Every family has its troubles, and the Medici family was no exception. Michelangelo saw it on his first night at the dinner table, right after Lorenzo the Magnificent hobbled into the packed main dining room of the Medici Palace with his arm wrapped around Michelangelo's shoulder. Everyone stood and applauded, wanting to know who this new boy was - everyone except Lorenzo's 18-year-old eldest son Piero.
Piero de' Medici was one of those boys of privilege who was easy to hate, the kind of person who kicked dogs just to feel better about himself. A boy who loved to make people squirm as he ordered them about, knowing everyone had to treat him with respect no matter how nasty and arrogant he was.
When Lorenzo reached his seat at the middle of the table, he raised his hand and the room quickly fell silent. "I'd like to introduce you to Michelangelo, a promising young sculptor who will be living in our home from now on. I plan to raise him as if he were my own son."
Michelangelo was sweating under his new purple silk robe as he sat next to Lorenzo. The room was full of smart sounding people who told jokes in Latin. Sandro Botticelli, the famous painter, was there as was Marsilio Ficino, the Plato scholar, and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, the author of Oration of the Dignity of Man, a veritable Bible of Humanism. Michelangelo had never seen so many beautiful people or so much food. The table was covered with plates of boar, venison, and peacock, and goblets of red Tuscan wine. He tried eating the meat but wasn't hungry with Piero studying his every move from across the table.
The first person who spoke to Michelangelo was Angelo Poliziano, teacher to the Medici children and also a famous poet who loved the sonnets and letters of Petrarch.
"So Michelangelo, I understand you studied under Senora Urbino for seven years. I'd be interested to know what he taught you about Petrarch's Secret Book."
Michelangelo shrugged his shoulders in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, but I don't know that book." He had read about Petrarch's love for Laura in the Canzoniere that was written in Italian but none of Latin works.
Piero de' Medici laughed at this response, then picked a piece of peacock meat from his teeth with his fingers. "That's because you're nothing but a peasant in a rich man's clothing. How could a mere commoner like you know anything about the Secret Book?"
Lorenzo pressed his palms firmly on the table and studied his eldest son. "That's enough, Piero. Since you are the expert, why don't you tell us what the Secret Book is supposed to mean."
"There is no secret to the book," said Piero. "Petrarch was just an old man who was troubled by love for a woman he could never have."
Lorenzo turned to his second son Giovanni, who at 15 was the same age as Michelangelo. Giovanni was a pleasant soul - an attractive, bookish, fair-haired boy who was preparing for a life in the church. He had already been named a cardinal two years before, and soon he would leave for Pisa to study theology and canon law. Eventually, 23 years later, Giovanni would be elected Pope Leo X. "And what do you think the Secretum is about, Giovanni?" said Lorenzo.
"I learned that greatness does not bring happiness," said Giovanni with his chin held high.
Not yet finished, Lorenzo turned to his adopted son Giulio, age 12, the illegitimate son of his murdered brother Giuliano. Giulio had lost not only his father but also his mother, which left him depressed throughout his life. And yet this Gloomy Gus proved capable enough to be elected Pope Clement VII ten years after his cousin Giovanni became pope. "And you, little Giulio. What do you think Petrarch's book is trying to say?"
"It taught me that love is the cause of all despair," said Giulio.
"Well, Michelangelo," said Lorenzo, turning to the newest member of his family. "Now you know what the secret book is all about."
Michelangelo looked puzzled. "All I know is no one seems to agree on what it means."
"You're wasting your time, father," Piero broke in. "He'll never figure it out. I'll bet he can't even read Latin."
The pain started in Lorenzo's gout riddled left big toe and shot up his spine to his shoulders. Everyone gasped as The Magnificent wreathed in pain. A servant ran to him with a glass full of crushed gemstones and he gobbled it down even though this never seemed to help.
"I'll tell you the secret, Michelangelo," said Poliziano in a raised voice trying to deflect the attention off Lorenzo. "The answer lies within you, just as it lies within each of us. But don't worry. I'll teach you how to find it."
Poliziano meant it. He was ready to teach Michelangelo Latin so he could read the Secret Book and other books about humanism. But just like Bertoldo, Poliziano knew he didn't have much time.
His friend Lorenzo was not a well man. The gout attacks were more frequent now, just like the ones Lorenzo's father suffered through...just before he died. And God help them all when they lost Lorenzo, for that would make Piero the Unfortunate the head of the Medici family and the first citizen of Florence.
David Clark's quest to solve the Sistine Chapel mystery started after his wife was killed shortly after they began a piece jigsaw puzzle of the ceiling. After five years of extensive research, he realized the ceiling is a brilliant diversion that hides a secret message by overwhelming the eye. Like a jigsaw puzzle it lures us to pull its hundreds of pieces together to make sense of the whole. However, its meaning cannot be found by putting the pieces together, but through finding the one piece Michelangelo left missing: the piece he lacks in his own life story.
Michelangelo's Puzzle will be told in 90 weekly pieces that when put together will reveal the meaning of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling on November 1, 2012, the 500th anniversary of the ceiling's dedication. Follow the story at http://sistinepuzzle.com/.
No comments:
Post a Comment