When the Sistine fresco was completed,[1] Michael Angelo thought that at last he had the right to finish the monument of Julius II. But the insatiable Pope demanded that the old man of seventy should paint the frescoes of the Pauline Chapel.[2] He almost put his hand on some of the statues intended for the tomb of Julius II. in order to use them for the ornamentation of his own chapel! Michael Angelo had to consider himself fortunate in being allowed to sign a fifth and last contract with the heirs of Julius II.—a contract by which he agreed to deliver his completed statues[3] and pay two sculptors to finish the monument, after which he was released from any other obligation for ever.
But he was not at the end of his troubles. The heirs of Julius II. continued greedily to claim the money which they alleged had formerly been laid out for him. The Pope told him not to think about it, but to concentrate all his attention on the Pauline Chapel.
"But," replied Michael Angelo, "we paint with our head, not with our hands. He whose mind is not at ease dishonours himself. That is why, so long as I have
- ↑ The inauguration of "The Last Judgment" took place on December 25, 1541. People came from all over Italy, France, Germany, and Flanders to be present. For a description of the work, see my book on Michael Angelo in the series "Les Maîtres de l’Art," pp. 90-93.
- ↑ These frescoes ("The Conversion of St. Paul" and the "Martyrdom of St. Peter"), at which Michael Angelo worked from 1542, were interrupted, in 1544 and 1546, by two illnesses, and were painfully terminated in 1549-1550. They were "his last paintings," says Vasari, "and they cost him great labour, as painting, especially fresco, is not the work of an old man."
- ↑ These must have been his "Moses" and the two "Slaves"; but Michael Angelo decided that the latter were no longer suitable for a tomb thus reduced in size, so he carved two other figures "Active" and "Contemplative Life" (Rachael and Leah).
