Michelangelo (reposted accidentally deleted post)

I have never felt salvation in nature, I love cities above all.” This quote attributed to Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni is a favorite of mine, and illustrates a love of architecture (as well as a distinction between himself and his contemporary and “rival”, Leonardo) in this archetypal Renaissance man. While Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor above all else, he was also responsible for two of the most influential frescoes in Western art (Sistine ceiling, and The Last Judgement) as well as numerous extremely important architectural achievements.

     My research into Michelangelo’s architecture focused on one such project, the Laurentian Library of Florence. The Laurentian Library was named after “Il Magnifico” Lorenzo de’ Medici, a great collector of ancient and modern texts, who had greatly expanded the Medici library in the late 15^th century. Another Medici, Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici, upon attaining the Pontificate as Pope Clement VII, commissioned Michelangelo to build a new Medici library in 1524. The purpose of this commission was to bring the Medici book collection back to Florence, and to further establish the shift “of Medici power from mercantile to ecclesiastical activity.” (Ackerman 34)

     Michelangelo, as an extremely prodigious artist, is one of the best documented artists of the 16^th century, and the Laurentian Library is one of his best documented projects. The commission from Rome, and the resulting correspondence between Michelangelo and the Pope’s agents in Rome (many dozens of letters and drawings exist) between 1524-27 (and for more than 30 years after) has given scholars much insight into this ambitious architectural accomplishment.

     The library was to be located in the cloister of the Church of San Lorenzo. After some debate as to the specific site (a courtyard site was rejected as it would block the view of the façade of the church) it was determined the library would be constructed above the existing two stories of the monastic quarters. (A further challenge to Michelangelo’s architectural skills, but one he was more than able to overcome.) A major theme of the early correspondence was the Pontificate’s concern that disturbance to the lower floors be kept to a minimum (if at all) and Michelangelo’s of sculptural form and space manipulation. Michelangelo was able to uphold the integrity of his disegno through a structural reinforcement of the lower stories’ walls by designing and installing a minimal inner and outer system of buttresses that would conform to the aesthetics of his overall plans for the completed structure.