Michelangelo (1964)

[Music] bir [Music] but to tell you the truth I am a simple man and of little wor striving only to give expression to the art which God gave [Music] me in the Arts of painting sculpture and architecture the tuscans have always been among the best indeed I may say that as Athens was the home of the Sciences so Florence is the cradle and home of the Arts and Florence was the city in Italy most worthy to nurture The Genius of Michelangelo [Music] h [Music] [Music] this Michelangelo and I when we were boys would go into the church of Santa croche to learn drawing from the paintings of [Music] gioto a citizen of Florence once found Michelangelo contemplating The Works of [Music] donatell for many months he drew maso's paintings in the Church of the kamini the boy's father finding that he neglected his literary studies for drawing used to beat him severely but this was not sufficient to deter him I record this first day of April 1488 how I lovo bonotti Apprentice my son Michelangelo to Dominico Gand Dio to learn the art of painting [Music] the master perceived that Michelangelo not only surpassed the other students but also that he often competed on Ane equality with [Music] himself so then the boy now drawing one thing and now another without fixed place or steady line of study happened to be taken into the Palace of the [Music] Medi Lorenzo de Medi the ruler of the city had adorned the palace with antique statues and other relics of art when Nel Angelo saw these things and felt their beauty he no longer frequented gandio Studio but judging the medich gardens to be the best school spent all his time and faculties in working there Lorenzo seeing his genius accordingly gave him a room in the palace and he sat at the same table with ficino Pico and pitan listening to the dialogues on Plato and drinking in the golden po of Greece on the advice of Pano he carved about the year 1492 a fight between the lapiths and centors of such beauty that it seems the work of a consumate master and not of a youth and so at an early age he found the work he loved best in the world the carving of stone picture to yourself The Genius of the city of Rome yet I may mention that once at Rome while I was sketching the column of Tran mikelangelo stopped to watch me the Cardinal while we were inspecting his collection of antique statues said to me Michelangelo have you the courage to make some beautiful work of art [Music] these and many more antique statues were in the time of the Heathen within this Roman city even as we have read in Old Chronicles and have seen with our eyes [Music] [Music] it was said that Michelangelo studied this antique torso to such a degree that he was W to call himself its pupil now that most learned Roman gentleman yakobo Gallo employed Michelangelo to exec Ute a marble bakus the Greek god of wine and rry of which say the ancient Greeks he was the first Discoverer the face of the god is jocken the eyes wandering and wanting in his right hand he holds a cup lifting it to drink and gazing at it like one who takes much delight in wine be it known that Michelangelo sculptor of Florence shall make for the sum of 450 gold duckets a piar of marble that is to say a draped figure of the Virgin Mary with the dead Christ in her arms and I yakobo Gallo do promise that it shall be more beautiful than any work in Marble to be seen in Rome today [Music] [Music] one morning a number of Lombards were praising it loudly one of them asked another the name of the sculptor mangelo said nothing but that night shut himself in the chapel with a light and his chisels and carved his name on [Music] it now some of Michelangelo's friends wrote from Florence urging him to return it came about in this way the board of works of the cathedral owned a piece of marble nine cubits in height which had been brought from carara some hundred years before and blocked out by Master agustino of Florence and badly blocked Mikel Angelo however said that he could extract a good thing from the marble and it was offered to him he accepted added no pieces and carved his David the Slayer of Goliath as I have said it was the opinion of all all that no one was capable of extracting a statue From the Block and that it was useless for any good purpose this revival of a dead thing was a veritable Miracle he also began a statue of St Matthew which though it be roughly Hune shows Perfection of design and teaches beginners how to extract ract figures from the stone mik Angelo's method in this matter was the best once satisfied with his fullsize model he took charcoal and sketched out the main view of his figure on the marble in such wise that it might be distinctly traced having thus sketched in the principal aspect he began work by removing the surface Stone upon that side just as if he intended to Fashion a figure in half relief and thus he went on gradually uncovering the rounded form he often said that the statue dwelt already within the stone held captive until released by his chisels to break the marble spell is all the hand that serves the brain can do be it known that I mikelangelo sculpter to hereby contract for the delivery of 60 loads of marble free from cracks and veins from the quaries of Kara be it known that the said marbles are required for the tomb of his Holiness our Lord Pope Julius well then after quarrying the blocks which he deemed sufficient he had them brought to Rome the quantity of stone is enormous it stirs amazement in the mind to give some notion of the Colossal tomb I will say that in its niches are to stand over 40 statues representing the Arts sciences and laws mourning the death of their most noble Patron Pope Julius the pope is now unwilling that I should work on his tomb and has ordered me to paint the ceiling of the cine Chapel in vain have I told him that painting is not my trade I live here in a state of dissatisfaction not overwhelmed and working on designs for the chapel I waste my time without results God help [Music] me I hasten the designs as much as possible for it seems that I've been here A Thousand Years beloved father know that I have finished the Chapel which I have been painting the pope is very satisfied your son in Rome Michelangelo [Music] [Music] sculptor in the beginning God created the Heaven and the Earth and the Earth was without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and God said let there be light and and there was light and God said let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place and let the dry land appear and God said let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night and God made two great lights the greater light to Rule the Day and the Lesser light to rule the night he made the Stars also and God said let us make man in our image after our likeness and the Lord God said it is not good that man should be alone I will make him a help meat for [Music] [Music] him and Adam said this is now bone of my bone and Flesh of My Flesh she shall be called woman because she was taken out of [Music] man now on completion of the painting of the chapel the pope directed that his tomb be finished but on a smaller scale than at first proposed Michelangelo readily began it a new I saw Michelangelo at work in one quarter of an hour he caused more splinters to fall from a very hard block of marble than three young stonemasons in three or four times as long he attacked the work with such energy and fire but I thought it would fly into pieces with one blow he brought down fragments three or four fingers in breadth and so exactly at the point marked that if only a little more marble had fallen he would have risked spoiling the whole work on returning to the tomb of Julius then he worked ceaselessly but envious Fortune could not allow him to complete the monument he had begun so superbly for Julius now [Music] died Pope Leo the successor to Julius visiting Florence his native City contemplated the Church of San Lorenzo with its unfinished facade well then I feel it in me to make this facade in such a way that it should be a mirror of architecture and sculpture for all Italy but Pope Leo must make up his mind quickly whether he wants me to do it or not I'm getting to be an old man I must have some answer before I get any older and besides seeing that I'm pressed to continue my work on the tomb of Julius the pope must make some arrangement I do not account for the three years of my time which have been thrown away on this work I do not account for this most disgraceful Act of bringing me here to do this work and then taking it away from me to return to Michelangelo after wasting much time in Florence first on one thing and then on another he was commanded by the new Pope Clement to Begin work on the med [Music] [Music] Chapel at this time he did seven statues for the chapel moved there too more more by fear of Pope Clement than by love for the meditor much Wonder was excited by the figures they are executed in wonderful attitudes Juliano with bold head and deep set eyes Duke Lorenzo in thoughtful pose but what shall I say of dawn with her Melancholy Spirit what shall I say also of night in her we see not only the quiet of the sleeper but the sorrow of one who has lost something Noble and great I am now engaged in the service of the new Pope Paul III and working on designs for the painting of the last judgment which prevents me from finishing the statues for the tomb of Julius every day I am stoned as though I had crucified Christ my youth has been lost by B hand and foot to this accursed tomb [Applause] oh [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the [Music] [Applause] [Music] all [Music] [Applause] [Music] now Pope Paul wishing to employ Michelangelo on some noteworthy work visited him attend Ed by eight or 10 Cardinals inspected the statues for the tomb of Julius everything in detail the Cardinal of manur standing before the statue of Moses cried out this alone is sufficient to do honor to the memory of Julius so ended the tragedy of the Tomb and though truth to tell it is but a botched up remnant of Michelangelo's youthful design the monument is still the finest to be found in Rome if only for the statue of [Music] Moses worthy of all admiration is the statue of Moses leader of the Jews he sits posed in the attitude of a thinker and a sage holding beneath his right arm the tables of The Commandments his face is full of vivid life and spiritual Force fit to inspire both love and Terror as perhaps the man in truth did he Bears according to the customary want of artists portraying Moses two horns upon the head it is a marvelous work and full of Art [Music] to my dear friend at Florence M Giovani fatui with regard to the old age which Bears Upon Us equally I should like to hear how yours is treating you for I do not like mine very much at the present time suffering much from sleeplessness he rises is often from bed and takes up his chisels he has in hand a work in Marble Christ taken from the cross Michelangelo has portrayed himself in the person of Nicodemus his face looking down with a tenderness Beyond expression I told Balo he was to send lime of good quality that which he sent is inferior there's no question about it he must take it back at length the pope inspired I Believe by God commanded Michelangelo to take up the post of architect to the holy sea in vain did the master plead that architecture was not his art God is my witness how much against my will it was that I began this work on St Peters but now that there is money in hand and the work is really progressing I I mean to complete [Music] [Applause] it one night during the last years of his life [Music] with terrible blows he was breaking the stone his criticism of his own work was so severe that nothing he did satisfied him however his servant Antonio rushed into the studio in time to save the group from utter destruction although roughly Hune it is a masterpiece worthy in every way to stand among the Master's works both marble and Fresco which have lighted a lamp for art casting abroad luster enough to illuminate the world for ages to come [Music] meor meor Lord for [Music]