80 pages • 2-hour read
The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Novel of Michelangelo
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Parts 1-2Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 1 Summary: “The Studio”
In May 1488, a 13-year-old Michelangelo Buonarroti sits in his room and sketches his own face. He fears that he is “not well designed” (7). The Buonarroti family has a long history in their native Florence, but the family is not wealthy. Michelangelo’s mother died when he was very young, and his father has tried (and failed) to restore the family’s fortunes. Neither Michelangelo nor any of his four brothers seems poised to earn the family money. Due to his father’s illness when he was young, Michelangelo spent much time with his relatives, a family of stonecutters with the surname Topolino. They have become like a second family to Michelangelo and introduced him to his lifelong fascination with stone and stone carving. Despite his obligations to his family, Michelangelo feels drawn to art.
Michelangelo is called outside by his friend, Francesco Granacci, who is 19 years old and already an apprentice in the studio of renowned artist, Ghirlandaio. Certain of his friend’s talent, Granacci encourages Michelangelo to meet with Ghirlandaio. On Michelangelo’s birthday, he takes Michelangelo to meet Ghirlandaio in the studio. They pass through the streets of Florence. Though the city is nominally a republic, everyone knows that the true rulers are the Medici family. In particular, Lorenzo de’ Medici is beloved by the city. He is a humanist and a patron of the arts, renowned for making Florence the center of the artistic universe.
Ghirlandaio oversees the many apprentices in his studio. A fresco painter, he is one of the foremost artists in Florence, and his team of apprentices help him to prepare his frescoes as they learn their craft. Typically, these apprentices start at the age of 10. Michelangelo is three years too late, as Ghirlandaio points out. Michelangelo bemoans his three years spent studying Latin and Greek at his father’s behest. Despite his youth, Michelangelo is forthright. Though he believes that sculpture, not painting, is the highest form of art, he wants to join the studio and has no doubts about his talent.
Ghirlandaio, amused by the boy’s self-confidence and directness, invites Michelangelo to sketch something for him. Quickly, Michelangelo provides a sketch of the entire studio. Ghirlandaio accuses Michelangelo of having studied already under another artist, such as his rival, Rosselli. Michelangelo claims that he has developed his talents by studying the many works of art to be found in the churches of Florence. Ghirlandaio offers to take Michelangelo in for a fee. Michelangelo defies expectations: He demands, instead, that Ghirlandaio pay him. This unconventional demand, he says, will help to justify his apprenticeship to his demanding father. Swayed by the boy’s personality and feeling a “grudging admiration” (12), Ghirlandaio agrees to pay Michelangelo six florins a year.
Michelangelo rushes home to his family, passing through the streets of Florence that are carved from the beautiful local stone. His stepmother is cooking, as she does every day. Meanwhile, his father Ludovico is obsessing over “how to avoid spending money” (15). He is desperate to restore the reputation of the Buonarroti family, but his history of business ventures is marked by failure. Michelangelo’s grandmother has nurtured Michelangelo’s art, but his father wants him to find a profitable trade rather than “work with his hands” (18). When Michelangelo reveals that he will be paid to be an apprentice, however, his father agrees to sign the papers needed for Michelangelo to join Ghirlandaio’s studio.
Michelangelo meets his fellow apprentices. Their company is strange to him after “a lonely childhood” (24). As the most junior member of the studio, he finds himself the target of jokes. He makes friends, though none of the other apprentices seem to share his passion for art. Michelangelo finds himself defending sculpture over painting, as he believes that sculpture is the “eternal” (41) art, even if many other artists look down on it as manual labor. For a year, Michelangelo learns the basics of how to compose, prepare, and paint frescoes beside Ghirlandaio. He feels dissatisfied and often relieves his urge to cut stone by visiting the Topolinos. Hoping to learn more, Michelangelo sneaks into the studio and studies from Ghirlandaio’s secret portfolio. He is soon able to reproduce his master’s works, which he then puts back into place. In his discussions with Ghirlandaio about art, Michelangelo voices his belief that art can be a form of religious worship. Ghirlandaio disagrees with his apprentice, but Michelangelo’s ideas begin to filter into Ghirlandaio’s work. When Michelangelo is permitted to paint a portion of the fresco, his work is commendable but does not fit in alongside the “studio style” (59) of the composition.
After more than a year as an apprentice, Michelangelo accepts Granacci’s invitation to visit a sculpture garden owned by the Medici family. Lorenzo the Magnificent, the rumors suggest, plans to open a sculpture school in the garden to revive the lost art of sculpture in a model of the Classical world. Bertoldo will lead the school. Having studied under Donatello, he is considered the most knowledgeable of the few sculptors in Italy. Michelangelo desperately wishes to become a marble carver.
Part 2 Summary: “The Sculpture Garden”
Michelangelo feels drawn to Bertoldo’s sculpture garden. He lurks nearby with “a hunger in his eyes” (64), hoping to catch a glimpse of the sculptors carving stone. Though he is increasingly obsessed with this glimpse into the life of a sculptor, he is still apprenticed at Ghirlandaio’s studio for two more years. He helps Ghirlandaio to fulfill commissions. Lorenzo de’ Medici sends a message to Ghirlandaio, asking the painter to send his “two best apprentices” (65) to join the sculpture workshop. Michelangelo is desperate to join, and noting that Michelangelo is far more interested in sculpture than painting, Ghirlandaio agrees to send Michelangelo and Granacci to learn sculpture.
Though Michelangelo is excited, he is worried about telling his father. He knows that his father will look down on stone carving and sculpture as not befitting their noble family name. Even more so, he will be furious that Michelangelo will no longer earn money for the family. Granacci helps explain the situation to Ludovico, though the family views sculpture with contempt. Michelangelo’s own stepmother speaks of her shame at the idea that their family will be associated with stoneworkers. Ludovico insists that he will “never give [his] consent” (68). Michelangelo joins the sculpture garden anyway.
While Ghirlandaio’s studio is a business that needs to satisfy commissions, the patronage of Lorenzo means that the sculpture garden can be entirely dedicated to the pursuit of art. The apprentices’ only goal is “to learn” (69). Determined to revive the dying art of sculpture, Lorenzo has convinced the elderly Bertoldo to pass along what he knows to the next generation. As before, Michelangelo settles in among a crowd of young apprentices. Among them are Rustici and Pietro Torrigiani. Michelangelo is fascinated by Torrigiani, who seems charismatic and charming. Granacci warns Michelangelo that Torrigiani may turn on him, but Michelangelo insists that Granacci is just jealous that he has a new friend. Michelangelo also catches a glimpse of Lorenzo’s youngest daughter, Contessina, who passes through the garden with her father. He feels immediately drawn to her, even before they exchange any words. He senses a deep connection “awakening between them” (74).
Since Ludovico continues to disapprove of his son’s actions, Michelangelo spends as much time as he can away from the family home. He leaves early in the morning and only arrives home late. He refuses his grandmother’s offer to buy him new clothes, as he is “austere by nature” (75). At the sculpture garden, he is fascinated by his surroundings. Granacci is less interested; he prefers painting to sculpture, but he lacks Michelangelo’s passion for either art form. Despite Michelangelo’s desperate desire to carve stone, Bertoldo insists that he start by drawing and drafting. Michelangelo proves himself to be ambidextrous. He also mentions his desire to understand human anatomy, not knowing how to depict the human body if he has never “seen the inside of a man” (76). Bertoldo is taken aback when Michelangelo mentions a desire to dissect a human corpse to discover more about the human body. Such practice is illegal, Bertoldo says. Despite this friction, Michelangelo quickly develops a bond with Bertoldo, who teaches him a new approach to art and encourages him to forget much of what he learned from Ghirlandaio.
Still desperate to carve stone, Michelangelo begins to stay late and work on pieces of discarded marble. He feels drawn to the white marble from the Carrara quarry, putting into practice the skills he learned from the Topolinos. While he practices one night, Contessina spots him. During this time, Bertoldo insists that Michelangelo rein in his eagerness. He forbids Michelangelo from working on stone or marble until he is ready, even though the other youngsters in the sculpture garden are already taking part in art competitions. Since Michelangelo is not earning any money, his father puts more pressure on him. He threatens to have Michelangelo removed from the school and apprenticed into another, more profitable trade.
Bertoldo is a demanding tutor. Since Michelangelo is “not ready” (92) to carve in stone, Bertoldo permits him to use only wax and clay (rather than stone) but always demands more. One day, he invites Michelangelo to the Medici palace. Lorenzo has invited him to examine a newly recovered Classical statue of a faun. Michelangelo accompanies Bertoldo to the Medici palace. Inside, he sees many masterpieces among the “veritable forest of sculptures” (95). The faun, in particular, fascinates him. When he begins to sketch it, he sees Contessina. Despite her family history of sickness, she derives a strength from Michelangelo’s passion.
Inspired by the faun, Michelangelo continues to work in secret. He makes his own version of the faun from discarded marble that he has “no right to touch” (99). Lorenzo sees this faun and is fascinated by Michelangelo’s potential as a sculptor. This has all been part of a test, he explains; Lorenzo and Bertoldo have been watching Michelangelo and nurturing his talents. Now, they are sure that he has the potential to match great sculptors like Donatello. Lorenzo invites Michelangelo to move into the palace. He speaks directly with Ludovico, offering his patronage to Michelangelo and offering to help Ludovico in any way he can. Ludovico asks for a modest position in a customhouse. Lorenzo awards him the post, and Michelangelo prepares to move into the palace.
Parts 1-2 Analysis
These first chapters introduce the artist in his youth, seeking to explain the forces that gave rise to his later artistry. Michelangelo’s mother dies when he is very young, and at the point when he is introduced to the audience, he has not quite come to terms with the devastating effects of this loss on himself and his family. Michelangelo’s father, Ludovico, is obsessed with the family’s honor yet does nothing to improve their standing. He chides his son for wanting to be an artist, while having accomplished nothing with his own life. He is so focused on himself and his perception of the family’s reputation that he is almost as absent from Michelangelo’s life as Michelangelo’s mother. Ludovico only exists as a gnawing reminder of Michelangelo’s responsibilities. Throughout the novel, he functions as an antagonist, offering nothing in the way of parental guidance, often objecting to Michelangelo’s interests, and leeching money from his son at every opportunity. Michelangelo understands that his relationship with his family is strained, which is why he has a quasi-adoptive second family. The Topolinos offer him care and affection where his actual family cannot. Importantly, they introduce him to stone cutting, an introduction that does more to shape Michelangelo’s life than anything Ludovico has to offer. Stone cutting, sculpture, and art emerge in tension with Michelangelo’s actual family but as a cathartic discovery of what it means to love. Missing his mother’s love, resenting his father’s presence, and not quite able to place himself anywhere else, Michelangelo finds purpose and direction in art.
This estrangement from his father explains why Michelangelo is so quickly devoted to Lorenzo de’ Medici. In essence, Lorenzo is everything that Ludovico is not. Where Ludovico is single-mindedly focused on restoring and maintaining his family’s prestige, Lorenzo is so rich and powerful that he does not outwardly display any concern for his wealth or status. Similarly, the money-obsessed Ludovico cannot imagine a world in which stone carving might be a suitable career for a member of his family. He views sculpture with contempt, looking down on it as a working man’s trade. By contrast, Lorenzo is enamored with sculpture. Not only does he understand the value of Art as a Tool of Political Power, but he is also genuinely invested in the artform itself. He encourages Michelangelo where Ludovico does not; he provides Michelangelo with an opportunity, whereas Luduvico imposes nothing but responsibility on his son. The irony of the relationship between patron and artist is that Michelangelo set out to fill the void left by his mother’s absence, only to find himself with an alternative father figure.
The power of Lorenzo is not without its perils. Florence is a republic but, as evidenced by the emerging figure of Savonarola, the city can be swayed by religious conservatism. Many of his interests carry a risk of censorship and even punishment. For example, he wants to carve nude figures like the ancient Greek and Roman sculptors. To do so, he needs to understand the male form, and he expresses frustration with the contemporary taboo against dissection. Even in the learned atmosphere of the Plato Academy, where Lorenzo is fostering his most intellectual and challenging ideas, dissection is a fraught subject. Michelangelo may not know as much about the ancient world as the other Academy members, but he shows himself to be willing to challenge taboos in his own quiet, determined way. The same Plato Academy that praises the pagan nature of his early work warns him against interest in dissection and nude sculpture. In a narrative sense, these are the boundaries that are placed along Michelangelo’s road to progress. To achieve his artistic vision, he must find a way to overcome even the most liberal aversion to his desires.
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