Michelangelo
received the commission for the façade of the church of San Lorenzo from Pope
Leo X at the end of 1516. The Medicean church had become even more a symbol of
dynastic power with the head of the family a duke, and allied with the royal
family of France. Michelangelo’s plans for the 2-story structure included 12
standing figure marble statues, 6 seated figures in bronze, and 15 reliefs. He
intended the façade to be a “mirror of architecture and sculpture of all
Italy”, and commenced to work for 3 years on the project. Michelangelo spent
months quarrying the marble from within the boundaries of the Florentine
republic, first at Carrara, then building a road through the mountains to reach
Servezza. In 1520 the contract for the façade was annulled due to the death of
Lorenzo Medici in May of the previous year, much to the consternation of
Michelangelo, though Lorenzo’s death leads to the new commission of the Tomb
Chapel of Lorenzo and Guiliano Medici. A wooden model of the façade built to
Michelangelo’s specifications survives.
Please state your sources for these project posts, When you say "from text" I assume you mean our text by Hartt. Certainly use that; use multiple sources on each architectural project, and ESPECIALLY Ackerman. Also, the Lorenzo you refer to is not Lorenzo the Magnificent, as your readers might assume . . .
ReplyDeleteAll points taken! This is a very preliminary start, and aim to amp it in the near future.
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