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diff --git a/old/69303-0.txt b/old/69303-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index df60825..0000000 --- a/old/69303-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2453 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Michelangelo, by Edward C. Strutt - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Michelangelo - -Author: Edward C. Strutt - -Release Date: November 6, 2022 [eBook #69303] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Al Haines - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MICHELANGELO *** - - - - - - - -[Frontispiece: THE DAVID.] - - - - Bell's Miniature Series of Painters - - - - MICHELANGELO - - BY - - EDWARD C. STRUTT - - - - LONDON - GEORGE BELL & SONS - 1908 - - - - - First Published, January, 1904. - Reprinted, 1908. - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS - - -SOME BOOKS ABOUT MICHELANGELO - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - -CHRONOLOGY OF THE ARTIST'S LIFE - -LIFE OF MICHELANGELO - -THE ART OF MICHELANGELO - -OUR ILLUSTRATIONS - -LIST OF THE ARTIST'S CHIEF WORKS IN PUBLIC GALLERIES - - - - -SOME BOOKS ABOUT MICHELANGELO - - -"Carte Michelangiolescheinedite." Milano, 1865. - -"Vita di Michelangelo Buonarroti," by A. Condivi. Pisa, 1823. - -"Michelangelo," by H. Knackfuss. Berlin, 1895. - -"Michel Ange," by E. Ollivier. Paris, 1892. - -"The Lives and Works of Michelangelo and Raphael," by Quatremere de -Quincy. - -"Michelangelo," by L. von Scheffler. 1892. - -"Michelangiolo in Rom, 1508-1512," by A. Springer. Leipzig, 1875. - -"Life and works of M. A. Buonarroti," by Charles Heath Wilson. -London, 1876. - -"Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti," by John Addington Symonds. -London, 1893. - -"Michelangelo Buonarroti," by Sir Charles Holroyd. London, 1903. - -"An account of the drawings by Raphael and Michelangelo in the -University Galleries of Oxford," by Sir J. C. Robinson. - -"Michael Angelo," by Lord Ronald Sutherland Gower. London, 1903. - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - -THE DAVID _Accademia, Florence, Frontispiece_ - -PORTRAIT OF MICHELANGELO _Uffizi Gallery, Florence_ - -THE CREATION OF MAN _Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome_ - -TOMB OF LORENZO DE' MEDICI _New Sacristy, San Lorenzo, Florence_ - -CENTRAL GROUP OF THE LAST JUDGMENT _Sistine Chapel, Vatican, Rome_ - -THE MADONNA DELLA PIETÀ _St. Peter's, Rome_ - -THE HOLY FAMILY _Uffizi Gallery, Florence_ - -THE MOSES _San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome_ - - - - -CHRONOLOGY OF MICHELANGELO'S LIFE - - -1475. Born at Caprese. - -1488. Is apprenticed to Domenico Ghirlandajo. - -1489-92. Studies sculpture under the patronage of Lorenzo il -Magnifico. - -1504. Enters into competition with Leonardo da Vinci. - -1505. Goes to Rome at the invitation of Pope Julius II. - -1508. Begins painting ceiling of Sistine Chapel. - -1512. Completes it. - -1521. Commences Medicean Tombs in San Lorenzo. - -1529. Fortifies Florence against Charles V. - -1535-41. Paints Last Judgment. - -1547. Begins building Cupola of St. Peter's. - -1564. Dies in Rome. - - - - -THE LIFE OF MICHELANGELO - -In the quaintly written diary of Messer Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, a -well-to-do Florentine citizen, the following entry, dated March 6th, -1475, may still be found: "To-day there was born unto me a male -child, whom I have named Michelagnolo.[1] He saw the light at -Caprese, whereof I am Podestà, on Monday morning, 6th March, between -four and five o'clock, and on the 8th of the same month he was -baptized in the church of San Giovanni." Messer Lodovico had been -appointed _Podestà_, or Governor, of Chiusi and Caprese in the -Casentino by Lorenzo de Medici only a few months before penning this -memorandum, so that, by a strange caprice of fate, it was here, in -the little town overshadowed by the rugged Sasso della Verna, -hallowed by the ecstatic visions of St. Francis of Assisi, and not in -Florence, in the Athens of the Italian Renaissance, where resurrected -Paganism ran riot and triumphed, that the longest and most glorious -career in the history of art and of human endeavour began. - - -[1] This is the archaic form of _angelo_. The name is also sometimes -spelt _Michelangiolo_, but I have thought it advisable to adopt the -modern and more generally accepted _Michelangelo_. - - -Vasari and Condivi, Michelangelo's pupils and enthusiastic -biographers, maintain that the Buonarroti family was closely related -to the great house of the Counts of Canossa, a conviction fully -shared, curiously enough, by the artist himself, who rather prided -himself on his aristocratic connection. But recent genealogical -researches have proved beyond all doubt that, although of gentle -birth (both his father and his mother, Madonna Francesca di Miniato -Del Sera, coming of ancient Florentine stock), Michelangelo could not -in reality lay claim to even distant ties of kinship with the Canossa -family. - -On the expiration of his term of office as Podestà of Caprese, which -extended little over a year, Messer Lodovico returned with his family -to Settignano, the picturesque little village built on a vine-clad -slope overlooking Florence, where, in an old-fashioned mansion -nestling among olive trees and surrounded by a well-cultivated -_podere_, many generations of the Buonarroti had lived and died. -Before leaving Caprese, however, the proud father had the child's -horoscope cast, and greatly did he rejoice when the astrologer -announced that a singularly lucky combination of the planets had -presided over the birth of his boy, who was destined "to perform -wonders with his mind and with his hands," a prophecy which was amply -fulfilled. - - - -FIRST FLORENTINE PERIOD - -The removal of the Buonarroti family to Settignano, the little -village almost exclusively inhabited by stonemasons and workers in -marble, exercised a most decisive influence on the child's future -career. Indeed, Michelangelo himself used to say half jestingly, -that as he had been given out to nurse to a stonemason's wife, the -mania for sculpture must have entered his blood together with the -milk which he had sucked as a babe. A mallet and a chisel and bits -of marble were the only toys that the infant Michelangelo cared for, -and it is recorded of him that when he grew up to be a sturdy boy of -ten he could use his tools almost as skilfully as his foster-father -himself. He soon became more ambitious, and would pass whole hours -with chalk and charcoal, trying to copy the marble figures and -ornaments plentifully strewn about. - -For it was a busy time at Settignano, whose hundreds of stone-carvers -were hardly able to cope with the numerous commissions which poured -in upon them from the merchant princes of Florence, anxious to rival -Lorenzo the Magnificent in the building and decoration of splendid -palaces. A spirited drawing of a faun by Michelangelo's boyish hand -may still be seen on a wall of the Buonarroti Villa. - -Messer Lodovico did everything in his power to discourage these -marked artistic tendencies, and in order the better to uproot what he -regarded as a worthless inclination, he sent the boy to a -grammar-school in Florence, away from the dangerous _milieu_ of -Settignano, with its unceasing din of hammer and chisel on -reverberating marble, which was sweet music to Michelangelo's ear. -But although Maestro Francesco da Urbino, to whose care Messer -Lodovico had entrusted his son, frequently had recourse to the most -persuasive and forcible arguments, they were entirely lost on young -Michelangelo, who had instinctively drifted into the company of the -garzoni and pupils of leading Florentine artists, and sadly neglected -his books in order to devote himself with growing enthusiasm to the -study of art. - -Amongst his new friends was Francesco Granacci, a pupil of Domenico -Ghirlandajo, who often lent him drawings to copy, and took him to his -master's _bottega_ whenever any work was going forward from which he -might learn. "So powerfully," says Condivi, "did these sights move -Michelangelo, that he altogether abandoned letters; so that his -father, who held art in contempt, often beat him severely for it." -But it soon became apparent that blows and persuasion were equally -unavailing, and Messer Lodovico finally gave up the hopeless -struggle, apprenticing his thirteen-year-old son on April 1st, 1488, -to Domenico and David Ghirlandajo, reputed the best painters of the -time in Florence. Although a mere child, Michelangelo was evidently -already able to make himself useful in the studio, for instead of -paying a certain sum for his apprenticeship, as was usually the case, -it was stipulated that he should receive twenty-four florins, about -£8 12_s._, during the three years of its duration. - -Michelangelo's first picture was a strikingly faithful copy of Martin -Schongauer's famous _Temptation of St. Antony_, which he painted with -a realistic force considered wonderful for a child of his age. A -number of anecdotes illustrative of the precocity of the boy's -genius, are related by Condivi and by Vasari. "Michelangelo," says -the latter, "grew in power and character so rapidly that Domenico was -astonished seeing him do things quite extraordinary in a youth, for -he not only surpassed the other students, but often equalled the work -done by his master. It happened that Domenico was working in the -great chapel of Santa Maria Novella, and one day when he was out -Michelangelo set himself to draw from nature the scaffolding, the -tables with all the materials of the art, and some of the young men -at work. Presently Domenico returned, and saw Michelangelo's -drawing. He was astonished, saying 'this boy knows more than I do;' -and he was stupefied by this style and new realism; 'a gift from -heaven to a child of such tender years.'" - -Michelangelo derived very little advantage from his apprenticeship to -Domenico Ghirlandajo, who was actually jealous of his pupil and gave -him little or no assistance in his studies. He may have picked up -some practical knowledge, however, transferring cartoons for his -master in the church of Santa Maria Novella, painting draperies and -ornaments, mixing colours for fresco painting, and generally -fulfilling the rather menial duties which fell to the lot of an -artist's apprentice in those days. The boy had no fixed plan or -method of study, but devoted himself principally to drawing, in which -he soon acquired a boldness and security of line never attained by -his master, whose faulty cartoons Michelangelo often had the courage -to correct. - -It was in the gardens of the Medici at San Marco, where Lorenzo the -Magnificent had collected many antique statues and decorative -sculptures, that Michelangelo finally discovered his real artistic -vocation, and here he would spend many hours every day, assimilating -the Hellenic spirit which emanated from the masterpieces before him. - -Lorenzo's principal object in establishing a museum of antique -sculpture at San Marco had been to raise Florentine sculpture from -the state of comparative neglect into which it had fallen since the -death of Donatello. He therefore appointed one Bertoldo, who had -been foreman of Donatello's workshop, keeper of the collection, with -a special commission to encourage and instruct the young men who -studied there. But there was evidently a great lack of students, for -Lorenzo had recourse to Domenico Ghirlandajo, requesting him to -select from his pupils those he considered the most promising, and -send them to work in the garden of San Marco. Domenico, nothing loth -to get rid of his two most ambitious apprentices, selected Francesco -Granacci and Michelangelo, and it was thus that the latter came under -the influence of Donatello's school. Of Bertoldo, who must be -considered Michelangelo's first instructor in the art of sculpture, -and who doubtless had a great share in shaping his genius, very -little is known beyond Vasari's statement that "although he was old -and could not work, he was none the less an able and highly reputed -artist." The magnificent pulpits of San Lorenzo, begun by Donatello -and completed by Bertoldo, amply suffice to confirm Vasari's -eulogistic estimate. - -Under such a master Michelangelo made rapid progress, and by his -first attempt at sculpture, a mask of a grinning Faun, attracted the -attention of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who took the keenest interest -in the art school which he had founded. So struck was Lorenzo with -the boy's genius, that he prevailed upon Messer Lodovico, not without -the greatest difficulty, to entrust the talented young sculptor to -his care. Vasari tells us that "he gave Michelangelo a good room in -his own house with all that he needed, treating him like a son, with -a seat at his table, which was frequented every day by noblemen and -men of great importance." - -[Illustration: PORTRAIT OF MICHELANGELO.] - -Michelangelo's daily companions at this hospitable board were such -men as Pico della Mirandola, surnamed "the prince of wisdom," -Marsilio Ficino, the expounder of Plato, and the poets Luigi Pulci -and Angelo Poliziano. It was the latter who suggested the subject of -Michelangelo's first important work, a bas-relief, now in the Casa -Buonarroti, representing the _Battle of the Centaurs and Lapithae_. -It is a singularly powerful composition, conceived and carried out -with a freedom and originality little short of miraculous in a boy of -fifteen. The struggling groups of combatants, instinct with life and -energy, the masterful treatment of anatomical problems, and the -already profound knowledge of the human frame, reveal the future -author of the _Last Judgment_. - -Michelangelo himself, when at the height of his artistic greatness, -used to say that he had never quite fulfilled the splendid promise -contained in this youthful work of his. Apart from its intrinsic -merit, this bas-relief is interesting as illustrating Michelangelo's -complete independence from the school and methods of Donatello. His -bold and original genius had sought inspiration directly from the -antique, and the _Battle of the Centaurs and Lapithae_ might easily -be taken for a fragment from some Roman sarcophagus. In view of -these very pronounced characteristics, it is difficult to understand -why another bas-relief, also in the Casa Buonarroti, representing a -seated Madonna with the Infant Jesus, and chiefly notable for its -almost servile imitation of Donatello's manner, should be ascribed by -most critics to this same period. Indeed, the execution and design -of this _Madonna and Child_ are so inferior as to render it a work of -extremely doubtful authenticity. - -Although he applied himself principally to the study of sculpture, -Michelangelo continued to devote many hours every day to drawing, -and, like most young artists of his age, he drew and studied -assiduously in the Brancacci Chapel of the Church of the Carmine, -containing the famous frescoes of Masaccio and his followers. -Conscious of his own superiority, Michelangelo was, it appears, in -the habit of frankly criticizing the work of his fellow-students in -the Brancacci Chapel, and one of these, named Piero Torrigiani, a -brutal and proud fellow, got so angry one day that he hit -Michelangelo a formidable blow on the nose, breaking the cartilage -and disfiguring his critic for life. For this act of temper -Torrigiani was banished from Florence, but it is pleasant to know -that Michelangelo successfully interceded with Lorenzo on behalf of -the man who had assaulted him. - -Michelangelo had just completed the _Battle of the Centaurs and -Lapithae_ when he lost his best friend and munificent patron, to whom -he had become deeply attached. On April 8th, 1492, Lorenzo the -Magnificent died at Careggi, sincerely mourned, not only in Florence, -but throughout Italy. The generous encouragement which he gave to -art and letters, the power and splendour which he bestowed on -Florence in exchange for her lost liberty, more as an infatuated -lover dowering a wayward bride than as a conqueror imposing his will, -the consummate ability displayed in his diplomatic dealings with the -other Italian States, these were the principal merits which justified -the proud title of _Il Magnifico_, conferred on him by his -contemporaries, and which caused Lorenzo's death to be regarded as a -public calamity throughout Italy. - -So much grief, says Condivi, did Michelangelo feel for his patron's -death, that for some time he was quite unable to work. He left the -Medicean palace, which had been his home during three years, and -returned to his father's house. But his love for art was stronger -than his grief, and after a few weeks, when he was himself again, he -bought a large piece of marble that had for many years been exposed -to the wind and rain, and carved a Hercules out of it. This statue -was placed in the Strozzi Palace, where it stood until the siege of -Florence in 1530, when Giovanni Battista della Palla bought it and -sent it into France as a gift to King Francis I. It has -unfortunately been lost. - -At this time Michelangelo applied himself most diligently to the -study of anatomy, a profound knowledge of which is apparent in all -his subsequent works. He was indebted to the Prior of Santo Spirito -for many kindnesses, amongst others for the use of a room where he -dissected the subjects, for the most part executed criminals, which -the Prior placed at his disposal. "Nothing," says Condivi, "could -have given Michelangelo more pleasure, and this was the beginning of -his anatomical studies, which he followed until he had completely -mastered the secrets of the human frame." - -It is surprising that artists of the Cinquecento should have enjoyed -privileges for practically studying anatomy which were denied to -physicians. When the famous Dr. Hunter saw Leonardo da Vinci's -anatomical drawings and their descriptions, preserved in the library -of George III., he discovered with astonishment that the artist had -been a deep student, "and was at that time the best anatomist in the -world." Michelangelo, as Vasari tells us, "dissected many dead -bodies, zealously studying anatomy," whereas Cortesius, professor of -anatomy at Bologna, who wrote a century later, complains that he was -prevented finishing a treatise on "Practical Anatomy" in consequence -of having only been able twice to dissect a human body in the course -of twenty-four years. To please his friend the Prior, Michelangelo -carved a crucifix in wood, a little under life size, which was placed -over the high altar of the church of Santo Spirito, but which has -since been lost. - -Piero de' Medici, the Magnifico's son and successor, had inherited -none of his father's brilliant qualities. He was proud and insolent, -and his coarse tastes and manners soon lost him that popularity which -had been Lorenzo's stepping-stone to greatness. Michelangelo, who -had been his companion as a boy, and whom he persuaded to accept his -hospitality, was ill at ease in the house of a Prince who could so -far insult the sensitive artist as to boast that he had two -remarkable men in his establishment, Michelangelo and a certain -Spanish groom remarkable for his athletic prowess, thus placing both -on the same level. - -Too proud to tolerate such treatment, and foreseeing Piero's -approaching fall, Michelangelo left Florence early in the year 1494 -and went first to Venice, where he failed to find employment, and -thence to Bologna. Here he was hospitably received by a gentleman -named Messer Gian Francesco Aldovrandi, who not only paid a fine of -fifty Bolognese lire to which the impecunious young sculptor had been -condemned for having neglected to provide himself with a passport, -but invited him to his house and honoured him highly, "delighting in -his genius, and every evening he made him read something from Dante -or from Petrarca, or now and then from Boccaccio, until he fell -asleep." - -While staying with Aldovrandi, and thanks to his recommendation, -Michelangelo completed an unfinished statue of San Petronio in the -church of San Domenico and carved a statuette of a kneeling angel -holding a candlestick for the arca or shrine of the saint, begun by -Nicolò di Bari. It is a beautiful and highly finished work, which -was greatly admired and for which he received thirty ducats. His -success aroused the fierce jealousy of the Bolognese sculptors, and -it was under fear of personal violence from the native craftsmen, who -accused him of taking the bread out of their mouths, that -Michelangelo hastily left Bologna in the spring of 1495 and returned -to Florence. - -In November of the preceding year Piero de' Medici had had to fly -from the city over whose destinies he was so unfit to preside, and -when Michelangelo returned to Florence he found that Savonarola had -established a popular government. The fiery Dominican, with his -inspired eloquence, his ascetic fervour and an energy bordering upon -violence, was exactly a man after Michelangelo's heart, and -Savonarola's impassioned and gloomy appeals made an indelible -impression upon him. The _Last Judgment_ in the Sistine Chapel might -almost be regarded as a pictorial rendering of one of the terrible -frate's sermons. - -Although only twenty years of age, Michelangelo, of whom it has been -said "that he was never young," was made a member of the General -Council of Citizens. But his political duties did not take up much -of his time, for to this period must be ascribed the statue of a -youthful St. John the Baptist, executed for Lorenzo di Pier -Francesco, a cousin of the exiled Medici, and now in the Berlin -Museum. It is a charming but somewhat effeminate figure, differing -strangely from the powerful and rugged style to which we are -accustomed in Michelangelo's works. Lorenzo, however, was delighted -with it and became a staunch friend and admirer of the young -sculptor, whose studio he frequently visited. On one occasion he -found Michelangelo at work on a _Sleeping Cupid_ so perfectly -modelled and conceived in a spirit so truly Hellenic, as to appear a -masterpiece of antique art. Lorenzo suggested that Michelangelo -should make it look as if it had been buried under the earth for many -centuries, so that the statue, being taken for a genuine antique, -would sell much better, and the artist, more out of professional -pride than in hopes of gain, followed his friend's suggestion. _The -Sleeping Cupid_ was sent to Rome, where Raffaelo Riario, Cardinal di -San Giorgio, bought it as an antique for two hundred ducats, an -evidence not so much of the Cardinal's ignorance as of Michelangelo's -careful study of classical art. - -This work was indirectly the cause of Michelangelo's first coming to -Rome, for the Cardinal having discovered that his Cupid had been made -in Florence was at first very angry at having been fooled, and -insisted on the dealer, Baldassare del Milanese, taking back the -statue and refunding the two hundred ducats (of which sum, by the -way, Michelangelo had only received thirty ducats), but when his -anger had subsided, the prelate, who was a liberal patron of art, -shrewdly concluded that a sculptor who could so well imitate the -antique was worth encouraging, and he forthwith despatched one of his -gentlemen to Florence for the express purpose of discovering the -mysterious forger and bringing him to Rome. - -The Cardinal's emissary, after much fruitless search, chanced upon -Michelangelo in his studio, and was so struck with the masterful -manner in which the young sculptor made a pen-drawing of a hand in -his presence, that he began to cross-examine him discreetly about his -other works, and gradually learned all the story of the Cupid. -Michelangelo, who longed to see Rome, which his visitor extolled as -the widest field for an artist to study and to show his genius in, -readily consented to leave Florence. In fact it appears that he was -not very popular among his fellow-citizens owing to his former -intimacy with the exiled Medici, and so, towards the end of June, -1496, he set foot in Rome for the first time. As to the _Sleeping -Cupid_, nothing is known about its fate beyond the fact that it fell -into the hands of Cesare Borgia at the sack of Urbino in 1592, and -was by him presented to the Marchioness of Mantua, who in -acknowledging the gift describes it as "without a peer among the -works of modern times." - -Michelangelo was greatly disappointed in his hopes of obtaining -lucrative employment from Cardinal Riario. Indeed, the only work -which he did during the first few weeks of his sojourn consisted in a -cartoon for a _Saint Francis receiving the Stigmata_, to be painted -by the Cardinal's barber! Fortunately for the young artist a wealthy -Roman gentleman, Messer Jacopo Galli, came to his rescue, -commissioning a _Bacchus_, which is now in the National Museum at -Florence, and a _Cupid_, believed by some to be the statue now in the -Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington. Of all Michelangelo's -works, this _Bacchus_ is certainly the most realistic and least -dignified, representing as it does a youth in the first stage of -intoxication, holding a cup in his right hand and in his left a bunch -of grapes, from which a mischievous little Satyr is slily helping -himself. - -The statue was greatly admired in Rome and was the means of bringing -Michelangelo to the notice of the French king's envoy in Rome, -Cardinal De la Groslaye de Villiers, who commissioned him to carve a -marble group of _Our Lady holding the dead Christ in her arms_, for -the price of four hundred and fifty golden ducats. The contract, -dated August 26th, 1498, is still preserved in the Archivio -Buonarroti, and concludes with these words: "And I, Jacopo Gallo, -promise to his Most Reverend Lordship that the said Michelangelo will -furnish the said work within one year, and that it shall be the most -beautiful work in marble which Rome to-day can show, and that no -master of our days shall be able to produce a better." We shall see, -when describing this magnificent group, that Jacopo's boast and -promise were more than justified. - -While in Rome, Michelangelo kept up an active correspondence with -Messer Lodovico, who, it appears, found himself in great financial -straits at this time. Being a most dutiful and affectionate son, the -young sculptor sent every available scudo of his money to succour his -father and his three younger brothers, namely Buonarroto, born in -1477, whom he placed in the Arte della Seta; Giovan Simone, born in -1479, who led a vagabond life and was a source of continual trouble, -and Sigismondo, born in 1481, who became a soldier. The letters -which Michelangelo, in the midst of his artistic labours, found time -to write home, full of tender solicitude and good advice and -invariably containing a remittance, give us a touching insight into -the beautiful and disinterested character which lay hidden underneath -his stern and decidedly unattractive exterior. - -He lived not only very economically, but penuriously, in order the -better to help his family, and it appears that his health suffered -not a little from these privations. His father heard of it, and -wrote a letter, dated December 19th, 1500, in which these passages -occur: "Economy is good, but above all do not be penurious; live -moderately and do not stint yourself, and avoid hardships, because in -your art, if you fall ill (which God forbid), you are a lost man. -Above all things, never wash; have yourself rubbed down, but never -wash!" - -When Michelangelo returned to Florence in the spring of 1501, the -fame of the great works which he had accomplished in Rome had already -preceded him, and he was generally admitted to be the first sculptor -of the day. Commissions came pouring in upon him, including one from -Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini, who afterwards became Pope Pius III., -for fifteen statues of saints to adorn the Piccolomini Chapel in the -Duomo of Siena. - -But he completely neglected this work in order to devote himself with -characteristic ardour to a more congenial task, that of carving a -colossal statue of David out of a huge block of marble which had been -previously spoiled by an inferior artist and abandoned as useless in -the Opera del Duomo. Surmounting the enormous technical difficulties -which he had to contend with, Michelangelo succeeded, after nearly -two years of hard work, in evolving from the crippled block of marble -one of the greatest masterpieces of modern art. - -On the 14th of May, 1504, _Il Gigante_, as it was called by the -Florentines, left Michelangelo's workshop and was dragged with much -difficulty to the Piazza della Signoria, where it stood until the -year 1873, when it was removed to the hall of the Accademia delle -Belle Arti. It has fortunately suffered very little from its -exposure in the mild Florentine air, but the left arm was shattered -by a stone during the tumults of 1527. The broken pieces were -carefully collected, however, by Vasari and a young sculptor, -Cecchino De' Rossi, who restored the arm in 1543. Another giant -David in bronze was commissioned to Michelangelo in 1502 by the -Republic, who wished to make a present of it to a French statesman, -Florimond Robertet, but although this work is known to have remained -for more than a hundred years in the château of Bury, near Blois, it -has since disappeared. - -While wrestling with the difficulties of his _David_, Michelangelo -found time to accomplish many other important works, including two -marble tondi in bas-relief, the first of which is now in the National -Museum at Florence and the other in the Royal Academy, London. Both -represent the _Madonna and Child with the Infant St. John_, and -although lacking in finish they deserve to rank among the finest of -Michelangelo's works. The composition is beautiful and simple, the -modelling bold and the expression of the Madonna singularly noble and -striking. - -In April, 1503, Michelangelo was commissioned by the Operai of the -Duomo to carve out of Carrara marble twelve colossal statues of the -Apostles, one to be finished each year, and a workshop was specially -built for the sculptor in the Borgo Pinti, but the contract could not -be carried out, the unfinished _St. Matthew_, now in the courtyard of -the Accademia, in Florence, being the only work which resulted from -this commission: "And in order not altogether to give up painting," -says Condivi, "he executed a round panel of Our Lady for Messer -Agnolo Doni, a Florentine citizen, for which he received seventy -ducats." This tondo, representing _The Holy Family_, with nude -figures in the background, is now in the Uffizi Gallery, and apart -from its originality and artistic merit, it is especially interesting -as being the only easel picture which may be attributed with absolute -certainty to Michelangelo. - -In August, 1504, Michelangelo was commissioned by his friend and -protector, Piero Soderini, Gonfaloniere of the Republic, to decorate -a wall in the Sala del Gran Consiglio in the Palazzo Vecchio, a most -flattering compliment to the young artist, as Leonardo da Vinci, then -at the height of his fame, was already engaged in preparing cartoons -for the opposite wall. Leonardo's designs represented the famous -_Fight for the Standard_, an episode of the battle of Anghiari, -fought in 1440, when the Florentines defeated Niccolò Piccinino. -Michelangelo selected for his subject an episode in the war with -Pisa, which gave him an opportunity to display his wonderful -draughtsmanship and his profound knowledge of the human frame. - -Benvenuto Cellini, who copied the cartoon in 1513, just before its -mysterious disappearance, describes it as follows: "Michelangelo -portrayed a number of foot soldiers who, the season being summer, had -gone to bathe in the Arno. He drew them at the moment the alarm is -sounded, and the men, all naked, rush to arms. So splendid is their -action that nothing survives of ancient or of modern art which -touches the same lofty point of excellence; and, as I have already -said, the design of the great Leonardo was itself most admirably -beautiful. These two cartoons stood, one in the Palace of the -Medici, the other in the hall of the Pope. So long as they remained -intact they were the school of the world. Though the divine -Michelangelo in later life finished that great chapel of Pope Julius, -he never rose halfway to the same pitch of power; his genius never -afterwards attained to the force of those first studies." - -Leonardo, after having begun painting a group of horsemen on the -wall, abandoned the task with characteristic fickleness, and -Michelangelo having been summoned to Rome in the beginning of 1505 by -Pope Julius II., left his work unfinished. It is said that a -worthless rival named Baccio Bandinelli, envious of Michelangelo's -greatness, destroyed the famous cartoon of Pisa. A sketch of the -whole composition may be seen in the Albertina Gallery at Vienna, but -perhaps the most complete copy of the cartoon is the monochrome -painting belonging to the Earl of Leicester, at Holkham Hall. - - - -THE TRAGEDY OF THE TOMB - -Michelangelo little suspected when he left Florence that he was -bidding adieu for ever to his happiness and peace of mind. Hitherto -he had had to deal with generous tyrants, such as the Medici, with -rivals whose envy was shorn of dangers by their cowardice, and with a -protector such as Piero Soderini, whom Machiavelli taunted with being -a weakling only fit for the Limbo of Infants. It was not until he -came to Rome that he was brought face to face with a man blessed or -cursed with indomitable energy, boundless ambition and a morbid -restlessness which was probably the resultant of these two forces. -Both Julius II. and Michelangelo were what their contemporaries -called _uomini terribili_, proud, passionate, given to sudden bursts -of fury, yet generous withal and truly great. For two such men to -live together in uninterrupted peace and goodwill would have been a -sheer impossibility. - -After some months of hesitation, Julius II. finally decided upon the -best way of employing Michelangelo's talents. He resolved to have a -magnificent monument erected during his lifetime, and confided the -task to the young sculptor. In an incredibly short time Michelangelo -prepared his great design, which pleased the Pope so much that he at -once sent him to Carrara to quarry the necessary marble. During the -eight months which he spent at Carrara, Michelangelo blocked out two -of the figures for the tomb, so anxious was he to begin his colossal -work. - -In November Michelangelo returned to Rome, where a house and spacious -workshop were as signed to him near the Vatican, and in January, -1506, most of the marble, which had come by water, was spread all -over the Piazza of St. Peter's: "This immense quantity of marble," -says Condivi, "was the admiration of all and a joy to the Pope, who -heaped immeasurable favours upon Michelangelo, and was so interested -in his work that he ordered a drawbridge to be thrown across from the -Corridore to the rooms of Michelangelo, by which he might visit him -in private." - -Michelangelo's original project of the tomb subsequently underwent so -many modifications and reductions, that Condivi's account of what the -monument should have been is deeply interesting: "The tomb was to -have had four faces, two of eighteen braccia, that served for the -flanks, so that it was to be a square and a half in plan. All round -about the outside were niches for statues, and between niche and -niche terminal figures; to these were bound other statues, like -prisoners, upon certain square plinths, rising from the ground and -projecting from the monument. They represented the liberal arts, -each with her symbol, denoting that, like Pope Julius, all the -virtues were the prisoners of Death, because they would never find -such favour and encouragement as he gave them. Above these ran the -cornice that tied all the work together. On its plane were four -great statues; one of these, the Moses, may be seen in San Pietro ad -Vincula. So the work mounted upward until it ended in a plane. Upon -it were two angels who supported an arc; one appeared to be smiling -as though he rejoiced that the soul of the Pope had been received -amongst the blessed spirits, the other wept, as if sad that the world -had been deprived of such a man. Above one end was the entrance to -the sepulchre in a small chamber, built like a temple; in the middle -was a marble sarcophagus, where the body of the Pope was to be -buried; everything worked out with marvellous art. Briefly, more -than forty statues went to the whole work, not counting the subjects -in mezzo rilievo to be cast in bronze, all appropriate in their -stories and proclaiming the acts of this great Pontiff." - -As the monument would have covered an area of about 34½ feet by 23 -feet, the church of St. Peter, although restored by Nicholas V., was -found to be too small to contain it, and Julius II. decided to -rebuild the whole church on a more magnificent scale, after designs -prepared by Bramante. - -The eager enthusiasm with which Michelangelo attacked his colossal -task was not destined to last long. One day a quantity of marble -arrived from Carrara, and Michelangelo, desiring at once to pay the -freight and porterage, went to ask the Pope for money, but found his -Holiness occupied. He paid the men out of his own pocket, but when -he returned on several succeeding days he found access to the Vatican -more difficult than usual, and finally learned that the Pope had -given orders that he should not be admitted. Julius II., always -entangled in warlike adventures, was evidently short of money and -could not or would not pay Michelangelo at the time. The proud and -short-tempered sculptor flew into a passion, and exclaiming that -"henceforward the Pope must look for him elsewhere if he wanted him," -took horse at once and returned to Florence, vainly pursued by five -messengers from the Pope. - -It was thus that the gigantic work on which he had set his heart was -interrupted for the first time, and the curtain rose on the first act -of that "tragedy of the tomb," as Condivi appropriately calls it, by -which the rest of Michelangelo's life was darkened. - -He had no sooner arrived in Florence than he received an imperative -order from the Pope to return immediately to Rome under pain of his -displeasure, but Michelangelo's blood was up, and he disregarded -alike the threats of the Pope and the exhortations of Piero Soderini, -who was greatly embarrassed, having received three official Briefs -from Julius II., demanding that the artist should be sent back either -by fair means or by force. Fearing actual violence, Michelangelo had -made up his mind to go to Constantinople, but the Gonfaloniere -dissuaded him, saying "that it was better to die with the Pope than -to live with the Turk." - -In the meantime, Julius II., after subduing Perugia, had entered -Bologna in triumph on November 11th, 1506, and he had not been many -days in the town before he despatched another urgent message to the -Signoria asking for Michelangelo to be sent to him. The artist -finally gave in, and proceeded to Bologna, armed with a most -flattering letter from the Signoria, but feeling "like a man with a -halter round his neck." His misgivings, however, were unfounded, for -Julius II., who was only too glad to have won his artist back, -welcomed Michelangelo most cordially and commissioned him to make a -great portrait statue of him in bronze, to be placed in front of the -church of San Petronio. And thus were these two men, who had so many -points in common that they regarded each other with mutual fear, like -giants conscious of their strength, reconciled for the time. - -[Illustration: THE CREATION OF MAN.] - -The Pope returned to Rome in very good spirits, leaving Michelangelo -in Bologna to finish the colossal statue, which was only completed on -February 21st, 1508, after much hard work and many disappointments, -chiefly caused by the ignorance of the bronze-founder, who cast it -faultily. It is greatly to be regretted that this work, which cost -Michelangelo over a year of unremitting labour, should have been -destroyed in 1511, when the Bentivogli returned to Bologna and drove -out the Papal Legate. A huge cannon, ironically called La Giulia, -was cast out of the broken fragments. Michelangelo, having completed -his task, hurried back to Florence, and three days after his arrival -Messer Lodovico emancipated his son from parental control, as we -learn from a document dated March 13th, 1508. - -It appears that Michelangelo intended to settle down for several -years in his native city in order to decorate the Sala del Consiglio, -for which he was to receive three thousand ducats, and to carry out -other important commissions, including that of twelve statues of the -Apostles for Santa Maria del Fiore, but "his Medusa," as he called -Julius II., would not suffer him to remain in peace, and summoned him -to Rome. - - - -THE SISTINE CHAPEL - -The artist obeyed, hoping that the Pope would allow him to go on with -the tomb, but, during his absence, Michelangelo's rivals had -persuaded Julius II. that it was unlucky to have a monument erected -during his lifetime, and that it would be much better to set -Michelangelo to work on the vault of the Sistine Chapel. - -This they did maliciously, because they never suspected that -Michelangelo was as great a painter as he was a sculptor, and hoped -that he would prove himself inferior to the task, and thus lose the -Pontiff's favour. "All the disagreements which I have had with Pope -Julius," wrote Michelangelo to Marco Vigerio, "have been brought -about by the envy of Bramante and of Raphael of Urbino," who were the -cause that his monument was not finished during his lifetime. -Bitter, unscrupulous rivalry was the leper-spot that marked the -Italian Renaissance, especially at the Papal Court. - -Michelangelo would gladly have declined the commission, for which he -considered himself unfit, but, seeing the Pope's obstinacy, he -reluctantly set to work on May 10th, 1508. The difficulties which he -had to surmount were enormous, but he was not a man to be frightened -by obstacles, however formidable. Knowing little or nothing of the -technicalities of fresco painting, Michelangelo at first called six -Florentine painters to his aid, including his old friends Francesco -Granacci and Giuliano Bugiardini. But he was too exacting, and aimed -at an ideal of perfection which his assistants could never attain, so -that in January, 1509, he sent them all away, and destroying the work -done by them, shut himself alone in the chapel to wrestle -single-handed with his gigantic task. - -The result fully justified his confidence in his own powers. To -attempt an adequate description of the vault of the Sistine Chapel in -this little book would be a hopeless task. The stupendous frescoes -which adorn it, although described in hundreds of volumes, still -afford material for much original study and research, but we must -here content ourselves with a mere enumeration of the principal -motives which go to make up this grand pictorial symphony. - -Michelangelo chose for his subject the Story of the Creation, the -Fall of Man, the Flood, and the Second Entry of Sin into the World, -illustrated by a series of nine compositions on the central space of -the ceiling. Twenty magnificent nude figures, representing Athletes, -decorate the corners of these central compositions, and support -bronze medallions held in place by oak garlands and draperies. The -shape of the ceiling is what is commonly called a barrel vaulting -resting on lunettes, six to the length and two to the width of the -building. The second part of the decoration demonstrates the need -for a scheme of Salvation, promised by the Prophets and Sibyls, whose -majestic figures are painted alternately in the triangular spaces -between the lunettes, in the lower part of which is a series of -wonderful groups representing the ancestors of Christ. - -Michelangelo, although engaged on a great pictorial work, never -considered himself as anything but a sculptor, and followed in -painting the same systems that he would have adopted in his own art. -Sir Charles Holroyd, in his recent most valuable contribution to -Michelangelesque literature, very justly remarks: "When Pope Julius -prevented Michelangelo from going on with his beloved project of the -tomb and made him paint the vault, the master set to work to produce -a similar conception to the tomb in a painted form. The vault became -a great temple of painted marble and painted sculptures raised in mid -air above the walls of the chapel. The cornices and pilasters are of -simple Renaissance architecture, the only ornaments he allowed -himself to use being similar to those he would have used as a -sculptor. Acorns, the family device of the della Rovere, rams' -skulls, and scallop shells, and the one theme of decoration that -Michelangelo always delighted in--the human figure. The Prophets and -Sibyls took the positions occupied by the principal figures designed -for the tomb, like the great statue of Moses. The Athletes at the -corner of the ribs of the roof were in place of the bound captives, -two of which are now in the Louvre, and the nine histories of the -Creation and the Flood fill the panels like the bronze reliefs of the -tomb." - -Michelangelo must have toiled with almost superhuman energy at his -great work. In a letter to his favourite brother, Buonarroto, dated -October 17th, 1509, he writes: "I live here in great distress and -with the greatest fatigue of body, and have not a friend of any sort, -and do not want one, and have not even enough time to eat necessary -food." This is not surprising when we remember that as early as the -1st of November, 1509, the first and most important part of this -colossal work, which comprises three hundred and ninety-four figures, -the majority ten feet high, was exposed to view, and greatly admired -by the Pope, who, being vehement by nature and impatient of delay, -insisted upon having it uncovered, although it was still incomplete. - -Such was the impatience of Julius II. that on one occasion he -threatened to have Michelangelo thrown down off the scaffolding if he -did not hasten the completion of the work, and even went so far as to -strike the artist with a stick. Thus urged, Michelangelo uncovered -his work on the 1st of November, 1512, although he used to say in -after years that he had been prevented by the hurry of the Pope from -finishing it as he would have wished. "Michelangelo's fame and the -expectation they had of him," says Condivi, "drew the whole of Rome -to the chapel, whither the Pope also rushed, even before the dust -raised by the taking down the scaffolding had settled." - - - -SECOND FLORENTINE PERIOD - -Julius II. died on February 21st, 1513, four months after the -completion of the great work with which his name will remain as -indelibly associated as that of Michelangelo. Shortly before his -death he had ordered that the tomb which Michelangelo had begun -should be finished, and had instructed his nephew, Cardinal Aginense, -and Cardinal Santi Quattro, to see that everything should be carried -out according to the original designs. But his executors, finding -the project far too grand and expensive, had it altered, so that -Michelangelo began all over again. - -He set to work with great energy and goodwill, determined to finish -the monument now that its completion appeared to him almost as a -sacred debt to the memory of his dead patron. But the strange -fatality that presided over the tragedy of the tomb again interfered. -Cardinal Giovanni de' Medici, who had been Michelangelo's friend and -fellow-pupil at the Medicean Court, succeeded Julius II. on the -pontifical throne and assumed the name of Leo X. No sooner were the -magnificent festivities over with which he celebrated his accession, -than he sent for Michelangelo and ordered him to proceed to Florence -to ornament the façade of San Lorenzo with sculpture and marble work. -It was in vain that Michelangelo protested, saying that he was bound -by contract to finish the tomb before undertaking any other -commission, for Leo X. was as self-willed and imperious as his -predecessor, and "in this fashion," says Condivi, "Michelangelo left -the tomb and betook himself weeping to Florence." - -It is not surprising that the artist should have wept tears of bitter -disappointment, for we learn from a letter to his brother Buonarroto, -dated June 15th, 1515, that at this time not only had he completed -the Moses and the Captives in marble, but the panels in relief were -ready for casting. Had he been left in peace, Michelangelo would -certainly have finished the monument to Pope Julius in its modified -form in half the time which he wasted quarrying marble from Carrara -and Pietrasanta for the façade of San Lorenzo. For over two years -Michelangelo was engaged in the tedious work of roadmaking and -quarrying. In August, 1518, he wrote: "I must be very patient until -the mountains are tamed and the men are mastered. Then we shall get -on more quickly. But what I have promised, that will I do by some -means, and I will make the most beautiful thing that has ever been -done in Italy if God helps me." - -He had evidently warmed to his work, and it is melancholy to think -that Fate again interposed to prevent its completion. Giuliano de' -Medici, the Pope's only brother, and Lorenzo, his nephew, having died -at this time, Leo X. ordered Michelangelo to interrupt the façade of -San Lorenzo and to build a new sacristy in which he proposed to erect -a monument to their memory. The document exonerating Michelangelo -from all duties and obligations in connection with the façade is -dated March 10th, 1520. - -Michelangelo only now found time to carry out a commission which he -had received seven years previously from a Roman gentleman, Metello -Vari, namely a nude statue of Christ bearing the cross. It was -finished in the summer of 1521 and sent to Rome, the extremities -being left in rough to prevent their being broken during the journey. -Pietro Urbino accompanied the statue to Rome, with orders to complete -it, and very nearly spoiled it by his careless and inferior -workmanship. The _Risen Christ_, now in the church of the Minerva, -is one of the most noble and majestic of religious statues in -existence; the torso and arms are particularly fine, but the hands -and feet, which were spoiled by Urbino, are stumpy and defective. - -Leo X.'s pontificate, which, although short, was one of the most -glorious and eventful in the history of art, came to an abrupt -conclusion on December 1st, 1521. By a strange irony of fate, the -magnificent patron of art and letters was succeeded by a pious and -simple-minded Dutch prelate, who regarded statues as pagan idols, and -said that the Sistine Chapel was "nothing but a room full of naked -people." There is little doubt that he secretly longed to have it -whitewashed. Fortunately for art and artists, his pontificate was of -brief duration, and in 1523 Cardinal Giulio de' Medici was elected in -his stead, under the name of Clement VII. - -In the following year Michelangelo finished the new sacristy of San -Lorenzo, and immediately set to work on the Medicean tombs. But he -was constantly worried and interrupted by new commissions from the -Pope, who wanted him, among other things, to build a library in which -to place the famous collection of books and manuscripts begun by -Cosimo de' Medici: "I cannot work at one thing with my hands and at -another with my brain!" exclaimed the artist in despair. -Nevertheless he undertook to build the library, and carried on both -works at the same time, constantly urged on by Pope Clement, who -wrote to him in an autograph letter: "Thou knowest that Popes have no -long lives, and we cannot yearn more than we do to behold the chapel -with the tombs of our kinsmen, and so also the library." - -These were troublous times for Italy. After the disastrous battle of -Pavia, in which he had lost everything "except honour," Francis I. -concluded with the Sforza of Milan, with Venice, Florence, and Pope -Clement VII. a league against Charles V., which proved fatal to all -who took part in it. In 1527, a rabble of German and Spanish -soldiers of fortune, led by the renegade Connétable de Bourbon, took -and pillaged Rome, and the Pope himself was besieged in the Castle of -Saint Angelo for nine months. The Florentines availed themselves of -this opportunity to shake off the despotic yoke of the Medici, but -two years later, Charles V. concluded the peace of Barcelona with -Clement VII., one of the conditions being that he should re-establish -the Medicean rule in Florence. But the citizens would not give up -their newly-acquired liberty without a struggle, and prepared for a -desperate resistance. Michelangelo was appointed Commissary-General -of defence, and showed himself worthy of the confidence placed in him -by his fellow-citizens. - -It was in a great measure due to the skill with which he fortified -the town, and more especially the hill of San Miniato, that Florence -was enabled to withstand the attacks of the Imperial troops for -twelve months. But the treachery of Malatesta Baglioni, who -commanded the troops of the Republic, paralyzed the efforts of -Michelangelo and of its other brave defenders, and in August, 1530, -the city fell. Alessandro de' Medici returned in triumph to -Florence, and would certainly have beheaded Michelangelo, who only -saved himself by hiding in the bell-tower of San Nicolò beyond the -Arno, until the first fury of his enemies was over. - -In spite of his important military duties, Michelangelo continued -working at the Medicean tombs during the siege, and also painted a -panel picture, representing _Leda and the Swan_, originally intended -for the Duke of Ferrara, but which he afterwards gave to his pupil -Antonio Mini, together with many cartoons and drawings, that he might -dower two sisters with the proceeds. It was sold to the King of -France and hung at Fontainebleau until the time of Louis XIII., one -of whose ministers ordered it to be destroyed as an improper picture. -According to another version, however, it was only hidden, and -afterwards brought to England. The _Leda and the Swan_ now in the -National Gallery is regarded by some as the damaged and much restored -original of Michelangelo's famous picture. Clement VII.'s anger soon -abated, and Michelangelo was able to return to his work, thanks -chiefly to the kind offices of Baccio Valori, the Papal envoy in -Florence, to whom the sculptor presented, out of gratitude, the fine -statue of _Apollo,_ now in the National Museum at Florence. - -[Illustration: TOMB OF LORENZO DE' MEDICI.] - -The Medicean tombs progressed but slowly, for all this time -Michelangelo was worried almost to death by the Duke of Urbino, a -nephew of Julius II., who insisted upon his finishing the famous -tomb, while Clement VII., on the other hand, threatened the artist -with excommunication if he neglected his work in the new sacristy for -anything else. Probably the first statue to be finished was the -beautiful Madonna suckling the Child Jesus, represented as a strong -boy straddling across her knee. It is one of Michelangelo's noblest -works, possessing all the majestic simplicity of his earlier Madonnas -enhanced by greater power. - -To give an adequate description of the tombs of Giuliano and Lorenzo -de' Medici would be impossible within the narrow limits of this -little book. Suffice it to say that the princes are represented in -the garb of ancient warriors, each seated in a niche above a -sarcophagus, on which two allegorical figures recline. Lorenzo -appears to be plunged in sorrowful meditation; at his feet recline -the colossal statues of _Evening_, represented by a powerful male -figure, apparently on the point of falling asleep, and _Dawn_, -symbolized by a beautiful young woman in the act of awaking, not to -joy and hope, but to another day of sorrow. The beauty of this last -figure cannot be described; it is such as the imagination of the -ancient Greeks might have endowed a goddess with. The statue of -_Dawn_ was finished in 1531, soon after the fall of Florence and the -return of the Medici, and there is little doubt that Michelangelo -intended his mournful figures to express sorrow at the loss of -Florentine liberty, rather than at the death of the two young -princes. The same idea is evident in the tomb of Giuliano, with the -two figures of _Night_, symbolized by a sleeping woman of singular -beauty and power, and _Day_, a vigorous bearded giant just rising to -his work and looking over his shoulder as if dazzled by the glare of -the rising sun. Although the head of _Day_ is unfinished, it is a -striking example of how Michelangelo was able to give life and -expression to his work from the first stroke of his chisel. - - - -THE LAST JUDGMENT - -In 1534 Michelangelo left Florence for the last time. His proud and -independent spirit was unable to tolerate Alessandro's petty tyranny. -The unfinished bust of Brutus, now in the Bargello, a vigorous and -striking piece of work, is another proof of his intense longing for -liberty. On arriving in Rome he found that Clement VII. had died two -days previously, and that Paul III., Farnese, had been elected Pope. - -Michelangelo had finally come to an understanding with the executors -of Julius II., the agreement being that he should make a tomb with -one façade only, using the marbles already carved for the -quadrangular tomb and supplying six statues from his own hand, the -rest of the work to be completed by other artists under his -supervision. He therefore hoped to finish the tomb which had -embittered thirty years of his life, but once more he was doomed to -disappointment, for Paul III. immediately appointed him chief -architect, sculptor and painter of the Vatican, with a pension of -1,200 golden crowns, and ordered him to carry out a commission which -Clement VII. had given him shortly before his death. It was no less -a task than to paint the end wall of the Sistine Chapel. Prayers and -remonstrance were alike unavailing, and the doors of the Sistine -closed once more upon the master, not to be opened again until the -Christmas of 1541, when his _Last Judgment_ was uncovered "to the -admiration of Rome and of the whole world." - -Thirty years earlier Michelangelo had depicted the Creation on the -vault of this same chapel; he now took for his subject the final doom -of all things created. The colossal work which cost him eight years' -labour is a magnificent but almost terrifying pictorial rendering of -the _Dies Irae_, the Day of Wrath, when "even the just shall not feel -secure." Awe and terror are equally apparent among the spirits of -the blessed crowding round the dread Judge, and on the despairing -countenances of the condemned souls dragged down by hideous demons -towards the infernal river, where Charon in his boat "beckons to them -with eyes of fire and beats the delaying souls with uplifted oar." -The rendering of the subject is thoroughly Dantesque, and very -different from the conventional treatment of the same theme by all -preceding artists. The composition, however, and indeed several -individual groups and figures, remind us forcibly of the Campo Santo -at Pisa. - -Although all true artists received this work with enthusiasm, as -Vasari says, and came from every part of Italy to study it, -Michelangelo's enemies, including Pietro Aretino, the most immoral -writer of his age, criticised it as a highly improper painting, -because most of the figures were nude. So incensed was Michelangelo -at this that he revenged himself by painting one of his critics, -Messer Biagio da Cesena, as Minos surrounded by a crowd of devils. -Some years later Paul IV. obtained Michelangelo's consent to partly -drape most of the figures, and the work was done with commendable -discretion by Daniele da Volterra, who thereby earned the nickname of -Il Braghettone, or the breeches-maker. - -Unfortunately the smoke from the altar candles and censers, and the -dust of centuries have darkened and almost completely destroyed the -original colour of this fresco; ominous cracks have also appeared in -several places, but it is to be hoped that time will spare one of the -greatest masterpieces of modern art for many centuries to come. - -No sooner had Michelangelo finished the _Last Judgment_, than Paul -III. set him to work on the side walls of the chapel which Antonio da -San Gallo had just completed, and which is now known as the Cappella -Paolina. Michelangelo was nearly seventy years old at this time, and -fresco painting over a large surface is a fatiguing task even for a -young man, but the veteran artist obeyed, and in 1549 he completed -what was to be his last pictorial work, the two frescoes representing -the _Conversion of St. Paul_ and the _Martyrdom of St. Peter_. - -The composition of these pictures is as masterly as ever, and the -drawing, especially in the fore-shortened figures, faultless, but for -the first time we are aware of something cold and unnatural, very -different from the glorious life and power with which the frescoes of -the Sistine literally glow. Michelangelo was getting old, and even -his Titanic frame could not withstand the insidious attacks of time. -He was seventy-five years of age when he carried these frescoes to -completion, and he himself confessed to Vasari that he did so "with -great effort and fatigue." Nevertheless he found sufficient time and -strength to complete the famous monument of Pope Julius II. during -the intervals of his fresco painting, and in 1545 the tragedy of the -tomb finally came to an end. - -It must have been with feelings of mingled relief and bitterness that -Michelangelo surveyed the much modified tomb in the church of San -Pietro in Vincoli. The mighty design which had fired his youthful -ambition forty years previously had dwindled down to a comparatively -unimposing monument, but everybody will agree with Condivi when he -says that "although botched and patched up, it is the most worthy -monument to be found in Rome, or perhaps in the world; if for nothing -else, at least for the three statues that are by the hand of the -master." Of the central figure, representing Moses, we shall have -occasion to speak later on; the remaining statues by Michelangelo to -which Condivi alludes are two female figures of rare beauty, -representing Active and Contemplative Life. The rest of the tomb was -finished by Raffaello da Montelupo and by other assistants under the -master's supervision. - -Having, as best he could, fulfilled his sacred pledge to the memory -of Julius II., Michelangelo appeared to consider his artistic career -as practically at an end. He was always inclined to sadness, but a -cloud of deeper melancholy seemed to settle over him, and like -Titian, Tintoretto, and other artists who attained to great old age, -he turned his thoughts almost exclusively to religious speculation. -In one of his sonnets he beautifully expresses the yearning for peace -and rest which had taken possession of his storm-tossed soul: - - Painting nor sculpture now can lull to rest - My soul, that turns to His great love on high, - Whose arms to clasp us on the Cross were spread.[2] - - -[2] "The Sonnets of Michelangelo." By J. A. Symonds, No. lxv. - - -Henceforward he regarded his art as a devotional exercise more than -anything else. The unfinished marble group of the _Deposition_, now -in the Duomo at Florence, and which he intended should be placed over -his tomb, was carved by the master during these years of serene -preparation for his approaching end. - -Throughout his long and laborious career, devoted to the threefold -worship of God, art and his country, Michelangelo had constantly -refused to think of other ties, remarking that he had "espoused the -affectionate fantasy which makes of art an idol." From some of his -sonnets, however, it would appear that while at the court of Lorenzo -the Magnificent he had secretly cherished a deep and hopeless passion -for the beautiful Luigia de' Medici, who died in 1494. Forty years -were to elapse ere in his heart, yet youthful at the approach of age, -another woman, and she the first of her era, Vittoria Colonna, -occupied the place left vacant by Luigia de' Medici. The friendship -between these two lofty spirits, based upon mutual admiration and -esteem, is one of the most beautiful romances in history, and -inspired Michelangelo with some of his finest poems. It was brought -to a close in 1547 by Vittoria Colonna's death, which left -Michelangelo "dazed as one bereft of sense." "Nothing," says -Condivi, "grieved him so much in after years as that when he went to -see her on her death-bed he did not kiss her on the brow or face, as -he did kiss her hand." - - - -ST. PETER'S - -It will be remembered that Pope Julius II. had ordered Bramante to -rebuild the church of St. Peter's on a more magnificent scale, in -order that his tomb should derive additional grandeur from its -stately surroundings. Bramante was succeeded by Raphael, Peruzzi and -Antonio da Sangallo, and when the latter died in October, 1546, Paul -III. conferred the post of architect-in-chief upon Michelangelo. But -the aged master at first refused, saying that architecture was not -his art, and it was only when the Pope issued a peremptory _motu -proprio_ that he set to work, on condition that he should receive no -payment for his services. - -Michelangelo returned to Bramante's original design of the Greek -cross, which had undergone considerable alterations, his object being -to erect a perfectly symmetrical building in such a manner that its -dominant feature, both from within and without, should be the cupola. -He began by demolishing most of Sangallo's work, and severely putting -a stop to all jobbery, thereby creating a number of enemies who did -all in their power to have him removed from his post. But Julius -III., who succeeded Paul III. in 1549, had implicit faith in -Michelangelo, and the colossal work proceeded so rapidly, in spite of -intrigues and opposition, that in 1557 the great cupola was commenced. - -The master was now unable, owing to his extreme old age, to -personally superintend the building, so that he constructed a wooden -model, still preserved at the Vatican, after which his assistants -carried on the work. From the window of his house Michelangelo used -to watch for hours together the huge cupola slowly rounding itself -against the sky, and wondered, perhaps, in how many years after his -death it would be finished. The evening of Michelangelo's long life -was saddened by the loss of nearly all who were near and dear to him. -His two remaining brothers (for Buonarroto had died of the plague in -1528) passed away in Florence, and the only representative of the -family, besides the aged artist, was his nephew Leonardo, only son of -his favourite brother, Buonarroto. Although a confirmed bachelor -himself, Michelangelo prevailed upon his nephew to marry, and -Leonardo became the head of the still existing branch of the -Buonarroti family. Another terrible loss to Michelangelo was the -death of his faithful servant Francesco Urbino, of whom he wrote to -Vasari: "While Urbino living kept me alive, in dying he has taught me -to die, not unwillingly, but rather with a desire for death. The -better part of me has gone with him, and nothing is left to me now -but endless sorrow." - -In spite of old age, illness and afflictions, Michelangelo's last -years were perhaps the busiest of a life of uninterrupted work. To -this period must be attributed the plan for the improvements upon the -Capitol; the design for the church of San Giovanni del Fiorentini; -the drawing for the monument to Giangiacomo de' Medici which Leone -Leoni erected in the Milan Cathedral; the plans for the conversion of -the Baths of Diocletian into the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, -and a number of other drawings and sketches for palaces, statues, -monuments, which other artists carried out. He found time for all -these things while actively superintending the construction of St. -Peter's, and yet his restless spirit was not satisfied. In a -beautiful sonnet, beginning with the words - - Giunto è gia' il corso della vita mia, - -he laments the loss of his former creative power, and says that he -has already felt the pangs of one death, while another is fast -approaching. Nothing could be more pathetic than the spectacle of -this strong creative spirit, already imprisoned in the iron embrace -of death, yet struggling, like a Laocoon, against inevitable -dissolution. Although nearly ninety years of age, Michelangelo would -still walk abroad in all weathers, taking no precaution whatever. On -February 14th, 1564, a friend of the master, Tiberio Calcagni, met -him in the street on foot. It was raining hard, and Calcagni -affectionately upbraided the old man for going about in such weather: -"Leave me alone," cried Michelangelo fiercely, "I am ill, and cannot -find rest anywhere." - -He spent the next four days in an armchair near the fire, not -complaining of any particular suffering, "quite composed and fully -conscious," as Diomede Leoni wrote to Leonardo, "but oppressed with -continual drowsiness." In order to shake it off, the brave old man -tried to mount his horse and go for a ride, but he was too weak. -Without a word he sat down again in his armchair, and on the -afternoon of February 18th, 1564, a little before five o'clock, -Michelangelo peacefully breathed his last. "He made his will in -three words," says Vasari, "committing his soul into the hands of -God, his body to the earth, and his goods to his nearest relatives." - -Leonardo arrived in Rome three days after his uncle's death. He had -some difficulty in fulfilling Michelangelo's wish to be buried in his -native town, as the Romans, who had conferred the citizenship on the -artist, would not allow his body to be removed. At last the remains -were smuggled out of Rome in a bale of merchandise and conveyed to -Florence, where they were buried with great pomp and solemnity in the -church of Santa Croce. For some unaccountable reason the group of -the Pietà which Michelangelo had intended for his monument, was not -placed over his tomb. The present very ugly monument was designed by -Vasari at Leonardo's request. It bears the following inscription: - - D. O. M. - MICHAELI ANGELO BONAROTIO - VETUSTA . SIMONIORUM . FAMILIA - SCULPTORI . PICTORI . ET . ARCHITECTO - FAMA . OMNIBUS . NOTISSIMO - LEONARDUS . PATRUO . AMANTISS . ET . DE . SE . OPTIME . MERITO - TRANSLATIS . ROMA . EJUS . OSSIBUS . ATQUE . IN . HOC . TEMPLO - MAJORUM . SUORUM . SEPULCRO . CONDITIS - COHORTANTE. SEREN. COSMO. MED. MAGNO. ETRUR. DUCE. P. C. - ANN. SAL. M. D. LXX - VIXIT. ANN. LXXXVIII. M. XI. D. XV. - - -Other monuments to Michelangelo exist in the church of the Santissimi -Apostoli at Rome, and on the hill of San Miniato, overlooking -Florence, which he so bravely defended. But the noblest monument of -Michelangelo the artist are his undying works, and the highest praise -of Michelangelo the man and the Christian is contained in these -simple words of a contemporary, Scipione Ammirato, "During the ninety -years of his life, and in spite of numberless temptations, -Michelangelo never did or said anything that was not pure and great." - - - - -THE ART OF MICHELANGELO - -In the history of Art, Michelangelo stands isolated, a colossal -figure looming terrible and majestic, a Titan towering far above the -sons of men. Yet his was an age of giants. When Michelangelo came -before the world the glorious tide of the Renaissance was still -rising; sculpture and architecture had been brought to an -unprecedented degree of excellence by such men as Lorenzo Ghiberti, -Donatello and Brunelleschi, and following in Masaccio's footsteps, a -host of great painters had successfully striven to renovate and -perfect their art until it culminated in a Raphael. Leonardo da -Vinci was already famous before Michelangelo had touched chisel or -brush, but neither Leonardo's encyclopaedic achievements nor -Raphael's meteorlike career can be regarded as the ultimate -expression, the high-water mark of the Italian Renaissance. - -In Michelangelo we behold the giant embodiment of the true spirit of -that wonderful period, the synthesis of its various forms of beauty -and perfection, the final manifestation of its aesthetic -possibilities. When Art first shook off the trammels of -mediaevalism, she was content to worship at the shrine of Truth; with -Botticelli and Leonardo she passed into vague regions of poetry. -Raphael touched a more human note, often soaring to sublime -harmonies: with Michelangelo the Renaissance reached its fullest -development, attaining to a spiritual height, an almost superhuman -loftiness hitherto undreamt of. Other men had excelled in painting, -in sculpture, or in architecture before him, but Michelangelo was the -first to attain perfection in every branch of Art, and such was his -strong creative individuality that he left nothing to which he -applied himself at the same stage where he had found it, bringing -every manifestation of Art to the highest degree of perfection of -which it was capable, and crowning all with that glorious aureola of -spiritual grandeur which is the most awe-inspiring characteristic of -his works. - -We have said that Michelangelo stands alone. Of other artists it is -easy to trace the aesthetic derivation, but he is the product of no -school, the result of no external influence. Michelangelo, the most -perfect emanation of the Renaissance, came before an astonished world -like Minerva leaping from the head of Jove, all armed and beautiful -in her strength and wisdom. - -Although he lived in an age when tradition was almost an artistic -canon, and when the pupil felt in duty bound to follow his master's -methods, even his early works reveal a singular originality and -freedom from all imitative tendencies. Take for instance his _Battle -of the Centaurs and Lapithae_, which he carved when working under -Bertoldo at the court of Lorenzo the Magnificent: it has nothing in -common with the school of Donatello, but is instinct with the spirit -of antique art, showing that the young sculptor derived infinitely -more profit from the close study of the antique masterpieces which -Lorenzo had collected in the gardens of San Marco than from -Bertoldo's precepts. That he succeeded in mastering the style and -manner of the ancients to perfection is proved by such works as the -_Sleeping Cupid_, now unfortunately lost, but which was bought by -Cardinal Riario as an antique, and was the cause of Michelangelo's -first coming to Rome; the _Bacchus_, hardly inferior to the _Dancing -Faun of the Capitol_, and the beautiful statues of the Medicean -tombs, which might easily be mistaken for the work of a Greek chisel. - -It is certain that during the first years of his long sojourn in Rome -he gave himself up enthusiastically to the study of its ancient -monuments and works of art. When the famous group of the Laocoon was -discovered in 1506, Michelangelo greeted it as a "miracle of art," -affirming that the only statue worthy of being compared with it was -the torso of Hercules, which he was never tired of drawing, and -evidently had before his mind when painting the magnificent _ignudi_ -of the Sistine Chapel. In the Wicar Museum at Lille there are -several copies by Michelangelo of various decorative motives in the -Baths of Titus, showing how deeply he studied ancient art even in -minor details. But he was far from being a servile imitator; indeed -his powerful originality is never so strikingly manifest as in those -of his masterpieces which appear to be conceived in a purely -classical spirit. - -Although deeply religious, even to the point of regarding his art, -especially during the latter part of his life, more as a devotional -exercise than as a stepping-stone to glory, Michelangelo had one -essential point in common with Pagan artists, namely, a boundless and -reverent cult for beauty in all its forms, and especially in its -highest and most wonderful manifestation, the human frame. "He loved -the beauty of the human body," says Condivi, "as one who best -understands it, and likewise every beautiful thing--a beautiful -horse, a beautiful dog, a beautiful country, a beautiful plant, and -every place and thing beautiful and rare after its kind, admiring -them all with a marvellous love; thus choosing beauty in nature as -the bees gather honey from the flowers, and using it afterwards in -his works." In one of his sonnets Michelangelo thus expressed his -highest idea of beauty--man created in the image of God: - - Nor hath God deigned to show Himself elsewhere - More clearly than in human forms sublime, - Which, since they image Him, alone I love.[1] - - -[1] J. A. Symonds, "The Sonnets of Michelangelo and Campanella," n. -lvi. p. 90. - - -It is certain that he studied anatomy far more deeply than any of his -contemporaries, not excluding Leonardo da Vinci, and devoted so much -time to dissecting that "it turned his stomach so that he could -neither eat nor drink with benefit. Nevertheless," adds Condivi, "he -did not give up until he was so learned and rich in such knowledge -that he intended to write a treatise on the movements of the human -body, its aspect, and concerning the bones, with an ingenious theory -of his own, devised after long practice." - -Michelangelo has been accused by some critics, not wholly without -reason, of having somewhat ostentatiously availed himself of his -anatomical knowledge. In some figures of his _Last Judgment_, for -instance, the muscular masses, the bones and tendons and other -anatomical details are hardly concealed by the skin, as if he had -painted from the _subject_ on the dissecting-table rather than from -the living model. The result is undoubtedly striking and terrible, -and we may even hazard the conjecture that the master purposely -exaggerated his efforts in a picture representing the final -resuscitation of the flesh, the awesome reconstruction and starting -back into life of bodies long since reduced to dust. This -"stupendous defect," if such it may be called, is far more apparent -in Michelangelo's frescoes than in his works of sculpture. - -Having taken the human frame as the highest possible standard of -beauty, Michelangelo made use of it in all his works not only as the -principal theme, but as a decorative element. The ceiling of the -Sistine Chapel, with its magnificent nude Athletes and allegorical -figures, is the apotheosis of the human frame as the noblest means of -decoration. By introducing nude figures in his tondo of the _Holy -Family_ and by his powerful but utterly unconventional treatment of -the angels and saints in the _Last Judgment_, Michelangelo once more -affirmed his faith in the beauty and purity of the "human form -divine" as a decorative element of religious art. He went even -further, for in a letter to Cardinal Ridolfo da Carpi, which he wrote -when engaged on the construction of St. Peter's, Michelangelo hazards -the strange theory that the study of the human figure is -indispensable not only to sculptors and painters, but to architects -as well: "For it is very certain that the members of architecture -depend upon the members of man. Who is not a good master of the -figure, and especially of anatomy, cannot understand it." - -Michelangelo's system of working was as powerful and original as his -art. Before he began a statue he could already discern the finished -masterpiece lurking within the rough-hewn block of marble, which he -would attack with reckless assurance, great splinters flying in all -directions as he feverishly cut away the waste stone, and saw the -figure spring slowly into life under his magic chisel. A -contemporary, writing in 1550, when Michelangelo, then seventy-five -years of age, was carving the _Pietà_ which he intended for his tomb, -thus describes the master at his work: "I have seen him, although -over seventy years of age and no longer strong, cut away more -splinters from a block of very hard marble in fifteen minutes than -three young men could have done in a couple of hours, and with such -fierce recklessness that I thought the whole work must fall to -pieces. For he knocked off splinters the size of a hand, following -the line of his figures so closely, that the slightest mistake would -have irreparably spoilt the whole group." - -In one of his finest sonnets Michelangelo mentions this wonderful -gift of the true artist to penetrate dull marble and to perceive, as -through a veil, the perfect work of art within: - - Non ha l' ottimo artista alcun concetto - Ch' un marmo solo in se' non circoscriva - Col suo soverchio; e solo a quello arriva - La mano che ubbidisce all' intelletto. - - -Even such colossal works as the _David_ were carved by Michelangelo -directly from the marble, without previously modelling a full-size -clay figure. In none of his finished masterpieces, however, is it -possible to observe Michelangelo's methods better than in the -unfinished statue of Saint Matthew, now in the Academy, Florence, -which, although little more than a rough-hewn block of marble, -already reveals all the power and beauty of the perfect work of art. -When quarrying marble at Carrara for the façade of San Lorenzo, he -could tell to a nicety the exact measurements of the blocks required, -although he had not yet prepared a model or even accurate drawings to -guide him in his work. The whole monument was already complete, even -to its minor details, in his mind. - -Michelangelo followed the same strenuous methods in painting. We -have seen that the first part of his most colossal work, the vault of -the Sistine Chapel, comprising three hundred and ninety-four figures, -the majority ten feet high, was begun on May 10th, 1508, and finished -on November 1st, 1509. Indeed, as Michelangelo may be said to have -only commenced work in earnest about the beginning of January 1509, -after dismissing his incapable assistants, it is far more probable -that the stupendous fresco was painted in two hundred and thirty-four -days, at the rate of more than one figure a day. The artist could -only paint on the plaster while it was wet, so that it is easy to -tell in how many days he finished the larger figures by observing the -divisions of the separate days' plasterings. For instance, Sir C. -Holroyd, whose judgment is thoroughly to be depended upon, maintains -that "one of the largest and most prominent figures, as well as one -of the finest and most finished, the Adam in the Creation of Man, was -painted in three sittings only. The lines of the junctions of the -plaster may be seen in a photograph; one is along the collar bone, -and one across the junction of the body and the thighs. There is -also a division all round the figure, an inch or so from the outline, -so we know that the beautiful and highly finished head and neck were -painted in one day; the stupendous torso and arms in another; and the -huge legs, finished in every detail, in a third. Such power of work -and of finish is utterly inconceivable to any artist of to-day." - -Michelangelo rightly attributed his capacity for rapid and finished -work to the great pains he had taken in thoroughly mastering the -difficult art of drawing. There is a sketch in the British Museum -with the following piece of advice in Michelangelo's own hand, to his -pupil, Antonio Mini: - - _Disegna Antonio, disegna Antonio, disegna, e non perder tempo._ - Draw Antonio, draw Antonio, draw, and do not lose time. - -[Illustration: CENTRAL GROUP OF THE LAST JUDGEMENT.] - -Like Donatello, he used to say to his pupils: "I give you the whole -art of sculpture when I tell you--_draw_!" - -Although it would be difficult to decide whether he excelled most in -painting or in sculpture, Michelangelo, with singular modesty, -persisted in regarding himself as exclusively a sculptor. Even when -engaged on his greatest pictorial works, such as the frescoes of the -Sistine Chapel, he invariably signed his letters with the words: -Michelangelo, Scultore. It is, therefore, not surprising that his -paintings, and more especially his earlier works, were conceived in a -purely sculptorial spirit, and carried out according to the methods -of his favourite art. The _Holy Family_, now in the Uffizi, for -instance, differs but little in treatment and composition, from the -two marble _tondi_ in the Bargello, and in the Royal Academy, and -from what we know of the famous _Cartoon of Pisa_, it is evident that -Michelangelo, when composing that famous masterpiece, was influenced -by the antique bas-reliefs, representing battle scenes, which he had -seen and admired during his first visit to Rome. - -That he did not consider himself a painter is further shown by his -utter disregard for colour, so apparent in his earlier paintings, -such as the _Holy Family_. But in the Sistine Chapel he ceases to -regard perfection of form as all sufficient, and the sculptor -suddenly becomes the greatest colour-painter of any age. For in -these stupendous frescoes, remarkable for their imposing, yet -extremely simple colour scheme, Michelangelo has succeeded in making -colour serve a higher purpose than that of merely clothing his -inspiration with beautiful tints. Colour is no longer an accessory, -but an integral factor as important as the mighty figures, the inner -meaning of which it helps to bear out, and the result of as much -thought and care. In no other work of art has such perfect harmony -of form and colour ever been attained. - -Michelangelo was so entirely absorbed in his art, to the exclusion of -every other thought or passion, that it is possible to trace in his -works not only the gradual development of his genius, but also the -vicissitudes of his long and stormy career. Of his youthful works -only two, the bas-relief of the _Madonna and Child_ in the Buonarroti -Collection and the _St. John_ in the Berlin Museum, bear evident -traces of Donatello's influence; in the _Battle of the Centaurs_ and -_Lapithae_ the young artist already asserts his powerful -individuality, and the _Bacchus_ shows how thoroughly he had become -imbued with the spirit of antique art. It was not until he carved -the deeply religious group of the _Pietà_ that he revealed his -spiritual personality, while in the _David_ we are first confronted -with that _terribilita_ which is the most striking characteristic of -his subsequent works. All Michelangelo's masterpieces, whether of -sculpture or painting, are instinct with power and strength, like -combatants in some fierce, mysterious battle; but whereas the -youthful David appears to breathe forth a triumphant defiance, his -later conceptions, such as the brooding athletes of the Sistine -Chapel, the Louvre captives writhing in their bonds, the sombre -giants of the Medicean tombs, and the terror-stricken figures of the -_Last Judgment_, appear to be weighed down and overshadowed by the -consciousness of inevitable doom. What was formerly a brave, -fearless fight becomes a hopeless struggle of Titans against Fate. - -Sublimity of conception, grandeur of form, and breadth of manner are -the elements of Michelangelo's style. As painter, as sculptor, as -architect he attempted--and above any other man succeeded--to unite -magnificence of plan and endless variety of subordinate parts with -the utmost simplicity and breadth. - -His line is uniformly grand; character and beauty are admitted only -as far as they can be made subservient to grandeur. The child, the -female, even meanness and deformity, are by him indiscriminately -stamped with grandeur. A beggar rises from his hand the patriarch of -poverty; the hump of his dwarf is impressed with dignity; his women -are moulds of generations; his infants teem with the man; his men are -a race of giants. In that sublime circle of the Sistine Chapel which -exhibits the origin, the progress and the final dispensations of -theocracy, he may be regarded as the inventor of Epic painting. - -Among the glorious titles which have borne the name of Michelangelo -to so high a pitch of celebrity, the least popular is that derived -from the composition of his poetical works. The best judges, -however, regard these productions with profound esteem. For -Michelangelo lived during the "golden age" of the Lingua Toscana, and -among the poets who filled the interval between the publication of -the _Orlando_ and that of the _Aminta_--first, in order of date, of -the poems of Torquato Tasso--not one has raised himself above, nor, -perhaps, to the level of Michelangelo. - -Michelangelo's architectural works reveal the same characteristics -which excite our admiration when contemplating his paintings or his -marbles, namely, simplicity and grandeur. Although he always -protested that architecture, like painting, was not his profession, -he stood head and shoulders above Bramante or any other architect of -his time, and the majestic cupola of the greatest temple in -Christendom is a sufficient proof of his genius. - -Although Michelangelo left no school in the narrower sense of the -word, his influence upon art, and, what is even more important, on -the minds of men, has undoubtedly been greater than that of any other -master, and successive generations will agree with an illustrious -contemporary, Ariosto, in proclaiming him - - Michel, più che mortal, Angel divino. - - - - -OUR ILLUSTRATIONS - -It is difficult to grasp all the sublime significance of -Michelangelo's works, even when we find ourselves face to face with -the actual masterpieces, such as the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel -or the beautiful statues which adorn the Medicean tombs. - -To attempt an accurate description of his principal works within the -narrow limits at our disposal would be indeed a hopeless task, -especially as the size of these pictures will only allow of their -conveying a somewhat remote idea of the grandeur and awe-inspiring -dignity which are the principal characteristics of Michelangelo's art. - -In selecting the following eight illustrations, we have endeavoured -not only to give an idea of Michelangelo's gradual artistic -development, but also to throw some light on his powerful and most -interesting personality. Although the _Portrait_ now in the Capitol -Museum is in many respects inferior to the one in the Uffizi, and has -even fewer claims to the honour of being regarded as by the master's -own hand, we have selected it because it tallies perfectly with the -descriptions which Michelangelo's contemporaries, and more especially -Condivi and Vasari, have left us of the master's rugged and -expressive features. There is an aspect of profound melancholy, -almost of discouragement, in the wan face, disfigured by the -flattened nose; the eyes are sunk deep under the massive and somewhat -slanting brow, and the whole picture has an indescribably mournful, -hopeless expression. It was probably painted when Michelangelo was -about fifty-five years of age, and the tragedy of the tomb was -causing him bitter grief and disappointment. In the Uffizi portrait -the most interesting feature is the hand, strangely resembling an -eagle's talon and immediately giving the impression of strong -individuality and creative power, which were Michelangelo's most -striking characteristics. - - -It has been rightly observed that nothing closes the fifteenth -century so fitly as the magnificent marble group of _The Pietà_, -which, although carved by Michelangelo in 1498, already prophesied -the power of sixteenth-century art. Numerous other artists had -already been attracted by the pathetic theme of the Virgin Mother -mourning over her dead Son, their principal aim, however, being -almost invariably to convey as forcibly as possible to the beholder -the grief and despair of the bereaved Mother. With characteristic -originality Michelangelo departed from the traditional manner, -successfully endeavouring to give the theme a simpler but far more -dignified and lofty interpretation. The Madonna is seated on the -stone upon which the Cross is erected, with her dead Son on her lap. -Her beautiful face is not contracted with grief, but wears an -expression of sublime peace and resignation, and the graceful head -reclines slightly on her right shoulder, as if pitying Heaven had -sent sleep to temper the extremity of her grief, and sweet dreams of -the past, when the Virgin Mother fondled her Infant Son, had -mercifully cancelled the horrible vision of the Redeemer's lifeless -body now lying on her lap. - -Michelangelo's contemporaries criticised the figure of the Madonna, -remarking that the Mother is far too young compared with the Son. -"One day," writes Condivi, "as I was talking to Michelangelo of this -objection, 'Do you not know,' he said, 'that chaste women retain -their fresh looks much longer than those who are not chaste? And I -tell you, moreover, that such freshness and flower of youth, besides -being maintained in her by natural causes, it may possibly be that it -was ordained by the Divine Power to prove to the world the virginity -and perpetual purity of the Mother. It was not necessary in the Son, -but rather the contrary, wishing to show that the Son of God took -upon himself a true human body subject to all the ills of man, -excepting only sin. Do not wonder then that I have, for all these -reasons, made the most Holy Virgin, Mother of God, a great deal -younger in comparison with her Son than she is usually represented. -To the Son I have allotted His full age.'" This grave theological -statement gives us an interesting insight into Michelangelo's pious -and meditative character, showing how earnestly he took his art and -how reverently he thought out every detail, especially when -interpreting some religious theme. - -The figure of the dead Redeemer is, if possible, even more admirable -than that of the Mother. "He is of so great and so rare a beauty," -exclaims Condivi, "that no one beholds it but is moved to pity. A -figure truly worthy of the humanity which belonged to the Son of -God." No other sculptor has ever succeeded in giving marble the -absolute _abandon_ of death quite so pathetically as Michelangelo has -done in this _Dead Christ_. Here it was that his profound knowledge -of anatomy, and the long hours spent over the dissecting table at -Santo Spirito, first stood him in good stead. In the Albertina -Gallery at Vienna there is a magnificent study of a subject placed in -almost exactly the same position as the Dead Christ, which the -sculptor evidently transferred to _The Pietà_, if indeed he did not -make the sketch expressly for this group. Although Michelangelo -always professed to be a sculptor and nothing else, he shows all a -true painter's sensitive appreciation of light and shade in this -work, having so arranged the graceful, but somewhat complicated folds -of the Madonna's draperies, as to form a comparatively dark -background which enhances the whiteness of the lifeless body lying on -her lap. - -To students of Michelangelo's art this work is especially interesting -as it shows the master equally free from the influence of his -Florentine predecessors, and from that of the antique. Michelangelo -was conscious of the merit and of the originality of this group, for -it is the only one which he considered worthy of bearing his great -name. - -[Illustration: THE PIETÀ.] - -The _David_, now in the Accademia at Florence, inaugurates the series -of Michelangelo's colossal statues. It will be remembered that the -master undertook to utilize a huge block of marble already rough-hewn -by an unskilful sculptor, and that he succeeded in hewing this -magnificent statue, without adding any other piece at all, so exactly -to the size that the old surface of the marble may still be seen on -the top of the head and in the base. What most surprises the modern -artist when studying not only this, but all Michelangelo's colossal -works, both in painting and in sculpture, is the perfect finish of -every detail. The fearless eyes, the shapely ear, the firm set -mouth, the powerful hand nervously grasping the death-dealing -missile, could not have been more carefully modelled in a statuette, -and casts of each individual limb are still set before students to -copy and admire in every studio of the world. - -In 1501, when Michelangelo began this work, he was still free and -unfettered, justly proud of the fame which his _Pietà_ had brought -him, and with the world literally at his feet. This young giant -boldly taking aim at an unknown but formidable enemy, might well be -regarded as an allegorical representation of the artist himself, on -the eve of grappling with his fate. It may be taken for certain that -a quarter of a century later he would have interpreted the same theme -very differently, and would perhaps have given us David the King, or -David the Psalmist and the Prophet, instead of this magnificent -embodiment of conscious power and hope. The fierce frown, the -expression of strenuous force victoriously struggling against -overwhelming odds, all those characteristics, in short, which have -been summed up in the word _terribilità_ by his contemporaries, would -have been replaced by the sombre majesty of the _Moses_, or the -despairing expression of conquered, impotent strength which is the -key-note to such works as the Medicean Tombs, the Louvre Captives, -and the _Last Judgment_. Critics casting about for an artistic -derivation of Michelangelo's earlier works maintain that the -_David's_ face bears a resemblance to the features of Donatello's -Saint George in Or San Michele, but the type is far more virile and -energetic, recalling, if anything, the masterpieces of ancient art. - - -The _tondo_ representing _The Holy Family_, now in the Tribuna of the -Uffizi, is doubly interesting as a work of art and as an instance of -Michelangelo's fearless originality. It was painted about the year -1503 for that Florentine merchant prince, Angelo Doni, who sat for -his portrait to the divine Raphael. Although Signorelli had once -before introduced nude figures as a decorative element in a Madonna -and Child which he painted for Lorenzo de' Medici (and it is possible -that Michelangelo saw this picture), no other artist of the -Renaissance had ever dared to interpret a sacred subject such as the -Holy Family in so Pagan a spirit. An ancient Greek would quite -naturally have supposed the beautiful group in the foreground to -represent Juno playing with the infant Bacchus, only wondering, -perhaps, why the artist had neglected to place a garland of vine -leaves and clustering grapes round the Wine God's curly head. St. -Joseph might easily be taken for a momentarily uxorious Jupiter or -for a sober Silenus, and the nude shepherds idling in the background -place the scene in a pleasant corner of Arcadia, while a grinning -little Faun does duty for St. John the Baptist. - -Nevertheless there is not the slightest hint at irreverence; it is -merely a Pagan translation, by a master hand, of an oft-repeated -Christian theme, a transposition as beautiful and as harmonious in -its way as the original score. Indeed, Vasari tells us that -Michelangelo painted this strikingly original _tondo_ merely "to show -his skill," and the magnificent modelling and foreshortening of the -Madonna's arms, the masterful composition, and the wonderfully -accurate drawing more than achieve his object. As to the colouring, -he entirely disregarded it in his sculptor's pride. He might as well -have carved this remarkable work in marble. Before painting the -ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo appeared to be wilfully -colour-blind, as if afraid that painting would wile him away from the -sister art, to which he had plighted his troth. - - -There is very little doubt that the original design of the _Creation -of Man_ was inspired in Michelangelo by one of the antique gems which -he admired as a boy in Lorenzo de' Medici's collection. A similar -origin may be assigned to the group of Judith and her maid, also in -the Sistine Chapel, to several of the Athletes, and to the Leda and -the Swan which he painted for the Duke of Ferrara. But this -magnificent recumbent figure of Adam far surpasses anything in -ancient as well as in modern art, and is indeed a worthy centre round -which the remaining stupendous compositions appear to gravitate like -planets round the sun. It is here, more than in any other of his -works, that we can appreciate Michelangelo's wonderful gift of -interpreting the highest and most inaccessible themes in a simple yet -imposing manner. Resting heavily on the curved surface of the globe, -his powerful limbs and finely modelled flesh clearly outlined against -the indigo blue of the sky and the solemn lines of the landscape, -Adam gives one the impression of a huge primeval being instinct with -strength which he is as yet unable to understand or to use, and just -awaking into life, a divine spark of which he receives from the -Deity. Michelangelo's conception of God the Father, as an old but -powerful and majestic figure, has ever since remained the only -possible pictorial symbol of so lofty a subject. - -[Illustration: THE HOLY FAMILY.] - - -Apart from its great artistic merit, a pathetic interest attaches to -the statue of _Moses_ because it represents the last act of that -tragedy of the tomb which darkened the greater part of Michelangelo's -life, and influenced his art more than any other circumstance of his -eventful career. - -The leader and law-giver of the Hebrews is seated in an attitude of -thought and wisdom, holding under his right arm the tables of the -law, and supporting his chin with his left hand, like one tired and -full of cares. His beard escapes in long waves between the fingers -of his right hand. The hands and strong bare arms of the _Moses_ are -magnificent, beyond comparison the finest ever modelled by -Michelangelo. The expression of the face is one of commanding power -and almost fierce energy, a face capable of inspiring terror rather -than love, a veritable embodiment of the cruel, uncompromising Hebrew -legislation. The powerful, massive form is clearly apparent beneath -the beautiful folds of the draperies, for here, as in all -Michelangelo's clothed figures, whether in painting or in sculpture, -dress does not hide but almost enhances the shape and beauty of the -body. "This statue alone," exclaimed the Cardinal of Mantua, when he -saw the finished work, "is enough to honour the memory of Pope -Julius." - -[Illustration: THE MOSES.] - - -In the Medicean tombs Michelangelo may be said to have equalled if -not surpassed the masterpieces of ancient sculpture. We have -selected the tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici for our illustration, as the -statues which adorn it, symbolizing _Evening_ and _Dawn_, although -conceived in the same spirit of profound melancholy, are, if -possible, even more beautiful than the Day and Night of Giuliano's -tomb. _Evening_ is represented by an old man, brooding and dejected, -but hardly less powerful and muscular than the giant Day. It is -evident that he is not suffering from bodily fatigue, but that he is -sinking under the weight of some unbearable, irremediable calamity. - -The virgin _Dawn_ is perhaps the most beautiful female figure of -modern or of ancient art. She is represented as only half awake and -almost unable to rise from her couch, while there is a suggestion of -ineffable bitterness in the expression of the face with its -half-closed eyes wearily greeting another day of sorrow. The -powerful yet graceful limbs are magnificently modelled, and the whole -figure may be regarded as the perfection of the female form, redeemed -from any breath of sensuality by a commanding loftiness of -expression, such as the Greeks gave to the statues of their goddesses. - - -Michelangelo's _Last Judgment_ is a work of so colossal a nature that -it would be impossible to give even a remote idea of the whole -composition in this unpretentious little book. We have therefore -selected for our illustration the central group representing Christ -the Judge, a dread figure enthroned on clouds, with hand upraised in -an attitude of stern command, surrounded by the Blessed, who press -round the Son of God with eager, frightened looks and gestures, as if -hardly secure of their final salvation in that terrible day of -retribution, "cum vix Justus sit securus." Nestling timorously close -to her Son, half sitting, half crouching, with head averted, as if to -avoid seeing the coming wrath, and arms crossed on her bosom, is the -Mother of God, a wonderfully sweet and pathetic figure, full of pity -and sorrow for the condemned souls, and contrasting strangely with -the inexorable Judge rising in his stern majesty to pronounce -sentence on the frightened, shuddering mass of humanity. The action -of the Judge, and indeed every part of the composition, forcibly -remind us of the _Last Judgment_ in the Campo Santo of Pisa, but -there is not a figure or a detail in the whole of this colossal work -which does not bear the imprint of that powerful originality and that -wonderful gift to express the most varied emotion and to interpret -the loftiest themes, which were the principal characteristics of -Michelangelo's genius. - - - - -LIST OF CHIEF WORKS - - -AUSTRIA-HUNGARY - -VIENNA, ALBERTINA GALLERY. - - Several drawings and sketches. - - -BELGIUM - -BRUGES, CHURCH OF ST. BAVON. - - Marble group of Virgin and Child. (Executed - at Carrara in 1506 for two Flemish merchants.) - - -BRITISH ISLES - -LONDON, NATIONAL GALLERY. - - No. 790, Entombment. Unfinished painting on - wood. (Between 1501-1504.) - -ROYAL ACADEMY, DIPLOMA GALLERY. - - Madonna and Child. Tondo bas-relief (1501-1504). - -LONDON, BRITISH MUSEUM. - - Several drawings. - -OXFORD, TAYLOR COLLECTION. - - Drawings. - - -FRANCE - -PARIS, LOUVRE. - - Two colossal statues of Captives, originally - intended for the tomb of Julius II. (1513). - - Numerous drawings, including Head of Faun. - -LILLE, MUSÉE WICAR. - - Drawings. - - -GERMANY - -BERLIN MUSEUM. - - Statue of youthful St. John the Baptist (about 1495). - -WEIMAR MUSEUM. - - Drawings and studies for the Last Judgment. - - -HOLLAND - -HAARLEM, TEYLER MUSEUM. - - Many important drawings. - - -ITALY - -BOLOGNA, CHURCH OF SAN DOMENICO. - - Statue of kneeling Angel (1494). - -FLORENCE, ACCADEMIA. - - Colossal statue of David (1501-1504). - - Statue of St. Matthew (unfinished). - -BUONARROTI COLLECTION. - - Madonna and Child (bas-relief), 1489-1492. - - Fight between Centaurs and Lapithae (bas-relief), 1489-1492. - - Numerous sketches, studies, architectural drawings - and three hundred autograph letters. - -DUOMO. - - Unfinished group representing "The Deposition from the Cross." - -MUSEO NAZIONALE. - - Statue of Bacchus (executed in 1497 for - Jacopo Galli). - - Dying Adonis (1501-1504). - - Apollo (unfinished statue, executed in 1530 - for Baccio Valori). - - Victory (group intended for Julius II.'s Tomb, - 1521). - - Bust of Brutus (1544?). - -CHURCH OF SAN LORENZO. - - Medicean Tombs (begun 1521). - - New Sacristy and Library of San Lorenzo. - -UFFIZI GALLERY. - - The Holy Family (tondo in oil-colours, painted - for Angelo Doni in 1503). - - Numerous drawings, including _The Resurrection - of Lazarus_, _Prudence_, the _Last Judgment_. - -BOBOLI GARDENS. - - Four Slaves (unfinished statues). - -ROME, ST. PETER'S. - - Group of La Pietà (1499). - -CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA SOPRA MINERVA. - - Statue of the Saviour (1521). - -CHURCH OF SAN PIETRO IN VINCOLI. - - Tomb of Julius II. and statue of Moses (completed 1545). - -VATICAN, SISTINE CHAPEL. - - The Creation and Fall of Man (1508-1512). } - } Frescos. - The Last Judgment (1535-1541). } - -PAULINE CHAPEL. - - The Conversion of St. Paul. } Frescoes - } (1542-49). - The Martyrdom of St. Peter. } - - - - CHISWICK PRESS: PRINTED BY CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO. - TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON. - - - - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MICHELANGELO *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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