Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 09 (of 10): Michelagnolo to the FlemingsVasari, Giorgio
History
Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects, Vol. 09 (of 10): Michelagnolo to the Flemings
Vasari, Giorgio
Art, Italian; Artists -- Italy -- Biography
While Michelagnolo was having the tomb of Julius II finished, he
caused a marble-hewer to execute a terminal figure for placing in the
tomb in S. Pietro in Vincola, saying to him, "Cut away this to-day,"
"Level that," "Polish here"; insomuch that, without the other noticing
it, he enabled him to make a figure. Wherefore, when it was finished,
the man gazed at it marvelling; and Michelagnolo said: "What do you
think of it?" "I think it fine," he answered, "and I am much obliged
to you." "Why so?" asked Michelagnolo. "Because by your means I have
discovered a talent that I did not know I possessed."
Now, to be brief, I must record that the master's constitution was
very sound, for he was lean and well knit together with nerves, and
although as a boy he was delicate, and as a man he had two serious
illnesses, he could always endure any fatigue and had no infirmity,
save that in his old age he suffered from dysuria and from gravel,
which in the end developed into the stone; wherefore for many years he
was syringed by the hand of Maestro Realdo Colombo, his very dear
friend, who treated him with great diligence. He was of middle
stature, broad in the shoulders, but well proportioned in all the rest
of the body. In his latter years he wore buskins of dogskin on the
legs, next to the skin, constantly for whole months together, so that
afterwards, when he sought to take them off, on drawing them off the
skin often came away with them. Over the stockings he wore boots of
cordwain fastened on the inside, as a protection against damp. His
face was round, the brow square and spacious, with seven straight
lines, and the temples projected considerably beyond the ears; which
ears were somewhat on the large side, and stood out from the cheeks.
The body was in proportion to the face, or rather on the large side;
the nose somewhat flattened, as was said in the Life of Torrigiano,
who broke it for him with his fist; the eyes rather on the small side,
of the colour of horn, spotted with blueish and yellowish gleams; the
eyebrows with few hairs, the lips thin, with the lower lip rather
thicker and projecting a little, the chin well shaped and in
proportion with the rest, the hair black, but mingled with white
hairs, like the beard, which was not very long, forked, and not very
thick.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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