Michelangelo had once again been away from Florence for five years. He was beginning to tire of Rome. He couldnt find a place for his painting in Rome. The faces there didnt seem to have any character - they all looked alike. Thats what he told Pope Julius II. What do you see in my face? Julius asked. A Burning Candle…. After a moments pause, Julius smiled. He was used to Michels caustic comments. Yes, I understand what you mean. I am like any of those thousand candles which people light on the altar of the cathedral when they are in trouble. Michel remained silent. I am surprised that in this vast creation of God, where no face resembles another, you cant find a face for your painting - cant find a model. During the last four months, the face of Judas ... Before he could finish his sentence, Michelangelo had walked out of St. Peters. Pope Julius was familiar with Angelos moods. That was Angelos fifth year in Rome. For five years, he had been painting scenes from the Old and New Testaments on the dome and the walls of the Sistine Chapel. And now that it was nearing completion, Julius didnt want to spoil his relationship with Angelo. Julius remembered that when Michelangelo had carved an image of Jesus in wood for the Church of the Holy Spirit, his model had been a young man who had suddenly died in the monastery. Because of Angelo, they had had to delay lifting his coffin for twelve hours. Michelangelo wasnt like Bramante who created figures according to rules. That is why the shape and form of Bramantes characters were always the same ... they seemed to belong to the same family. He had dismissed Bramante and once again made peace with Angelo. Five years ago, when Michelangelo returned to Rome, he used to lie under the dome St. Peters for hours and mumble something to himself. Julius began to have doubts about his mental stability. Once, when Julius quietly walked up to him, he heard him reciting verses from the Bible. What are you doing? O! Michelangelo turned to look at the Pope with a start. I am unveiling the verses from the bible. Julius understood him. He was looking for faces in the white-washed brick walls. Jesuss face, Marys face, Judass face. The shapes of their bodies were visible, but their faces were hidden in the verses of the Bible. Michelangelo had drawn many sketches of Gabriels face on paper. Julius had asked, How did you draw Gabriels face? He doesnt belong to this world. I heard his voice. In the Old Testament. Then you must have also heard the voice of God? Julius had asked jokingly. I have heard His silence. That had convinced Julius that he had chosen the right artist. Hes an eccentric, he had told Vatican Committee, but only he can paint the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo had chosen his mother as the model for Mary. He had done so on the day he had seen her carry two drums of water hung on a Bamboo across her shoulder. Only a woman like her could have carried the weight of the son of God in her womb. His mother had lit a fire and was heating water for his fathers bath. He had closely watched her face glowing in the light of the fire - radiant, warm, brilliant like gold, and made lots of sketches of her face on paper. That night, as she sat near the stove, he had asked her, Why didnt you give birth to Jesus? Because I met your father. Look at him lying there inebriated. Go and look after him. Angelo had immediately made a sketch of his stupefied father on a piece of cardboard and had hung it up next to him, so that his father could see what he looked like when he was drunk. Beneath it he had written, Father, if you hadnt been like this, Mother could have been Mary. His mother had liked the sketch very much; she had always kept it with her. Why dont you carve an image of your father like this? He looks so innocent. He had always evaded her by saying, I cant find that piece of marble in which I can see fathers face. That had happened a long time ago. They used to live in Bologna in those days; the pub at the corner of the lane was her favorite haunt. It was also his fathers favorite haunt. His father used to drink inside, while he used to take his bottle and sit outside. He used to frequently buy peanuts from a vendor who used to sit across from him. Every time the vendor weighted peanuts, a few always rolled out of his basket and fell on the ground. Each time a small naked boy standing nearby would pick them up, put one nut in his mouth and the rest back in the basket, and then waits for the next customer. Michelangelo used to buy peanuts just to watch that performance. When he made the statue of the Madonna of Brujis, he used the boy as the model for the naked baby Jesus. Soon after, the Pope first asked Michelangelo to paint scenes from the Ola and New Testaments on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo had gone to Rome to meet the Pope because every painter and sculptor in Italy was ready to sacrifice his body and soul to be awarded the commission. It would be enough to win him immortality. But for Michelangelo the mere promise if immortality wasnt enough, he had laid down some conditions for his mortal life here. He needed money to buy marble. Pope Julius had promised him some but had later refused to pay him. Why do you love stone so much? Why dont you love colors? Colors lose their distinctiveness when used with other colors. They change. Marble doesnt change. Now he was as tired of colors as he was of Rome. He only had one panel of the Chapel left to paint - The Last Supper, but he drew a blank whenever he tried to imagine one face - the face of Judas he thirteenth disciple of Jesus, who had betrayed his savior to the Romans for thirty pieces of silver. He had helped to crucify him. Julius grew more and more impatient. Michelangelo spent days and days making sketches. He searched through his old drawings and worked on them, but no face satisfied him. And then suddenly, one day he found Judas in a small, dirty pub in Rome. His eyes had unnatural glitter, he was restless and he spat again and again. His body had already begun to sag with age. He spoke so fast that words seemed to fall out of his mouth like coins from a torn pocket. He had gone to Michelangelo to beg for a dinar, but had ended up sharing a bottle with him. When Michelangelo came out of the pub, he saw the man ask someone else for two dinars. Michelangelo made a deal with the man and took him to the chapel. He told him what he wanted. He wanted him to model for Judas. That would make the man immortal. Michelangelo lifted up the drapes to show him the walls and the ceiling. The man looked at everything with awe. He asked for a large sum of money in exchange for his consent. Angelo agreed to pay him. Then the man asked for an advance which Michelangelo gave. The man came regularly for a few days. Angelo used to call him to the Chapel for sittings. One day, as the man was looking through some old sketches, he asked Michelangelo about the sketches of the child he had made in Bologna. I used to live in Bologna years ago. I used this face to paint Jesus as a child. Do you remember his name? Yes ... Marsoleni. That man smiled. He rolled up his sleeve and showed him a name tattooed on his arm: Marsoleni. I am the same JESUS, whom you are now painting as JUDAS.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 09:57:52 +0000
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