The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Novel of Michelangelo

Though he has little in the way of projects or commissions, Michelangelo returns to Florence. He puts his family’s affairs in order. His father is still in mourning, and his brothers are struggling to find any viable way to make money. Michelangelo is the lone supporter of the family, and he feels responsible for ensuring that they remain respectable. He is happy to return to Florence, where the stone buildings seem to reflect his love for stone (unlike Rome). He pays visits to the Topolino family and to Contessina, who now lives in exile with her husband and children due to their support for Piero and his attempts to take back Florence. The city is once again a republic, governed by Piero Soderini at the head of the Signoria (the City Council). Soderini was personally trained by Lorenzo and is considered “the brightest of the young men in politics” (362). Michelangelo respects Soderini’s diplomatic abilities; he trusts him, as do the many other artists who are returning to the city.

In Rome, Galli continues to search for commissions for Michelangelo, though Michelangelo is only interested in the Duccio competition. Leonardo da Vinci, a local artist with a reputation as “the greatest draftsman in Italy” (364), seems to be one of the frontrunners for the competition. When viewing Leonardo’s paintings, Michelangelo is moved. He suspects that Leonardo must have dissected dead bodies, as he did. However, Leonardo declines to enter the competition. He believes that sculpture is “inferior” (365) to painting, much to Michelangelo’s annoyance. At the same time, however, Michelangelo is happy to have fewer competitors. He settles on a theme for his submission to the competition: He will carve the biblical King David in the moment before he confronts Goliath, a story Michelangelo sees as an allegory for the city of Florence itself.

Galli sends a commission from Rome. Cardinal Piccolomini wants Michelangelo to carve statues for him. These small, draped figures do not appeal to Michelangelo, but he is desperate for money, and the Wool Guild is taking a long time to decide the winner of the Duccio competition. Since he needs to support his family, Michelangelo feels that he must accept the commission. He speaks to Soderini, who tells him that the competition is delayed for political reasons. Prior Bichiellini cautions against sacrificing artistic integrity for money, while Granacci suggests that he should carve anything, since he is pitiful when he has no work. All Michelangelo can think of, however, is the David in the Duccio block. He decides to accept the Piccolomini commission, believing that he will be able to back out of the project if he wins the competition. He refines his idea for the David, believing that his vision will be very different from previous depictions of David. Given that the Duccio block is already carved, he must account for the strange shape of the block, which he does by pivoting David’s body to redistribute the weight.

Galli sends an advance for the Piccolomini commission, which Michelangelo delays to sign. A stipulation of the contract is that he must work on nothing else for three years. In desperation, Michelangelo visits Soderini one last time, imploring him to award him the Duccio commission. When Soderini refuses, he grudgingly begins work on the Piccolomini statues. As part of the commission, he must travel to Siena and finish a statue begun by his old enemy, Torrigiani. Riding to Siena allows him to appreciate the “paradise” (376) that is Tuscany, but when he arrives in Siena, he is disappointed at the need to work on Torrigiani’s lifeless, dull statue. He does what he can, then returns to Florence, where Soderini tells him that he has won the Duccio competition, partly due to the propaganda benefit of bringing the foremost Florentine sculptor back to Florence. Michelangelo is charged with the “patriotic” (379) responsibility of restoring glory to Florence.

Michelangelo wishes to celebrate, so he visits the Topolino family. He spends the night with them, and the next day, he helps to work the stone. He then visits the cottage where Contessina is exiled with her family. He meets her children and promises to train her young boys in the art of sculpture. Her husband, Piero Ridolfi, resents his exile. He is a young man and believes that he was exiled under false pretenses, so he has been turned old by “ostracism and bitterness” (381). Contessina is more accepting of their situation. She and Michelangelo will always love one another as friends.

Eventually, Michelangelo brings the news to his family. Despite his excitement, his father thinks only about money. Granacci wants to celebrate the competition victory, so he brings Michelangelo to a meeting of the Company of the Cauldron. The Company is an assembly of Florence’s foremost artists, including Leonardo. The attendees celebrate Michelangelo, who will work on Florence’s first major public artwork since the fall of Savonarola. Michelangelo is invited to join the Company of the Cauldon. In spite of this, Michelangelo cannot help but resent Leonardo. He does not like Leonardo’s aristocratic dress, his “ineffable exquisiteness” (385), or his disregard for sculpture. He resents that Leonardo has spoken disparagingly of sculpture throughout Florence.

Michelangelo begins work in the workshop behind the Duomo. He lives constantly near the David, sleeping beside it as he thinks of how best to extract the figure from the marble. Sangallo visits Florence, helping Michelangelo by designing a rotating platform for the marble block. Michelangelo works 20 hours a day, but his family is desperate for money. He impresses the City Council, so they agree to pay him an advance on his commission, which is then given straight to Ludovico. As invested as Michelangelo is in the project, he is still annoyed by Leonardo’s “belittling of the sculptor’s art” (400). He is also disgusted when Leonardo seems to betray Florence by agreeing to join Caesar Borgia’s army, seemingly as an opportunity to test his many inventions. Rustici dismisses Michelangelo’s resentments.

Michelangelo asks for Contessina’s exile to end, but his request is denied by Soderini, who instead offers to make Michelangelo “the official sculptor of Florence” (405). This will involve many projects. As a 28-year-old man, Michelangelo feels excited to create a body of work. He is reluctant to commit to more contracts, however, as he is still technically bound by the Piccolomini contract. Nevertheless, he accepts because of the financial security that such a position will provide for his family. His first assignment is to replicate a bronze statue by Donatello for the French court. This project is politically motivated, and Michelangelo hates it, but he feels obliged to complete it.

A wealthy local named Agnolo Doni is known as a master negotiator. He wants Michelangelo to paint a picture for his wedding. Michelangelo reluctantly agrees, but interests himself in the project by including “nude youths” (411). These bathers disgust Doni, who refuses to pay the high price. Michelangelo negotiates with Doni and eventually emerges triumphant, then returns to his work on the David.

Eventually, the David is finished. Moving it from the workshop to the position in front of the Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza Signoria is difficult and takes several days. Vandals attack the statue at night, so Michelangelo sleeps beside it. When the statue is installed, however, the vandalism is immediately stopped. The statue is hailed as a masterpiece. Now aged 30, Michelangelo relishes the prospect of enjoying his prestige. However, he must contend with Leonardo, who is given the commission to paint a large picture in the Palazzo Vecchio. The price is far more than Michelangelo was paid for the David. Michelangelo is impressed by Leonardo’s work, but he demands an opportunity to complete his own painting. He wants to win back the attention of the “fickle” (428) Florentines. He devises a huge composition, depicting a famous moment in history when Florentine soldiers were taken by surprise and made to emerge from a river in the nude to fight. His preliminary sketches are so engrossing that many other artists seek them out, hoping to learn from him. Others label his nude bathers as examples of “debauchery” (437), however.

Before Michelangelo can begin work on the painting, Pope Julius II summons Michelangelo to Rome. Michelangelo is forced to drop everything; Soderini explains that Florence cannot afford to defy the Vatican at this time. The Pope wants Michelangelo to build him a lavish tomb. Michelangelo, appalled at the prospect of dedicating years of his life to something as dull as a tomb, is forced to accept. Though he is “desperately ill” (444), Galli agrees to make the contract, so Michelangelo will at least be compensated. The Pope has a reputation for being temperamental, however, and Michelangelo struggles to get the contract signed. As such, he struggles for money once again. At the same time, the emergence of an architect named Bramante (a rival to Sangallo) means that Michelangelo is worried about his status. Sangallo is offered the chance to redesign St. Peter’s Basilica. Bramante accompanies Michelangelo and Sangallo, but Michelangelo notes “a twitching at one corner of his mouth” (456).