Sections The book is divided into eleven sections, each detailing a distinct period of Michelangelo's life. •
The Studio: Michelangelo studies under
Ghirlandaio at his studio •
The Sculpture Garden: Michelangelo studies under
Bertoldo in the sculpture garden of
Lorenzo de' Medici, culminating in his first sculpture,
Head of a Faun •
The Palace: Michelangelo lives in the palace of Lorenzo de' Medici, where he befriends Lorenzo's daughter Contessina, learns from Bertoldo and the
Platonic scholars, and produces his first two reliefs,
Madonna of the Steps and
Battle of the Centaurs.
Savonarola turns Florence against the Medici family, and ultimately Lorenzo passes away from illness. •
The Flight: Michelangelo returns to his parents' home. He begins dissecting bodies at
Santo Spirito to further his understanding of the human form while starting work on a sculpture of Hercules in memory of Lorenzo, as well as a
Crucifix for the church. He is invited to live at the Medici palace once more by Piero de' Medici, but when the people of Florence become disenchanted by the lavishness of Contessina's wedding celebrations Savonarola turns the city against the Medici family and the palace is attacked. Michelangelo flees to Bologna, where he stays with Aldovrandi, becomes romantically involved with a woman named Clarissa, and creates the sculptures
St. Proclus and
St. Petronius. He returns to Florence once the political situation has calmed and is commissioned to create a sculpture of a young St. John the Baptist and a counterfeit Cupid. The fraudulence of the Cupid is discovered by its ultimate owner, Cardinal
Raffaele Riario, who is nevertheless impressed and invites Michelangelo to live in Rome for a time to sculpt something new. •
The City: Michelangelo travels to Rome and stays at the palace of Cardinal Riario, then at the home of his new friend Jacopo Galli, and finally in his own studio with his new apprentice Argiento. While in Rome he sculpts his
Bacchus and his
Pietà, and then he returns to Florence with Argiento to enter a sculpting competition. •
The Giant: Michelangelo wins the Duccio competition by sculpting his
David and competes with
Leonardo da Vinci by painting the
Battle of Cascina, and is then summoned to Rome by
Pope Julius II. •
The Pope: After resisting his summons by Pope Julius II for as long as possible, Michelangelo ultimately relents and returns to Rome. Michelangelo's and Julius' hot tempers cause tension, but ultimately Michelangelo is commissioned to carve Julius' tomb (which is repeatedly put on hold) and paint the
Sistine Chapel ceiling. •
The Medici: Upon Pope Julius II's passing, the new
Pope Leo X pulls Michelangelo from his work on Julius' tomb to create a façade for the Medici family church in Florence. Michelangelo first travels to
Carrara to buy
marble, but is then instead tasked with creating roads and a quarry to mine marble from
Pietrasanta. While he succeeds in this endeavor, his marble is used for other projects and Michelangelo, dejected, returns to Florence. •
The War: While Michelangelo is living in Florence, Pope Leo dies and is replaced rapidly first by
Adrian VI and then by
Pope Clement VII. The Medici are ousted by the citizens of Florence who restore the republic, and Michelangelo assists in their defense against the pope by helping construct defensive walls. Although the city ultimately falls to papal forces and Michelangelo flees to Rome, he is nevertheless welcomed to Rome by Clement who wants to give him a new commission. •
Love: Michelangelo paints
The Last Judgment first for Clement and then, upon his passing,
Pope Paul III. He also begins deep friendships with both
Vittoria Colonna and
Tommaso dei Cavalieri. •
The Dome: Michelangelo finally finishes his tomb for Julius and is named architect of
St. Peter's Basilica despite opposition from other architects and artists. With the help of Urbino and Tommaso the plans for the dome of the basilica are executed to such a degree that its completion is inevitable. Michelangelo's strength wanes and his friends visit him to say their goodbyes, while Tommaso vows to finish St. Peter's. Michelangelo passes away while reminiscing on his body of work.
Characters • Buonarroti Family •
Michelangelo Buonarroti, the protagonist • Ludovico, Michelangelo's father who is obsessively focused on money and his family's fortunes • Bugiardini, Michelangelo's brother who helps manage his money • Lionardo, Michelangelo's brother who joins the church and follows Savonarola • Giovansimone, Michelangelo's brother who becomes part of Savonarola's Army of Boys • Michelangelo's Teachers •
Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo's first master, a fresco painter who runs his own studio •
Bertoldo, Michelangelo's master in sculpture, who lives and works with him in the Medici palace • Michelangelo's Friends •
Francesco Granacci, Michelangelo's first and closest friend • Gianfrancesco Aldovrandi, who hosts Michelangelo in Bologna •
Giuliano da Sangallo, a Florentine architect • Jacopo Galli, a Roman banker who helps manage Michelangelo's finances • Argiento, an apprentice of Michelangelo's • Urbino, an apprentice of Michelangelo's for the last third of his life •
Vittoria Colonna •
Tommaso dei Cavalieri • Medici Family •
Lorenzo de' Medici, Michelangelo's first patron and surrogate father figure • Contessa de' Medici, Lorenzo's daughter and a close friend of Michelangelo • Piero de' Medici, Lorenzo's son and heir • Church •
Savonarola, a religious reformer who turns Florence against the Medici family • Nicola Bichiellini, the prior of Santo Spirito who opens the church to Michelangelo ==Works of art discussed in
The Agony and the Ecstasy==