The Magnificent Lorenzo
was having some marble worked and dressed in that place to ornament the
most noble library that he and his ancestors had gathered together from
all parts of the world. (These works, suspended on account of the death of
Lorenzo and other accidents, were, after many years, carried on by Pope
Clement, but even then they were left unfinished, so that the books are
still packed in chests.) Now these marbles being worked, as I said,
Michael Angelo begged a piece from the masons and borrowed a chisel from
them: with so much diligence and intelligence did he copy that Faun that
in a few days it was carried to perfection, his imagination supplying all
that was missing in the antique, such as the lips, open, as in a man who
is laughing, so that the hollow of the mouth was seen with all the teeth.
At this moment passed the Magnificent to see how his works progressed; he
found the child, who was busy polishing the head. He spoke to him at once,
noticing in the first place the beauty of the work, and having regard to
the lad's youth he marvelled exceedingly, and although he praised the
workmanship he none the less joked with him as with a child, saying: "_Oh!
you have made this Faun very old, and yet have left him all his teeth: do
you not know that old men of that age always lack some of them?_" It
seemed a thousand years to Michael Angelo before the Magnificent went away
and he remained alone to correct his error. He cut away a tooth from the
upper jaw, drilling a hole in the gums as though it had come out by the
roots.
Pages:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25