Michelangelo had become so famous because of his Pietà and
the colossal statue of David at Florence that when in 1503
Alexander VI died and Julius II was elected Pope (at which
time Buonarroti was about twenty-nine years old) Julius very
graciously summoned him to Rome to build his tomb. | 5 |
Bramante, however, was constantly plotting with Raphael
of Urbino to remove from the Pope's mind the idea of having
Michealangelo finish the tomb. Bramante did this (being a
friend and relation of Raphael and therefore no friend of
Michealangelo's) when he saw the way his holiness kept prais- |
10 |
ing and glorifying Michealangelo's work as a sculptor. He and
Raphael suggested to Pope Julius that if the tomb were finished it
would bring nearer the day of his death, and they said that
it was bad luck to have one's tomb built while one was still
alive. Eventually they persuaded his holiness to get Michelan- |
15 |
gelo to paint, as a memorial for his uncle Sixtus, the ceiling of
the chapel that he had built in the Vatican. In this way,
Bramante and Michelangelo's other rivals thought they would
divert his energies from sculpture, in which they realized he
was supreme. This, they argued, would make things hopeless |
20 |
for him, since as he had no experience of colouring in fresco,
he would certainly, they believed, do less creditable work as a
painter. Without doubt, they thought, he would be compared
unfavourably with Raphael, and even if the work were a
success, being forced to do it would make him angry with the |
25 |
Pope; and thus one way or another they would succeed in
their purpose of getting rid of him. So when Michelangelo
returned to Rome he found the Pope resolved to leave the
tomb as it was for the time being, and he was told to paint the
ceiling of the chapel. Michelangelo, being anxious to finish the |
30 |
tomb, and considering the magnitude and difficulty of the task
of painting the chapel, and his lack of experience, tried in
every possible way to shake the burden off his shoulders. But
the more he refused, the more determined he made the Pope,
who was a wilful man by nature and who in any case was |
35 |
again being prompted by Michelangelo's rivals, and especially
Bramante. And finially, being the hot-tempeered man he was,
his holiness was all ready to fly into a rage.
However, seeing that his holiness was persevering,
Michelangelo resigned himself to doing what he was asked. |
40 |
Then the Pope ordered Bramante to make the ceiling ready for
painting, and he did so by piercing e surface and supporting
the scaffolding by ropes. When Michelangelo saw this he asked
Bramante what he should do, when the painting was finished,
to fill up the holes. Bramante said: 'We'll think of it when it's |
45 |
time.' And he added that there was no other way. Michelangelo
realized that Bramante either knew nothing about the matter
or else was no friend of his, and he went to the Pope and told
him that the scaffolding was unsatisfactory and that Bra-
mante had not known how to make it; and the Pope replied, |
50 |
in the presence of Bramante, that Michelangelo should do it
himself in his own way. So he arranged to have the scaffolding
erected on props which kept clear of the wall, a method for
use with vaults (by which many fine works have been executed)
which he subsequently taught to various people, including |
55 |
Bramante. In this instance he enabled a poor carpenter, who
rebuilt the scaffolding, to dispense with so many of the ropes
that when Michelangelo gave him what was over he sold them
and made enough for a dowry for his daughter.
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