Generally.
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- from 10.00 to 17.00 daily
- from 13.30 to 17.30 on Sunday
- does not work in Sundays November to February
- 6 euros to visit the basilica;
- 8.5 euros for joint visit basilicas and libraries of Laurenziano.
- from 08.15 to 15.45;
- closed January 1, December 25, May 1, from 1 to 3, and 5 Monday of the month, 2 and 4 Sunday of the month.
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Michelangelo arrived in Florence in 1514 because Pope Leo X of the Medici suggested that he create a new façade for the local church of San Lorenzo, the family temple of the powerful Medici family. This facade was to become a "mirror of all Italy", the embodiment of the best features of craftsmanship. Italian artists and a witness to the power of the Medici family. But long months of reflection, design decisions, Michelangelo's stay in marble quarries turned out to be in vain. There was not enough money for the implementation of the grand facade - and the project came to naught after the death of the pope.
In order not to alienate the ambitious artist from the family, Cardinal Giulio Medici instructed him not to finish the facade, but to create a chapel in the same church of San Lorenzo. Work on it began in 1519.
Idea and projects
The renaissance tombstone went through a significant development, when Michelangelo was forced to turn to the topic of memorial plastics. The Medici Chapel is a monument to the formidable and powerful Medici family, and not the free will of a creative genius.
In the first drafts, it was proposed to create a tombstone for the early deceased members of the family - the Duke of Nemours Giuliano and the Duke of Urbino Lorenzo, whom Michelangelo wanted to place in the middle of the chapel. But the development of new options and the study of the experience of predecessors forced the artist to turn to the traditional scheme of side, wall monuments. Michelangelo developed wall options in latest project, decorating the headstone with sculptures, and the lunettes above them with frescoes.
The artist flatly refused to make portraits. He made no exception for the Dukes Lorenzo and Giuliano. He presented them as the embodiment of generalized, idealized faces - active and contemplative. A hint of the transience of their lives were also allegorical figures of the course of the day - Night, Morning, Day and Evening. The triangular composition of the tombstone was complemented by recumbent figures of the river gods already on the floor. The latter are a hint at the continuous flow of time. The background was a wall, compositionally beaten with niches and pilasters, complemented by decorative figures. It was planned to place garlands, armor and four decorative figurines of crouching boys over the gravestone of Lorenzo (the only one created of them would later be sold to England. From the collection of Lyde Brown in 1785 he would acquire it for his own palace collections Russian empress Catherine II).
Large shells were held over the tombstone of Giuliano Putti in the project, and a fresco was planned in the lunette. In addition to the tombstones, there was also an altar and sculptures of the Madonna and Child and two holy doctors - Cosmas and Damian, the heavenly patrons of the family.
Incomplete embodiment
The Medici Chapel is a small room, square in plan, the side wall length of which is twelve meters. The architecture of the building was influenced by the Pantheon in Rome, a famous example of the domed construction of ancient Roman masters. Michelangelo created his small version in his hometown. Outwardly ordinary and lofty, the building makes an unpleasant impression with the rough surface of undecorated walls, the monotonous surface of which is broken by rare windows and a dome. Overhead lighting is practically the only lighting of the building, as in the Roman Pantheon.
A huge idea with a large number of sculptures did not frighten the artist, who began working on the project at the age of 45. He will also have time to create the figures of both dukes, allegorical figures of the course of the day, a boy on his knees, the Madonna and Child, and Saints Cosmas and Damian. Only the sculptures of Lorenzo and Giuliano and the allegorical figure of Night were really completed. The master even managed to polish their surface. The surface of the Madonna, the boy on his knees, the allegories of Day, Evening and Morning are much less worked out. in a strange way the imperfection of the figures gave them a new expressiveness, menacing strength and anxiety. The contrasting combination of light walls with dark colors of pilasters, cornices, window frames and lunette arches contributed to the impression of melancholy. The disturbing mood was also supported by the terrible, teratological ornaments of the friezes and the masks on the capitals.
The figures of the river gods were only developed in drawings and sketches. In the finished version, they were abandoned altogether. The niches along the figures of Lorenzo and Giuliano and the lunettes also remained empty. The background of the wall with the figures of the Madonna and Child and Saints Cosmas and Damian has not been developed at all. On one of the options, they also planned to create pilasters and niches here. In the lunette there could be a fresco on the theme of "The Resurrection of Christ" as an allusion to eternal life dead in afterlife and which is in the sketch.
Break with the Medici
Work on the figures of the chapel stretched out for almost fifteen years and did not bring satisfaction to the artist. end result because it didn't fit the bill. His relationship with the Medici family also deteriorated. In 1527, the republican-minded Florentines revolted and expelled all the Medici from the city. Work on the chapel stopped. Michelangelo took the side of the rebels, which gave rise to an accusation of ingratitude towards longtime patrons and patrons.
Florence was besieged by the soldiers of the combined armies of the Pope and Emperor Charles. The provisional government of the rebels appointed Michelangelo the head of all fortifications. The city was taken in 1531 and Medici power in Florence was restored. Michelangelo was forced to continue work in the chapel.
Michelangelo, having completed the sketches of the sculptures, left Florence, moved to Rome, where he worked until his death. The chapel was built according to his design solutions and unfinished sculptures were installed in the appropriate places. The figures of Saints Cosmas and Damian were made by assistant sculptors Montorsoli and Raffaello da Montelupo.
The Medici Chapel in Florence is located on the territory of the church of San Lorenzo and is considered one of the most beautiful and sad places in the city. Thanks to the great masters of the Renaissance, the luxury of the earthly existence of the Medici clan was embodied in the decoration of their last shelter. Crypts and tombstones, made by famous masters of the Renaissance, remind of the perishability of earthly existence and the eternity of the universe.
The church of San Lorenzo, founded in 393 by Saint Ambrose, was reconstructed in the 11th century, after which it acquired the appearance of a rectangular basilica with columns of different sizes at the base. The architect Filippo Bruneleschi, commissioned by Cosimo the Elder Medici, added a building in the form of a hemispherical dome to the medieval church in the 15th century and covered it with red tiles.
The long rectangular room of the Basilica of San Lorenzo ends with a bifurcation, on the left side of which there is an old sacristy (sacristy) and a passage to the Laurenziano library building, on the right side is the Medici Chapel, and at the end rises the Chapel of the Princes. The rough facing of the outer surface of the church contrasts with its magnificent interior decoration.
Interior decoration
The church of San Lorenzo is the tomb of many prominent Florentine painters, historians and politicians. For the most famous people sarcophagi were installed on the marble floor and on the upper tiers of the walls. The pillars of the basilica end with Gothic ceiling vaults made of gray stone. In huge vertical niches there are paintings by the great Florentine painters Pietro Marchesini "Saint Matthew" 1723, "The Crucifixion" 1700 by Francesco Conti, "The Crucifixion and Two Sorrowers" Lorenzo Lippi.
Part of the wall is decorated with a huge fresco depicting the Great Martyr St. Lawrence by the artist Bronzino, and on a dais there is musical organ. Through the bronze lattice, under the altar of the church, one can see the burial place of Cosimo the Elder Medici, which was arranged by the townspeople themselves, expressing deep gratitude and appreciation to the philanthropist and ruler of Florence.
In the center of the hall, on high supports, there are two pulpits resembling sarcophagi. They are decorated with bronze reliefs depicting scenes from the life of Christ. This last works Donatello - a unique master of bronze casting, the founder of a sculptural portrait and a round statue, who spent in Florence last years of his life and rests under a marble slab in the church of San Lorenzo.
old sacristy
The sacristy (sacristy) serves to store church supplies and prepare priests for worship, but in the Basilica of San Lorenzo it has a different purpose. The old sacristy has turned into a crypt of the founder of the Medici family - Giovanni di Bicci. Designed by the architect Filippo Brunneleschi, the tomb is an ideal square room, the architecture of which is dominated by strict geometric lines.
Influenced by ancient masters, Brunneleschi uses columns and pilasters in the interior, which are characteristic of Roman architecture. The walls are decorated with gray-green marble overlays, which, in combination with beige plaster, emphasize correct forms sacristies. A corridor under the gloomy vaults leads to the lower burial chambers and to the tomb of the Medici Cosimo the Elder. The walls of the crypt are decorated with red altar velvet with patterns of silver ornate plates.
Bronze busts of the reposed Medici and precious church utensils are placed everywhere. The silver cross for processions of 877, the reliquary of the Saints of the Dead of 1715, the golden tabernacle of Lorenzo Dolci of 1787 deserve special attention. The wooden doors of the crypt are elaborately carved.
New sacristy
The New Sacristy, or Chapel, was designed and recreated by the architect Michelangelo commissioned by Giulio de' Medici of Pope Clement VII in 1520. The room was intended for the burial places of the great Tuscan dukes from the Medici family. Michelangelo at that time was in a rather difficult position, being, on the one hand, a supporter of the Republicans, who fought a fierce struggle with the Medici, on the other hand, he was a court sculptor working for his enemies.
The master erected a temple and a crypt for the family, which, in case of victory, could severely punish their architect. The road to the Medici Chapel leads through the entire Basilica of San Lorenzo and turns right, where going down the stairs you can get to the room with the tombs.
Sarcophagus of the Duke of Neymour
The muted colors of the room and the thin rays of light breaking through a small window in the ceiling create a feeling of sadness and peace in the ancestral tomb. In one of the niches on the wall is installed marble sculpture Giuliano Duke of Neymour, younger son Lorenzo Medici. The figure of a young man sitting on a throne, dressed in the armor of a Roman soldier, and his head thoughtfully turned to the side. On both sides of the sarcophagus, majestic statues are reclining, personifying the day and night of the work of Michelangelo.
Sarcophagus of the Duke of Urbino
On the opposite side of the wall, opposite the coffin of Giuliano, there is a sculpture of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, grandson of Lorenzo Medici. The Duke of Urbino, Lorenzo, is depicted as an ancient Greek warrior sitting in armor over his tomb, and majestic sculptures recreating morning and evening are located at his feet.
Sarcophagi of the brothers Lorenzo the Magnificent and Giuliano
The third burial of the Chapel is the graves of Lorenzo the Magnificent and his 25-year-old brother Giuliano, who died at the hands of the conspirators in 1478. The tombstone is made in the form of a long tabletop, on which marble statues"Madonna and Child" by Michelangelo, "Saint Cosmas" by Angelo di Montorsoli and "Saint Domian" by Raphael di Montelupo. The entire composition of the Chapel is united by the rapidly running moments of life and the endless flow of time.
Chapel of the Princes
The entrance to the Chapel of the Princes is possible from Piazza Madonna del Brandini, which is located on the opposite side of the Church of San Lorenzo. This sumptuous room houses the six tombs of the hereditary Grand Dukes of Tuscany. The Hall of the Princes was designed in 1604 by Mateo Nigetti, and decorated by Florentine artisans from the Pietra dura workshop, which belonged to the Medici family.
Various types of marble and semi-precious stones were used for wall cladding. Thin stone plates were selected according to the ornament and tightly fastened at the joints. The installed sarcophagi are decorated with the Medici family coats of arms. The dukes were moneylenders and the founders of the extensive banking system of Western Europe.
On their coat of arms there are six balls, which were considered the size interest rate on issued loans. Mosaic tiles in the lower part of the wall are represented by coats of arms of Tuscan cities. Only two sculptures are installed in the recesses - these are Dukes Ferdinand I and Cosimo II. Due to the fact that the Chapel was not finally completed, other niches were left empty.
What else to see
The most valuable collection of books and ancient manuscripts is in the Laurenziano Library. The library building and the magnificent gray staircase leading to it are the work of Michelangelo. The beginning of the collection of the manuscript collection was laid by Cosimo the Elder Medici and continued by Lorenzo I Medici, after whom the literary repository is named. To get to the library, you need to cross the well-groomed churchyard.
Excursions
The reign of the Medici dukes lasted about 300 years and ended in mid-eighteenth century. The Medici skillfully used art and architecture to demonstrate their wealth and power. Court sculptors, architects and artists received orders for the construction of palaces and the manufacture of paintings. At the beginning of the 15th century, several Medici families chose the church of San Lorenzo as a burial place for members of their family.
Each of the branches of the dynasty paid for the construction and reconstruction of a certain area in the basilica. Someone from the clan was honored to be in the Chapel of the Princes, and someone rests in the niches of the crypt. All the subtleties and interweaving in the biography of the most famous Tuscan family will be explained to travelers by competent guides who have extensive experience in conducting excursions in Florence and are fluent in historical material.
Mysteries of the Medici Chapel
The clan of the Medici dukes from the 15th to the 18th century created the history of Florence. Their families included popes and two queens of France. The Medici were not only influential rulers, but also patrons who patronized the great creators of the Renaissance. Possessing great power and untold wealth, the Medici dukes, historical evidence, tried at first to buy, but having been refused, made several attempts to steal the Holy Sepulcher from Jerusalem in order to put it in the middle of the Chapel of the Princes.
Who is buried in the Chapel of the Princes of the Basilica of San Lorenzo? What precious stones the octagonal tomb of the Dukes is decorated? Who owned and how were the jewelry and granite workshops of Florence used? How the mosaic surfaces were connected to each other various breeds And why are the connecting seams not visible on the wall cladding? The answers to these and many other questions, inquisitive tourists will receive using private tour with a professional guide.
Great Tombs of the Medici
Two years after the death of Pope Leo X, the grandson of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Pope Clement XVII, continued to finance the construction of the chapel in the new sacristy of San Lorenzo. The sculptor Michelangelo and his apprentices worked on the design of the Medici Chapel for more than 10 years. Michelangelo's favorite material was white marble from the Carrara quarries. The master himself was often present at the selection of blocks for his work.
The allegorical sculptures of Day, Night, Morning and Evening in the Medici Chapel are also made by the architect from white Carrara marble and carefully polished to a shine. Explore all corners of the Church of San Lorenzo and not get lost in the corridors of the tombs, learn a lot of interesting information in a short period of time and see the iconic sights of Florence and the Medici Chapels - this is possible only with the help of competent guides and individual excursions.
Medici and Renaissance
Freedom of creative choice was possible in Republican Florence, but since the 15th century, all talented craftsmen were completely dependent on the Medici court. Michelangelo was a supporter of the Republicans and opposed the tyranny of the Medici, while fulfilling multiple orders of the family. Fearing the ducal wrath, the sculptor continued to decorate the church of San Lorenzo, the Laurenziano library and the new sacristy.
After the defeat of the Republicans, Michelangelo hid from his masters in the sacristy under the chapel of San Lorenzo and stayed there until the Pope forgave his rebellion. After these events, in 1534 the master moved to Rome without completing the design of the Medici Chapel. work on tomb of Lorenzo The magnificent was continued by Vasari, and the sculptures of Cosimo and Domiano were made by Michelangelo's students. The great Michelangelo himself (1475-1564), a sculptor, poet, painter and engineer, is buried in the marble tomb of San Lorenzo.
A special role in the design of the Basilica of San Lorenzo was played by the genius of sculpture Donatello (1386-1466). Two huge pulpits, each standing on four columns, are decorated with bronze overlays made by the master. The plot for their design was biblical themes which describe the life of Saint Lawrence, the Garden of Gethsemane and the Descent from the Cross. Being an unpretentious man, Donatello did not work for the sake of money, he was content with modest food and did not wear rich outfits.
The funds he earned were freely available to students, and according to contemporaries, "were kept in a basket suspended from the ceiling in the sculptor's workshop." Combining antiquity and renaissance in his works, Donatello paid great attention to drawing and test castings from wax and clay. Unfortunately, not a single scheme or pattern has survived to this day.
These and others Interesting Facts on the role of the Medici in centuries of history Renaissance Florence, tourists will learn from competent guides when conducting individual tours.
Opening hours and ticket prices
The complex of historical buildings in the church of San Lorenzo varies in time of visit and requires a separate purchase of tickets.
Opening hours of the Basilica of San Lorenzo:
Ticket offices close at 16.30.
Ticket price:
Opening hours of the Medici Chapel:
The cost of tickets to the Chapel is 8 euros.
Where is it located and how to get there
The Church of San Lorenzo and the Medici Chapel are located at: Piazza di San Lorenzo, 9, 50123 Firenze FI, Italia.
City bus number 1 delivers tourists to the San Lorenzo stop.
If you travel by car, you can use the underground parking of Florence Santa Maria Novella train station, which is within walking distance of the Basilica.
Medici Chapel in Florence on the map
Medici Chapel
No one really knew what the figures of the chapel were. Clement did not see them, because after the restoration he was not in Florence. Duke Alessandro Michelangelo was not allowed into the chapel. Only once did he visit it - the artist was then in Rome - when the Viceroy of Neapolitan visited Florence, asking to be shown the chapel to him. Then they climbed in through the window, secretly, like boys climbing into someone else's garden to steal apples, forgetting about the Spanish prim etiquette and dignity befitting their important persons.
When Michelangelo left the chapel last time and locked her up, she presented a rather chaotic sight. Everything was more or less ready: walls, niches, interior architectural decoration. But the statues were not put in their places, the altar was not arranged. Only in 1545 everything fell into place, construction debris was removed, everything was washed and cleaned.
Now the chapel is one of the greatest sanctuaries of art. It is small, and the first impression of entering it is amazing game light on the marble of its pilasters, capitals, niches, cornices, door consoles, frieze. Marble is dark gray - from bright lighting it is perceived as black and white. White and black. Light. Three walls with figures and an altar. There are only nine figures, two aliens, seven Michelangelo. Of these, four - two dukes, "Night" and "Morning" - are finished. Madonna, "Day" and "Evening" - not quite.
Once you get into the chapel, it is difficult to leave it, and, having left, you want to come back again and again. This is how the magic of Michelangelo's craftsmanship attracts.
Medici Chapel - the only work Michelangelo, created entirely by him: building and decoration, architecture and sculpture. In it, he could calculate the effect, even just starting to work, because space, light, walls - everything could be given in that artistic harmony that appears to the imagination of the master from the very beginning and which he can rarely achieve if he does not do everything himself. Neither the tombstone of Julius, even according to the original design - it was supposed to stand in the already existing church - nor the facade of San Lorenzo provided Michelangelo with this opportunity. The Medici Chapel acts so powerfully because everything in it belongs to him. He calculated both space, and light, and all proportions. And nowhere did he create so freely, nowhere did he dare to step so resolutely through all generally accepted aesthetic canons.
Both sarcophagi are placed in front of the wall, and the statues sit in cramped niches. Decorative figures are located at the feet of the statues, and their heads cut through the lines of the cornices. The sarcophagi are short, and the legs of all four figures hang far over the ends, not supported by any volutes. The counterposts in all seven figures, one might say, rage, not constrained by anything. What is one Madonna worth! She sits with her legs crossed. Torso tilted forward, shoulders on different levels, the right hand is laid back - this, it seems, was affected by the lack of marble, - the head is turned to the side. The baby is extremely restless. He sits astride his mother's thrown leg, and his left knee is higher than his right. His body is turned forward, but with a sharp movement he turned back and grabbed his mother's breast with both hands. And yet the statue makes a calm impression, like the rest, for the counterpoints are balanced by some kind of higher harmony.
All statues are larger than life size. Two, Lorenzo and Night, have faces plunged into darkness. The "Night", in addition, one hand is hidden almost to complete invisibility. Den's face is barely visible, and we don't know if it's intentional or not. Evening's face is not polished. And all this is perceived, thanks to the charms of Michelangelo's art, as moments that enhance the impression of the reality of the figures. They are all wonderful. We cannot penetrate into the mystery of the meaning of each of them, but through all the incomprehensibility, of which there are many - the casket under Lorenzo's left hand, the flowers at the feet of the "Night", the mask under her hand, the owl that climbed under her knee - through the dark symbolism, the great reality of the depicted acts with an overwhelming force.
First, about symbolism. Condivi, who could hear the artist's own explanations - his interpretation, by the way, coincides in the main with the surviving sketch of Michelangelo himself, a sheet from Casa Buonarroti, twice entitled "Heaven and Earth" and attributed with some probability to 1523 - says: " These four statues have been placed. in the sacristy, specially built for them and located on the left side of the church, rot the old sacristy. Despite the fact that they have the same size and serve, as it were, the same idea, they are all different and different in movements and postures. The tombs are placed in front of the side walls of the chapel; on their covers are placed two figures above human height, depicting a man and a woman. One of them personifies Day, the other - Night, and all together - Time. For greater clarity, Michelangelo added to the figure depicting Night and represented as a woman of extraordinary beauty, an owl and other emblems of the night, and to the figure personifying Day, he added the emblems of the day. Michelangelo had the intention (it remained unfulfilled because he was taken away from work) to carve a mouse out of marble to depict the Night, and for this purpose he left a small marble elevation on one of the tombs. He found that the mouse also gnaws and spoils everything, like the all-destroying time.
That the idea of the instability of everything earthly dominates in the chapel, apparently, must be considered indisputable. Here, as in Sistine Chapel, the images serve to express a hidden trend, which, if it were obvious, could greatly quarrel the artist with the customer. But this tendency, again, as in Sistina, the artist valued above all else, and in order to express it covertly, he had to resort to symbolism. It was the same as that carried out in the images of the prophets, sibyls and Christ's ancestors of the Vatican, only in a different application. The disasters of Italy, from the point of view of Michelangelo, neither under Leo, nor even more so under Clement, did not decrease or soften, but now, especially from the point of view of the Florentine patriot, the culprits of these disasters, the Medici, have been clearly identified. And the order was such that the artist had to glorify the representatives of the Medici house. Therefore, under the guise of exalting the Medici, it was necessary to lament once again the misfortunes of Italy and at the same time make clear the guilt of the Medici.
Here they are sitting in their niches, the last two legitimate offspring of the family of Florentine tyrants, Michelangelo least of all thought about portrait resemblance when he sculpted their statues. Both Medicis were very ugly: their faces were overgrown with beards, their features were irregular, devoid of a reflection of nobility - decorations of any outstanding nature. Michelangelo decided to simply consider their actual appearance as if non-existent and gave each of them the one that should be if the person was the one whose image he sculpted. Giuliano did no harm to anyone in his life and enjoyed universal favor for his friendly character. But in terms of ability, he was an ordinary person. Lorenzo differed from him in that he was neither kind nor affable. Both were considered generals, so Michelangelo decorated them with military attributes. There is no need that Giuliano's military exploits were exhausted by the fact that in 1515 he was at the head of the papal army, which followed the movements of the French, and when he got tired of it, he left for Florence. Lorenzo fought a little more: at the head of the same papal army, he went to occupy Urbino, taken for him from the duke by the loving uncle Leo X. Since he was preceded by papal thunderbolts, and the duke of Urbino had no army, the predatory campaign ended victoriously. In his life, Lorenzo never thought about anything: others thought for him. And in Michelangelo, he is represented in deep thought, il Pensieroso, in the pose of the prophet Jeremiah, but with a young, beautiful, energetic face, in a battle helmet. And Giuliano sits in battle armor, with a commander's baton in amazingly made hands, young and also handsome; they find, however, a false look in him. His posture repeats the posture of Moses. Beards, drooping noses, ugly Medicae mouths - all this has disappeared. One figure embodies thought, the other - will and energy, that which Cosimo and Lorenzo, the true blacksmiths of Medican greatness, were so rich in, and which was so lacking in the Medician last. But they were lucky. Michelangelo made monuments to them, and Machiavelli wanted to dedicate Giuliano and, after his death, dedicated his “Prince” to Lorenzo. He associated with Lorenzo the dream of a united Italy.
At the feet of Lorenzo there are two statues: "Evening" - a tired, with weakened muscles, a man powerlessly leans on his elbow and looks into space with an indifferent look, and "Morning" - a young, a beautiful woman with wonderful elastic forms, awakens, as if reluctantly, for a bleak, unpromising day; she stretches, and some kind of complaint flies out of her half-open mouth. There are also two statues in front of Giuliano: "Day" - a man whose face is not visible; his body is muscular and strong; he lies with his back to the viewer, restless, and it is difficult to understand whether he is going to roll over to the other side, or stand up, or lie down better; right leg it rests against something, the left is raised and thrown over the right, the left hand is behind the back; all together - a whole whirlwind of counterpoints that create Michelangelo's favorite position: a figure in the moment of preparation for an undecided completely sudden movement. The second figure is "Night". This is an elderly woman, immersed in a deep, heavy sleep; her head is crowned with a moon and a star and strikes with its beauty. The woman lies in an extremely uncomfortable position: left leg rests on a bunch of some flowers, his right hand supports his head bowed low; the left hand is invisible: it is thrown behind the mask, against which the woman leaned her back; an owl sits under the woman's knee.
Tombstones like the two Michelangelos were usually decorated with allegorical figures of the virtues. Michelangelo departed from this custom. The formal meaning of his figures would have remained unsolved if the already mentioned entry of 1523 had not been found in the Casa Buonarroti archive, in which, for all its nebulousness, the first phrase is quite clear. It reads: "Day and Night speak and broadcast: with our rapid course, we have brought to the death of Duke Giuliano." Consequently, both figures in front of the statue of Giuliano depicted Day and Night, and Night, as the attributes show, could only be a woman. And since the times of the day serve as allegories, then the two figures in front of the statue of Lorenzo could only be Morning and Evening, and the distribution of roles also did not present any difficulties.
Michelangelo's skill as a sculptor in the figures of the Medici chapel reaches its pinnacle. After the "Moses" and the Parisian "Prisoners" were created, the genius of Michelangelo flashed for the last time with tremendous power, and the seven statues of the Medicean Chapel became the fruit of this flash. Michelangelo seemed to want to show to what perfection the skill of the line in plastic can reach and what effects the art of contraposta can give. He showed it perfectly. But the limit has been reached. Contraposto in the Medici Chapel artistic technique exhausted himself to the end. Its further strengthening, and even just its less masterful application, must have been a sign of decline.
However, no matter how beautiful the figures of the chapel are, their significance goes far beyond pure art. Admiring them, saturating the eye, reveling in the spectacle of the triumph of plastic, we are looking for an answer to another question. What did Michelangelo want to say with his figures? And then, peering more closely, remembering the images of the Sistine ceiling, imagining the environment in which these images were conceived and began to turn into marble, we find an explanation for them. It lies in the fact that here Michelangelo is also not only an artist, but also a citizen, and besides, a citizen, defeated in battle for the most precious thing he had, not cooled down from the decay of battle, literally smelling of gunpowder.
Is there even one cheerful note in this whole marble symphony? No. There is fatigue, weakness, hopelessness, disappointment, painful anxiety, sleep - a semblance of death - in a word, everything that we saw in Sistina, but expressed not with a brush, but with a chisel, and even more acute. The artist, leaving his homeland forever, left her in memory of himself this poem of pessimism, in which doxology. The Medici turns either into a bitter mockery of them, or into a direct curse on them. Instead of portrait statues, there are fictitious figures personifying some kind of the artist’s own idea, and the allegories surrounding them, instead of talking about their virtues, speak of grief, shame and ruin, the culprit of which was the Medici family, and Italy the victim, and especially Florence.
Who was to blame for the defeat of Prato in 1512? Medici. Who started the criminal conquest of Urbino? Medici. Who started the unfortunate war of the Cognac League? Medici. Who was responsible for the destruction of Rome in 1527? Medici. Who besieged Florence and crushed her republic in 1530? Medici. Who unbridled white terror after the surrender of the city? Medici. And the most insignificant of these facts brought death, ruin, disgrace and an abyss of misfortune to thousands of people. All this Michelangelo would like to shout to the whole world. If it were his will, he would not have built a chapel for the glory of the Medici, but pillory and would pile up at its foot such allegories that the crimes of the Florentine tyrants would become apparent to the blind.
In the Medici chapel, he could only speak in Aesopian, but he also turned out to be so eloquent that everyone understood, although the majority, including the Medici themselves, pretended not to understand anything. After all, if they showed the slightest degree of indignation, they would immediately have to destroy both the statues of the so-called Giuliano and Lorenzo and all the stone allegories lying at their feet in such a convincing, so brilliantly conceived and made reproach.
That this is indeed the case is confirmed by a direct statement by the artist himself. Of all the figures of the chapel, as you know, “Night” was most praised, and Vasari explains the motives for universal enthusiasm: “What can I say about “Night”, the statue is not only rare, but the only one? Who has seen in any century sculptural works, ancient or modern, made with such art? One feels not only the peace of the sleeping person, but also the sorrow and sadness of a person who loses something that is honored by him and great. And it also seems that this “Night” obscures all those who, in whatever era, with a statue or a picture, tried, I do not say surpass, but at least equal it. The dream is conveyed in such a way as if we were actually sleeping a person in front of us.
Enthusiasm poured out most often in verse. One such madrigal, authored by the poet Giovanbattista Strozzi, is well known. It says:
The night that sleeps so sweetly before you,
That is an angel-animated stone:
He is motionless, but there is a flame of life in him,
Just wake up and he will speak.
We know that Michelangelo had long been in Rome when the chapel was opened to the public. Having become acquainted with this quatrain, he immediately wrote his own in response, on behalf of "Night":
It is gratifying to sleep, it is more gratifying to be a stone.
Oh, in this age, criminal and shameful,
Not to live, not to feel - an enviable lot.
Please be quiet, don't you dare wake me up.
The middle two lines literally read: "While ruin and disgrace reign, not to see and not to hear is great happiness for me." Ruin and disgrace, that from which Italy suffered, that from which the old glorious Florence perished and to which, among others, various Medicis, legal and illegal, had a hand - this is exactly what I wanted to shout great artist, and not on behalf of his "Night", but on his own.
And this was his last “forgive” to his homeland, in which it became unbearably painful for him to live.
From the book Memoirs [Labyrinth] author Schellenberg Walter"RED CAPELLA" Fight against Soviet espionage - First radio hunt - Arrest in Brussels - Code solved - Mass arrests in Berlin - In search of "Kent" and "Gilbert" - Successful re-recruitment of enemy radio operators - Hydra continues to exist. Before leaving
From the book Special Operations author Sudoplatov Pavel AnatolievichSorge. "Red Chapel" in the rear of the Nazis Even in these alarming hours for the country, we were looking for the enemy's weak points in order to turn the course of events in our favor. We received valuable information from Count Nelidov, a former officer of the tsarist and white armies, a major double agent
From the book of Asa of espionage author Dulles AllenDavid Dallin "RED CAPELLA" More numerous and extensive than that of Richard Sorge was the agent network of the so-called "Red Chapel". She was organized Soviet Union V Western Europe during the Second World War and for a long time
authorRome. Giuliano Medici In Rome, Leonardo was joyfully received little brother Pope Giuliano de' Medici. He was an enlightened and humane, although not a brilliant nobleman, whom long stay at the court of Urbino in the company of the intelligent and educated Duchess Elisabeth Gonzaga
From the book of Superfrau from the GRU author Kolpakidi Alexander IvanovichCHAPTER 8 The Red Chapel in Switzerland It is difficult not only to appreciate, but even to understand the significance of Ursula's work in Switzerland, if one does not know of what cause she was a part. Therefore, let's digress for a while from the biography of the brave scout and turn to the "Red Chapel", or,
From the book How I Became Stalin's Translator author Berezhkov Valentin Mikhailovich"Red Chapel" At the entrance of Ribbentrop's residence on the fateful morning of June 22, 1941, Dekanozov and I were waiting for the Mercedes of the Reich Minister to take us back to the embassy. Turning from Wilhelmstrasse to Unter den Linden, we saw along the facade of the embassy building
From the book Fatal Illusions author Costello JohnAPPENDIX I "Red Chapel" Excerpts from the reports to Moscow "Corsican" and "Sergeant" six months before the German attack on the Soviet Union January 1941: "In circles grouped around the Herren Club, there is a growing opinion that Germany will lose the war ( on the western
From the book Henry IV author Balakin Vasily DmitrievichAnother Medici While Henry IV wandered along the crooked paths, driven by his libido, people were busy. Finally, we managed to successfully complete the negotiations that had been going on with the Holy See for many years. On December 17, 1599, Pope Clement VIII announced the annulment of Henry's marriage.
From Michelangelo's book author Dzhivelegov Alexey KarpovichIn the Medici gardens Collecting art objects by members of the Medici family began a long time ago. Already Cosimo was a passionate collector, and such artists and connoisseurs as Donatello, Brunellesco, Niccoli helped him in this. Piero continued the work of his father, and there was no one around him either.
From Beethoven's book author Alshvang Arnold AlexandrovichAdrian VI and accession to the throne of Clement VII. Medici Chapel in San Lorenzo and Laurenziana In Rome, meanwhile, the days of Pope Leo were dying out. Excesses in food completely shook his already not strong body. Perhaps the end was hastened by poison, as was supposed
From the book of Leonardo da Vinci author Showo SophiePaolina Chapel. Michelangelo's Friends and Relatives Michelangelo did not begin painting Paolina until October 1542. She finished seven years later. He was seventy-five years old at the time of its completion. He worked hard. Where did the titanic ability to work go?
From the book of Matisse by Escolier RaymondChapter One Family. Chapel For sixty years - from 1732 to 1792 - the representatives of the Beethoven family were court musicians of the Electors of Cologne in the Rhine city of Bonn. The composer's grandfather Ludwig van Beethoven, a Flemish by birth, was the son of a merchant
From the book by Benvenuto Cellini author Sorotokina Nina MatveevnaCity of the Medici The city that welcomed the young Leonardo sometime between 1465 and 1467 has recently lost its great man, Cosimo de' Medici. The grandfather of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who was awarded the honorary title of "father of the fatherland", was the true ancestor of this dynasty of businessmen and politicians.
From the book The Power of Women [From Cleopatra to Princess Diana] author Vulf Vitaly YakovlevichCHAPEL OF THE ROSER To one who enters this temple in Vence, so frequented since 1951 (Monsignor Remoy, Bishop of Nice, laid its first stone on December 12, 1949) and causing such great controversy, it is usually not easy to understand the deep thought of Matisse, the architect, artist,
From the author's bookMedici on the papal throne Pope Leo X Giovanni Medici became pope in 1512 at the age of thirty-eight. It was hoped that he would put an end to the endless wars, not only internal, but also external. In Europe, there was a division of property. The Austrian House of Habsburg rose.
From the author's bookCatherine de Medici Black WidowFor four centuries, her name has excited the imagination of historians, endowing her with all the vices and at the same time mourning her tragic fate. For three decades, she single-handedly kept afloat the French ship sinking in the ocean of unrest.
