The
modelling of the torso of this figure is, perhaps, the finest piece of
workmanship in the chapel, and should be studied from every point of view,
even from the back of the monument. The muscular forms and the disposition
of the lines are so beautiful and true that it is a veritable marvel and
wonder of the world. The right proportion of development necessary for a
figure of that colossal size to move and live has never been so well
calculated. The head is so beautiful that it cannot be spoken about; but
must be seen in the position Michael Angelo designed it for, and not
tilted upright on an ordinary pedestal as it is always seen in the art
schools. All the four figures struggle with the trials, difficulties, and
despair of their lives, as who should say, to such a pass has Medici rule
reduced existence in Florence.
One other statue in the Chapel is entirely by the hand of the master, a
Madonna suckling the child Jesus, a strong boy straddling across her knee
and turning right round to reach the breast. Although unfinished, it is
one of Michael Angelo's noblest works; it is a notable example of
compactness of design, and of how he left the shape of the block of marble
evident in his finished work.
CHAPTER IX
THE LAST ACT OF THE TRAGEDY OF THE TOMB, AND THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
As soon as Michael Angelo arrived in Rome, in 1535, he set to work to
complete his contract for the Tomb of Julius, and marbles that had waited
in silence for his liberating hand began to resound with the clink of the
iron.
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