was not built. Only in 1545 did everything fall into place, construction debris was removed, everything was washed and cleaned.

Now the chapel is one of the greatest sanctuaries of art. It is small, and the first impression of those entering it is the amazing play of light on the marble of its pilasters, capitals, niches, cornices, door consoles, and frieze. The marble is dark gray - in bright lighting it is perceived as black and white. White and black. Light. Three walls with figures and an altar. There are only nine figures, two are alien, seven are Michelangelo. Of these, four - two Dukes, "Night" and "Morning" - are completed. Madonna, “Day” and “Evening” - not quite.

Once you get into the chapel, it is difficult to leave, and once you leave, you want to come back again and again. The magic of Michelangelo’s craftsmanship is so captivating.

The Medici Chapel is the only work of Michelangelo that he created entirely: building and decoration, architecture and sculpture. In it, he could calculate the effect even before starting work, because space, light, walls - everything could be given in that artistic harmony that appears to the master’s imagination from the very beginning and which he can rarely achieve if he does not do everything himself. Neither the tombstone of Julius, even according to the original design - it was supposed to stand in an existing temple - nor the façade of San Lorenzo provided Michelangelo with this opportunity. The Medici Chapel is so powerful because everything in it belongs to him. He calculated the space, the light, and all the proportions. And nowhere did he create so freely, nowhere did he dare to step so decisively through all generally accepted aesthetic canons.

Both sarcophagi are placed in front of the wall, and the statues sit in tight niches. Decorative figures are located at the feet of the statues, and their heads are cut through the lines of the cornices. The sarcophagi are short, and the legs of all four figures hang far over the ends, not supported by any volutes. The contrasts in all seven figures, one might say, are rampant, unconstrained by anything. What is one Madonna worth? She sits with her legs crossed. The torso is tilted forward, the shoulders are at different levels, right hand laid back - this seems to be due to the lack of marble - the head is turned to the side. The baby is acting extremely restless. He sits astride his mother’s crossed leg, with his left knee higher than his right. His body was facing forward, but with a sharp movement he turned back and grabbed his mother’s breast with both hands. And yet the statue produces a calm impression, like the others, for the contrappostos are balanced by some kind of higher harmony.

All statues are larger than life size. Two, Lorenzo and “Night,” have faces immersed in darkness. “Night”, in addition, has one hand hidden almost to the point of complete invisibility. “The Day” barely has a face, and we don’t know if this is intentional or not. “Evening” has an unpolished face. And all this is perceived, thanks to the charm of Michelangelo’s art, as moments that enhance the impression of the reality of the figures. They are all wonderful. We cannot penetrate the mystery of the meaning of each of them, but through all the incomprehensibility, of which there are many - the casket under Lorenzo’s left hand, the flowers at the feet of “Night”, the mask under her hand, the owl that climbed under her knee - through the dark symbolism, great reality depicted acts with overwhelming force.

First, about the symbolism. Condivi, who could hear the artist’s own explanations - his interpretation, by the way, coincides in the main with the surviving sketch of Michelangelo himself, a leaf from the Casa Buonarroti, twice entitled “Heaven and Earth” and attributed with some probability to 1523 - says: “ These four statues have been erected. in the sacristy, specially built for them and located on the left side of the church, rot the old sacristy. Despite the fact that they have the same size and serve, as it were, one idea, they are all different and differ in movements and postures. The tombs are placed in front of the side walls of the chapel; on their lids there are two figures taller than human height, depicting a man and a woman. One of them personifies Day, the other - Night, and all together - Time. For greater clarity, Michelangelo added to the figure representing Night and represented as a woman of extraordinary beauty, an owl and other emblems of the night, and to the figure representing Day he added emblems of the day. Michelangelo had the intention (it remained unfulfilled because he was taken away from the case) to carve a mouse out of marble to depict Night, and for this purpose he left a small marble elevation on one of the tombs. He found that the mouse gnaws and spoils everything, just like time destroys everything.”

That the idea of ​​the instability of everything earthly dominates in the chapel, apparently, should be considered indisputable. Here, as in the Sistine Chapel, the images serve to express a hidden tendency, which, if obvious, could seriously quarrel between the artist and the customer. But this tendency, again, as in Sistine, the artist valued above all else, and in order to express it secretly, he had to resort to symbolism. It was the same as that carried out in the images of the prophets, sibyls and Christ's ancestors of the Vatican, only in a different application. The disasters of Italy, from the point of view of Michelangelo, neither under Leo, nor even less so under Clement, did not decrease or soften, but now, especially from the point of view of the Florentine patriot, the culprits of these disasters - the Medici - were clearly identified. And the order was such that the artist had to exalt the representatives of the house of Medici. Consequently, it was necessary, under the guise of glorifying the Medici, to once again mourn the misfortunes of Italy and at the same time make the guilt of the Medici understandable.

Here they sit in their niches, the last two legitimate scions of the family of Florentine tyrants. Michelangelo least of all thought about portrait resemblance when he sculpted their statues. Both Medicis were very ugly: their faces were overgrown with beards, their facial features were irregular, devoid of the glow of nobility - the adornment of any extraordinary nature. Michelangelo decided to simply consider their actual appearance as non-existent and gave each of them what it should have been like if the person were the one whose image he was sculpting. Giuliano never harmed anyone in his life and enjoyed universal favor for his affable character. But in terms of abilities he was an ordinary person. Lorenzo differed from him in that he was neither kind nor friendly. Both were considered commanders, so Michelangelo decorated them with military attributes. There is no need that Giuliano’s military exploits were exhausted by the fact that in 1515 he stood at the head of the papal army, which monitored the movements of the French, and when he got tired of this, he left for Florence. Lorenzo fought a little more: at the head of the same papal army, he went to occupy Urbino, which had been taken away from the duke by his loving uncle Leo X. Since the papal Peruns preceded him, and the Duke of Urbino did not have an army, the predatory campaign ended victoriously. In his life, Lorenzo never thought about anything: others thought for him. And in Michelangelo he is represented as deeply thoughtful, il Pensieroso, in the pose of the prophet Jeremiah, but with a young, handsome, energetic face, wearing a combat helmet. And Giuliano sits in battle armor, with a commander’s baton in his amazingly made hands, young and also handsome; They find, however, that his gaze is false. His pose repeats the pose of Moses. The beards, drooping noses, ugly Medicean mouths - all disappeared. One figure personifies thought, the other - will and energy, what Cosimo and Lorenzo, the true smiths of Medicean greatness, were so rich in, and what the Medicean descendants were so lacking. But they were lucky. Michelangelo made monuments to them, and Machiavelli wanted to dedicate to Giuliano and after his death dedicated his “Prince” to Lorenzo. He associated with Lorenzo dreams of a united Italy.

At Lorenzo’s feet there are two statues: “Evening” - a tired man with weakened muscles leans helplessly on his elbow and looks into space with an indifferent gaze, and “Morning” - a young, beautiful woman with wonderful elastic forms awakens, as if reluctantly, for a joyless, unpromising nothing good day; she stretches, and some kind of complaint flies out of her half-open mouth. There are also two statues in front of Giuliano: “Day” - a man whose face is not visible; his body is muscular and strong; he lies with his back to the viewer, restlessly, and it is difficult to understand whether he is going to roll over, or stand up, or lie down better; right leg he is resting against something, his left is raised and thrown over his right, his left hand is behind his back; all together - a whole whirlwind of contrappostos, creating Michelangelo’s favorite position: a figure at the moment of preparation for an undecided sudden movement. The second figure is “Night”. This is an elderly woman, immersed in a deep, heavy sleep; her head is crowned with a moon and a star and is striking in its beauty. The woman lies in an extremely uncomfortable position: her left leg rests on a bunch of some flowers, her right hand supports her lowly bowed head; the left hand is invisible: it is thrown behind the mask, against which the woman leans her back; An owl sits under the woman's knee.

It was customary to decorate tombstones like Michelangelo's two with allegorical figures of virtues. Michelangelo deviated from this custom. The formal meaning of his figures would have remained unsolved if the already mentioned entry from 1523 had not been found in the archives of Casa Buonarroti, in which, despite all its vagueness, the first phrase is quite clear. It reads: “Day and Night speak and broadcast: with our rapid flow we led to the death of Duke Giuliano.” Consequently, both figures in front of the statue of Giuliano depicted Day and Night, and Night, as the attributes show, could only be a woman. And since the times of day serve as allegories, then the two figures in front of the statue of Lorenzo could only be Morning and Evening, and the distribution of roles also did not present any difficulties.

Michelangelo's skill as a sculptor reaches its peak in the figures of the Medici Chapel. After "Moses" and the Parisian "Prisoners" were created, Michelangelo's genius flared up for the last time with stunning force, and the fruit of this outbreak were the seven statues of the Medicean Chapel. Michelangelo seemed to want to show to what perfection the mastery of line in plastic can reach and what effects the art of contrapposto can produce. He showed it completely. But the line had been reached. In the Medici Chapel there is a contrapposto artistic technique exhausted itself to the end. Its further strengthening and even just its less masterful use should have become a sign of decline.

However, no matter how beautiful the figures of the chapel are, their significance goes far beyond the scope of pure art. Admiring them, saturating the eye, reveling in the spectacle of the triumph of plastic, we are looking for an answer to another question. What did Michelangelo want to say with his figures? And then, looking more closely, remembering the images of the Sistine ceiling, imagining the situation in which these images were conceived and began to turn into marble, we find an explanation for them. It lies in the fact that here Michelangelo, too, is not only an artist, but also a citizen, and, moreover, a citizen, defeated in battle for the most precious thing he had, not cooled down from the decay of battle, literally still smelling of gunpowder.

Is there at least one cheerful note in this entire marble symphony? No. Here there is fatigue, exhaustion, hopelessness, disappointment, painful anxiety, sleep - a semblance of death - in a word, everything that we saw in Sistina, but expressed not with a brush, but with a chisel, and even more aggravated. The artist, leaving his homeland forever, left her this poem of pessimism, in which there is a doxology, as a souvenir of himself. The Medici turns either into a bitter mockery of them, or into a direct curse on them. Instead of portrait statues, there are fictitious figures personifying some of the artist’s own plans, and the allegories surrounding them, instead of talking about their virtues, they talk about grief, shame and ruin, the culprit of which was the Medici family, and the victim was Italy, and especially Florence.

Who was to blame for the defeat of Prato in 1512? Medici. Who started the criminal conquest of Urbino? Medici. Who started the unfortunate war of the League of Cognac? Medici. Who was responsible for the defeat of Rome in 1527? Medici. Who besieged Florence and crushed its republic in 1530? Medici. Who unbridled white terror after the city's surrender? Medici. And the most insignificant of these facts brought death, ruin, shame and an abyss of misfortune to thousands of people. Michelangelo would like to shout all this to the whole world. If it had been his will, he would have built not a chapel in honor of the Medici, but a pillory and piled such allegories at its foot that the crimes of the Florentine tyrants would become obvious to the blind.

In the Medici Chapel, he could only speak in Aesopian language, but he turned out to be so eloquent that everyone understood, although the majority, including the Medici themselves, pretended not to understand anything. After all, if they showed the slightest bit of indignation, it would be necessary to immediately destroy the statues of the so-called Giuliano and Lorenzo and all the stone allegories lying at their feet with such a convincing, so brilliantly conceived and made reproach.

That this is indeed the case is confirmed by a direct statement from the artist himself. Of all the figures in the chapel, “Night,” as we know, was most praised, and Vasari explains the motives for the general enthusiasm: “What can I say about “Night,” a statue that is not only rare, but the only one? Who has seen in any century sculptural works, ancient or modern, made with such skill? One feels not only the peace of the sleeper, but also the grief and sadness of a person who is losing something that is revered and great by him. And it also seems that this “Night” obscures everyone who, in any era, with a statue or a painting tried, I don’t say surpass, but at least equal it. The dream is conveyed as if we were actually seeing a person who had fallen asleep.”

Delights were poured out most often in poetry. One of these madrigals, authored by the poet Giovanbattista Strozzi, is famous. It reads:

The night that sleeps so sweetly before you,

That is a stone animated by an angel:

He is motionless, but there is a flame of life in him,

Just wake him up and he will talk.

We know that Michelangelo was already in Rome long ago when the chapel was opened to the public. Having become acquainted with this quatrain, he immediately wrote his own in response, on behalf of “Night”:

It's nice to sleep, it's nicer to be a stone.

Oh, in this age, criminal and shameful,

Not living, not feeling is an enviable lot.

Please be quiet, don't you dare wake me up.

The middle two lines literally read: “While ruin and shame reign, not being seen or heard is great happiness for me.” Ruin and shame, what Italy suffered from, what the old glorious Florence perished from and to which, among others, various Medici, legal and illegal, had a hand - this is exactly what the great artist wanted to shout about, and not on behalf of his own "Nights", but from his own.

And this was his last “forgiveness” to his homeland, in which it became unbearably painful for him to live.