80 pages • 2-hour read
The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Novel of Michelangelo
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Parts 4-5Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Part 4 Summary: “The Flight”
Lorenzo’s death brings an end to Michelangelo’s two years in the Medici palace. Unsure of whether Piero will support him, he returns to his family home. Ludovico insists that Michelangelo should put aside his artistic ambitions and join a guild, so as to build a business with his brother, Buonarroto. At the same time, Ghirlandaio invites him back to the fresco studio. Michelangelo goes to the Topolinos and reflects on his position while carving stone. Neither option is right, he decides, as he is certain of his desire to pursue sculpture. He spends his time sketching and drawing, working in the library of the monastery of Santo Spirito. The church is run by Father Nicola Bichiellini, who supports Michelangelo’s art and gives him space and resources to study. Their conversations also help Michelangelo to learn about his own spirituality.
Piero de’ Medici lacks his father’s talent for ruling. He wishes to impose his will on Florence, much to the resentment of the people, who consider him the “poorest ruler” (195) in many years. He ignores the people and their elected leaders. Soon, an opposition against him forms. As well as other Medici, Savonarola is increasingly influential in the city. Meanwhile, Michelangelo wishes to make a sculpture. He sees Lorenzo as a modern Hercules, so he wishes to sculpt a statue in honor of his former patron. He purchases marble from a foreman named Beppe. Contessina asks Piero for permission for Michelangelo to work in the sculpture garden, but his silence suggests his refusal. Instead, Michelangelo works in a corner of Beppe’s workshop. He assures his father that he has a commission for the statue, though he does not. When he begins to sketch out his ideas, however, he laments his lack of anatomical knowledge. He seeks out Ficino, expressing his desire to dissect cadavers so as to “learn anatomy” (202), but Ficino reminds him that dissection is a capital crime.
Needing to examine bodies, Michelangelo refuses to give up on the idea. He approaches Nicola Bichiellini, whose initial horror gives way to a quiet invitation. Michelangelo is given the key to the Santo Spirito morgue. He enters the morgue each night and dissects the “unclaimed corpses” (204), learning much about anatomy. The gruesome process disgusts him, however, and he must hide his secret from everybody, lest he be killed. These nightly dissections come to an end when Ghirlandaio dies. Gazing on the body of his beloved mentor, Michelangelo decides that he has seen enough corpses. As a way to thank Bichiellini, Michelangelo carves a wooden crucifix for the monastery altar. The Christ on his cross is particularly human, wrought by “intense physical and spiritual inner conflict” (224).
After being invited to sculpt a snowman at the Medici palace, Michelangelo is permitted by Piero to return. He continues to work on his Hercules statue, expecting that Piero will offer him other paid commissions. This does not happen. When the Hercules is finished, Michelangelo suggests that he might give it as a wedding present to Contessina. Granacci convinces him that this would not be “proper” (232). Piero celebrates Contessina’s wedding in lavish style, even though the people of the city are turning against him. His excesses seem to confirm everything Savonarola has been preaching about corruption and debauchery. When the King of France threatens to invade Florence, Piero tries to assert his authority. The people of Florence, however, prefer King Charles VII to Piero. A crowd rampages through the city, chasing out the Medici. Michelangelo rushes to the palace and saves as many works of art as he can, then escapes from the city with his friends, Jacopo and Bugiardini.
The trio plans to travel to Venice, but they reach only Bologna. There, they are arrested until Gianfrancesco Aldovrandi—whom Michelangelo met in the Medici palace—intervenes. He offers to give Michelangelo somewhere to stay while Jacopo and Bugiardini return to Florence. Michelangelo is welcomed into Aldovrandi’s “joyful” (248) home. He is given a tour of the many fine sculptures of Bologna. Dell’Arca, one of the city’s most celebrated sculptors, recently died, and Michelangelo is given the commission to finish his work. During this time, Michelangelo meets a woman named Clarissa Safi. He believes that she is “love in human form” (252), though she is the mistress of another man. They manage a brief but intense love affair, and she inspires many of Michelangelo’s sonnets.
In Florence, Charles places Savonarola in charge of the city. Piero arrives in Bologna and tries to recruit Michelangelo as an engineer. Michelangelo declines, wanting to work only on the statues. After more than a year, Michelangelo returns to Florence, where Savonarola has declared war on the Papacy. Michelangelo is commissioned by Giovanni and Lorenzo—two Medici cousins—to create a sculpture of St. John the Baptist. Having obtained permission from the exiled Contessina, Michelangelo accepts the commission. Lacking inspiration, however, Michelangelo is not satisfied with his work. To distract him, Granacci suggests that he carve a Classical style Cupid. The statue is so convincing that, after it is artificially aged, Michelangelo is convinced to sell it in Rome, as it could “pass for an antique Cupid” (276). Meanwhile, more Bonfires of the Vanities are being held. Michelangelo is horrified to see the artistic treasures being thrown on the fires. A message comes from Rome: a Cardinal has deduced that the Cupid is a fake, but he is so impressed by Michelangelo’s skill that he offers him a chance to escape Florence and work on “even better authentic carvings” (279). Michelangelo accepts.
Part 5 Summary: “The City”
Leo Baglioni, the agent of Cardinal Riario, encourages Michelangelo to come to Rome. When Michelangelo arrives in the famous city, however, he is shocked by the extent to which it has become a “dank, decaying city” (280). Many of the most famous landmarks are now ruins, and he compares the city unfavorably to his beautiful hometown. There is very little government or authority in the city, which people blame on the ruling Borgia family, who currently hold the papacy. Even though the city has fallen into ruin, the presence of the Vatican means that many people visit Rome. Michelangelo stays with Baglioni while learning about the city. Caesar Borgia, the son of the Pope, has military ambitions of taking all of Italy. Michelangelo is introduced to Cardinal Riario, who encourages him to tour the city’s wealth of Classical art. The art astonishes Michelangelo, who makes sketches of the architecture and much else. With Riario, Michelangelo picks out a block of marble. He is invited to carve a statue in the Cardinal’s palace, though he is not told what to carve, nor how much he will be paid. Needing money, Michelangelo struggles with the complex social etiquette of Rome. He feels like “one of the crew of skilled workmen” (287), more than an artist.
A small, independent community of Florentines has assembled in Rome. Michelangelo is introduced to them via Balducci, who befriends Michelangelo and explains the tension between Romans and Florentines. The bankers and merchants of Florence are tolerated in Rome, even if they are not liked. While Michelangelo still cannot sketch nude models, Baglioni shows him the public baths where Michelangelo makes many sketches. Michelangelo tells Baglioni that he is only really interested in the male form. He declines Balducci’s offer to be introduced to the women of Rome, as he has “no interest in the female form” (293).
Michelangelo has little appreciation for the lawless city of Rome. Alexander VI, the ruling Borgia Pope, is more interested in his own debauchery than restoring order to the city. Michelangelo wonders whether Savonarola’s criticisms of the Church may be justified. Michelangelo struggles to get Riario to commit to any design, much less payment. At the same time, he receives letters from his family, asking for money. He sends what he can while suggesting to Riario that he sculpt a Pietà (meaning pity, one of the standard subjects of medieval and Renaissance Christian art, depicting the Virgin Mary cradling the body of Christ immediately after the crucifixion). When the Cardinal refuses to commit, Michelangelo seeks out work in the city. The other sculptors lack Michelangelo’s reverence for the art, however.
Buonarroto visits Rome but returns to Florence when he cannot find work. Piero de’ Medici visits Rome while plotting to retake Florence, offering vague promises to Michelangelo of commissions. The Cardinal continues his indecisiveness, since “Cardinals don’t have to give reasons” (300). Michelangelo meets Giuliano da Sangallo, a prominent architect from Florence. Together, they sketch the ruins of Rome. Sangallo suggests that Michelangelo is working for the wrong Cardinal. After being encouraged by Piero, Michelangelo begins to work on a statue. Though Piero abandons the project, Michelangelo is excited just to carve stone again.
Caesar Borgia kills his brother, Juan. With the court in mourning and a “reign of terror” (310) in the city, Michelangelo’s hopes of obtaining a decision from Riario are dashed. His brothers ask for more money and bring news that his stepmother has died. Ludovico, they say, is distraught. Riario finally dismisses Michelangelo, though he allows him to keep the block of marble. To get by, Michelangelo must take a loan from Paolo Ruccellai, patriarch of a Florentine family related to Michelangelo’s own but which has long disowned the Buonarroti family. Michelangelo sells the Cupid originally commissioned by Piero to a banker named Jacopo Galli. He sends the money to his family, who seem to be relying entirely on him for support.
Michelangelo befriends Galli, who becomes his agent. He moves into Galli’s house while carving a statue of Bacchus. There, he meets Roman intellectuals, and his reputation grows. Galli throws a party for the finished statue. The Bacchus leads to further commissions, including one from Cardinal Goslaye of San Dionigi, who wants a sculpture placed in the Chapel of the Kings of France. Michelangelo returns to his idea for a pietà. He rents a studio for himself. From the Florentine community, he hears that unrest has broken out. Savonarola is overturned and executed. Michelangelo is “profoundly” (332) shaken, but he is more interested in art than politics.
Buonarroto helps Michelangelo to set up his studio. This includes the recruitment of a young man named Argiento, who becomes Michelangelo’s “doggedly honest” (339) apprentice. When Michelangelo throws himself completely into his work, often sculpting for 20 hours a day, Argiento ensures that Michelangelo continues to eat and that the house is cleaned. To carve an accurate Christ, Michelangelo sketches Jewish men. He sketches young women to inspire his depiction of Mary. While he works, the health of Cardinal Goslaye worsens. Michelangelo works through the night, inventing a hat that holds a candle to enable him to work in the night. At the same time, he learns about a competition being held in Florence. A famous block of marble is being put forward in the competition, with sculptors submitting designs for the so-called Duccio column. Michelangelo is desperate to win the competition, especially as Torrigiani also plans to enter. He imagines carving “a symbol representing the new Republic” (351).
After two years, the pietà is finished. Galli praises the statue as the most beautiful in the city. However, the Cardinal did not survive to see its completion. The statue will not receive a lavish installation, meaning that Michelangelo will not be publicly celebrated. The statue is quietly installed, and the next day, Michelangelo sees people praying before it. They are arguing about the identity of the artist. That night, he carves his name in the base of the statue, then leaves for Florence to enter the competition.
Parts 4-5 Analysis
In Part 4, Michelangelo ventures beyond Florence for the first time in the novel. This experience points to the fragmented nature of Italy in the 16th century, when the peninsula was not a single country but a patchwork of independent city-states and principalities. Florence is just over fifty miles from Bologna, but this short distance is enough for Michelangelo to feel as though he is no longer in a familiar environment. Particularly telling for Michelangelo is the material make-up of the city. Even the stone of the buildings is strikingly different; Bologna has its own beauty, but Michelangelo cannot deny his longing for the familiar stone of his hometown. The stone has an emotional quality that grounds his sense of place. Bologna has a similar political structure to Florence, but Michelangelo does not know anyone. The names of the city officials are all unfamiliar, as are the names of the local artists. The more the city feels similar (in terms of governance structure and art), the more Michelangelo feels the difference. This excursion to Bologna is an important precursor to Michelangelo’s trip to Rome. If Bologna was a warning that not every place is like Florence, then Rome is a shock to his system. The stone is not just different in Rome; it is older, ruined, and crumbling away. The emergent Florence is contrasted with the decaying Rome, with the city of Rome depicted as a victim of time. The passage of time has mired the city in decay and ruin, a physical decline that is mirrored in the lack of any governing structure. The civic values that mean so much to the Florentines are completely absent from Rome, making Michelangelo feel even more like he is in an alien environment.
Michelangelo’s experiences in Rome illustrate the tension between two different models of power—the conservative, sometimes authoritarian power of the Catholic Church, centered in Rome, and the progressive, soft power of the Renaissance, centered in Florence and rooted in Art as a Tool of Political Power. The Catholic Church has a power far beyond that of Florence, yet its center is located in the lawless, crumbling city of Rome. This juxtaposition between power and ruin foreshadows Michelangelo’s early struggles in the city. Everything is more complex in Rome, as he comes to grips with the complex bureaucracy of the city and the Vatican in particular. As an example, Michelangelo is summoned to Rome to work for a Cardinal who gives him no work. He cannot go to work for anyone else, as he is already associated with a patron (who does not pay him) and he is not a Roman. The crumbling streets Michelangelo must learn to navigate serve as a metaphor for the city’s needlessly complex and decaying social structure. As a man who is aware of his own social failings, this is a particular problem. As such, men like Balducci and Galli become particularly important as they are willing to explain to Michelangelo how the mechanics of Roman society work. For a man who will later become an architect and an engineer, this social comprehension is as alien as Rome, leading to immense frustration for a man who simply wants to produce art.
Once Michelangelo is given the opportunity to begin work, he enters into one of the most significant relationships in his life. He hires Argiento as an apprentice, a man who will become almost like family to the man who does not marry and who fathers no children of his own. Almost by accident, Argiento becomes the definitive example of Michelangelo’s ideal assistant, and their long working relationship becomes one of the book’s primary examples of The Power of Platonic Love. While he may be an apprentice by name, Argiento functions more as an assistant. Michelangelo is not particularly interested in being a teacher, but he requires someone to support him when he throws himself wholeheartedly into every project. Without someone like Argiento to cook, clean, and help Michelangelo, there is a very real chance that Michelangelo would ignore his own health to a dangerous degree. Later, Urbino will be a similarly important figure in Michelangelo’s life, in that he is able to replicate the dynamic that emerges organically between Michelangelo and Argiento. Almost accidentally, Argiento becomes Michelangelo’s surrogate family. This relationship demonstrates a pattern that will hold throughout Michelangelo’s life: His dedication to his art is such that the people he loves most are those who aid him in his artistic goals. Away from home, in battle against the bureaucracy of Rome and the demands of the papacy, Argiento is there to support Michelangelo. While his father and brothers are constantly pestering him for money, Argiento finds ways to cut costs and facilitate his master’s ascetic lifestyle. Argiento is the son that Michelangelo never has, while also helping to create space in Michelangelo’s life for some kind of close relationship. They are close friends, even if their friendship does not follow traditional expectations. In a very real sense, the arrival of Argiento and his influence on Michelangelo’s life is a significant moment in the career of the artist, giving him the space he might never otherwise have enjoyed to simply focus on art.
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