Chapter 155 Masters
In the suburbs about a few miles away from the Roman city, there is a small town called Trajanchu. The town is not big, with less than a hundred families. The entire town is built on the mountainous side of a hill. The houses in the town look up and down from a distance, and are arranged in a staggered manner.
There is a house north of the town of Trajanchu. Several houses with serrations are surrounded by a low-high stone wall. Among them, the roof of one house is surrounded by wooden fences, making a large balcony.
Michelangelo lives here.
However, Michelangelo is no longer the "Xiaomi" he used to be. With the completion of the image of the Virgin Mary, people are marveling at the emergence of a new and amazing master.
The Virgin Mary is like a symbol of Michelangelo's advance to becoming a master of art. In this shocking masterpiece, he not only showed amazing extraordinary skills, but also gave new meaning to this famous work that has been repeatedly created by countless carving masters over the past ten centuries.
The stone had to have life under Michelangelo's hands. People could not only see the sorrow of the martyrdom of the son in the expression of the Virgin, but also see the traces of trembling in her hand holding the body of Jesus Christ, but also see her painful murmur in the scattered hair on her slightly drooping head.
This is a living statue, a holy statue that makes people forget that they are facing a cold stone and will involuntarily worship.
When the Virgin Mary's Ai Sha was sent to Alexander VI, even the Pope, who had already seen countless art treasures, could not help but reveal a brief loss of consciousness because of this miraculous magical technique.
Michelangelo became popular and his name was no longer circulating in small circles that were interested in him, but spread throughout Rome and beyond.
People talked about his works, and then some people began to compare his works with some masters who are now well-known in Europe.
Michelangelo was favored by Roman nobles and wealthy people. They began to invite him to the banquet at home and signed some works with him. This made Michelangelo's life suddenly become rich. He had money to find a larger workplace and hire more assistants for himself. However, he did not find a place in the bustling city, but found a very satisfactory residence for himself in the town of Trajanchu, a few miles away from the city of Rome.
Perhaps because of some quirks that all the artists all had, Michelangelo closed the door and thanked the guests after moving into this house. He locked himself in the house with a roofed balcony. He rarely came out of the yard except for eating. On the day when it was already midsummer, Michelangelo seemed to have disappeared from the Romans' sight.
This aroused greater curiosity among people, and many people were speculating that this rising art master, who was probably brewing some amazing masterpieces.
In fact, Michelangelo was not immersed in some artistic inspiration, but was undecided about his stay or leave.
It is something that many people dream of being appreciated by the Pope, but in Michelangelo's heart, there is another dream that he always cannot give up, that is, to go to Florence, which is known as the capital of art, because only there can be truly prove that he is a real master of art.
No one can deny Florence's unshakable position in the current trend of art. It is precisely because of the efforts of many Florentine masters and their almost sacrificed devotion to art that can guide generations of latecomers to lead this huge trend to the entire Europe.
Michelangelo felt that he should go to Florence. Although his achievements in Rome brought him great reputation and generous rewards, he knew very well that as long as he could not be recognized by the Florentines for a day, he would not be able to become a true artistic master recognized by the world.
Another reason that prompted him to go to Florence was the fall of Savonalola.
Like many artistic geniuses who were regarded by the nobles because of their extraordinary artistic talent in their youth, Michelangelo also had such experience in his childhood. The one who first discovered and trained him was Lorenzo de Meticic, known as the great Lorenzo.
Michelangelo didn't know what would happen if he had not been invaded by the French. Maybe he would have stayed in Florence and then relied on the support of the Metic family to carry out his creations carefree.
But the appearance of the French completely broke his dream. With the overthrow and expulsion of the Metic family, Michelangelo had to follow his patron to flee the city that became terrible, and then in the following years he wandered around, trying to gain the appreciation of the great nobles and wealthy people. The hardships now seem to have become a trial that ultimately leads to success.
But none of these are the most important. One of the important reasons why Michelangelo decided to go to Florence was because he heard that the dean of the Monastery of St. Mark in Florence was the monk Mahimo.
Michelangelo was somewhat familiar with that monk. He knew that the man was a very good friend of Alexander, which made him feel that at least he would not have someone to join after returning to Florence. From the fact that the man replaced Savonalola as the dean of Sacred Mark, that Mahimo should be regarded as a high-ranking position in Florence.
Michelangelo now needs not only the appreciation of the pope, but he is not the artist who can be appreciated by the pope. If he wants to become a master admired by everyone, he must be able to make the Florentines recognize his talents.
Michelangelo has been considering the gains and losses in the past few days. He knew that he had to make the right decision. After all, being famous in a place like Rome is almost as fast as falling. People always keep pursuing new people and things, and being fed up with the old is their common characteristic.
Michelangelo didn't know if he would be forgotten if he left for a while and then came back, at least he might be out of date.
But Florence's temptation made him difficult to let go, and he knew very well that only Florence was the key to determining whether he could become a respectable person like Botticelli and Leonardo da Vinci.
"This is really a difficult question to choose from," Michelangelo scratched his head hesitantly, his fingers were rough and stiff, because he had been holding the hammer for many years. When he pulled off a few hairs slightly hard, he could not help but cursed in a low voice outside the yard.
"Is this the home of the respected Bonarotti?"
When Michelangelo heard the sound in the yard, he did not echo. He knew that the servant would send everyone away. Although many people came to visit these days, he had already blocked the servants from returning.
He was not worried about offending people because of this. On the contrary, Michelangelo understood very clearly that the more he could show his extraordinary power as a master.
Unlike artists who only know to focus on art and have completely different human feelings, Michelangelo is very clear about how to manage his reputation.
Even now his entanglement about staying or leaving is more of a bit contemplating the gains and losses because he cannot weigh the gains and losses.
Michelangelo still closed his eyes and thought about his thoughts until the sound of a servant raising his voice came from the yard below.
"Masters don't see guests casually, please go back."
Michelangelo was a little surprised. He knew that this servant was very clever, so if he was a noble or a wealthy businessman, he would not have had such an attitude.
And if it were a civilian, he would not know who would be so persistent in meeting him.
Michelangelo did not think he was already the kind of person who was enough to become someone else's idol, and he had never heard of anyone who would be so reckless or even rude because of admiration. The key was that he felt that his thoughts had been interrupted. Although he had not come up with a clue for so long, he couldn't help but get angry because of this.
"Who is below!"
Michelangelo stood up and walked to the railing and looked down, and happened to see the servant blocking the two young men with his body.
"I'm sorry, lord, I'll drive them away now." The servant said nervously to Michelangelo on the roof. He knew that the master had a bad temper, but he was quite generous in his actions.
"We came from Urbino," the rather sturdy young man among the two shouted to Michelangelo on the roof, "We know you live here, so I hope to visit you."
"Urbino, then you won't go well," Michelangelo muttered. Since becoming famous, some people have indeed come to see the name of the name, and some even hope to get his guidance. They are very annoyed by these people. If they were not worried that they might be circulated with something bad, he would drive them away. "How come they need my help?"
The so-called visit is mostly just asking for help.
"No, we are not here to beg." The young man behind seemed a little angry. His slightly slender body stood straight, and a little anger appeared on his pretty face.
Michelangelo looked at the boy carefully for a moment. He didn't expect a man to be so pretty, or almost fascinating, beautiful. This reminded him of the famous beautiful boy Nacassus in Greek mythology. Although this boy was not so beautiful, it still made Michelangelo seem to have found inspiration.
"Then please come in, my servant is so rude." Michelangelo's attitude suddenly became enthusiastic. He did not turn around and go back to the room, but simply climbed the ivy that grew to the roof and went down to the yard very quickly. When he saw the two young men a little stunned by his actions, Michelangelo laughed loudly.
Michelangelo was in a good mood at this time. Although he gained a lot of reputation since the completion of the Virgin Mary's image, he also lost the ability to capture inspiration for a while.
This made him a little worried whether he had used up all the gifts given by God, and this was also the reason why he wanted to leave Rome for the time being.
The appearance of this young man now makes Michelangelo seem to have found new inspiration. The slenderness and softness that are completely different from most people at present stimulated his imagination. He felt that he had found the idea for a new work.
But these are all secondarily, mainly because he felt that this young man seemed to have aroused some desire to pursue the good things in his heart.
"We are students from Urbino," said the strong young man who took off his hat and saluted Milerongiro. He had encouraged his friends to come to Rome before, and now when they saw the new master, he immediately showed respect. "We have been looking for you for a long time."
Michelangelo looked at the two men carefully, and he wanted to see from them whether there was anything unreliable, but it seemed that as they themselves said, these were two young men who came to Rome to take the chance.
"I would love to talk to you about art and other things, but I have been in Rome for a short time, so I can only have a chance to talk in the future." Michelangelo said with a little regret, and he looked at the boy "What is your name, I have to thank you."
"Raphael Sandy." The boy looked at the master in front of him in confusion. He didn't understand why he would say this to him when he met him for the first time.
"You made me think I should pursue more and more beautiful things. To be honest, I was still hesitating about whether to give up everything in front of me, but you made me determined to pursue better things."
Raphael looked at Michelangelo in a daze. He wanted to ask why, but he was afraid of offending the person in front of him. It was not until Protos next to him interrupted that he shook his head in a daze.
"Are you leaving Rome?" Proto asked in surprise, "We originally thought we could get guidance from where else." He paused at this, turned his head and said deliberately to Raphael next to him in confusion, "Didn't the Count's butler say to the master, is he lying? But although he is a Moorish, I don't think that Count would be invisible to serve him with a person who likes to lie."
"Which count, who is the Moors?"
Michelangelo immediately asked sensitively that he knew many nobles, but not many of them could use Moors as housekeepers. If you think about it carefully, maybe there might be only one.
"Oh, Master, this is nothing, just a noble master who happened to meet in Pisa before. Although my friend was lucky enough to paint a lover she was in love with, I think it was just a small thing for you." Proto said deliberately in an understatement, and then blinked at Raphael, as if reminding him not to disturb the big man in front of him with such a small thing.
Earls who met in Pisa?
There is also a lover in love?
At this time, Michelangelo was almost certain who these two people were talking about.
But he remained calm. He needed to find out whether these two people were important in that person's mind. If he treated them just like ordinary people like wandering artists, Michelangelo did not intend to influence his plan to leave Rome just because they knew that person.
"But that lady is indeed beautiful, right? Raphael, I can even see the love for her in your eyes, so you can create such a work, otherwise the Count would not buy your painting with such satisfaction," Proto said to Raphael next to him. When he saw Raphael as if he was about to defend himself, he immediately patted his mouth, as if he was upset by his words. "Oh, in fact, your painting satisfies the Count, and even the Lady's brother has been praising it all the time? As far as I know, he is a very harsh person, but he obviously admits that your painting skills are indeed rare, but you don't have to be depressed. Of course, you know that the two adults are not very harmonious, otherwise the Moors would not think that we should come to Rome, after all, your painting has caused a lot of trouble."
Michelangelo looked at the two people in front of him in surprise. He told himself that what these two people should be lies, but if he thought about it carefully, he had to admit it. If they were not familiar with some insider information, they would not be so clear.
Many people do know the conflict between Alexander and Caesar, but they don’t know that Lucrezia is Alexander’s lover as well. After all, the obstruction of this era makes too many things unknown.
It happened that Michelangelo went to and from the Vatican from time to time because he was appreciated by the pope during this period, so he knew that Caesar was not in Rome now, but went to Pisa.
This made Michelangelo's eyes change slightly when he saw the boy named Raphael in front of him, as if he seemed to see the appearance of a young genius who might compete with him in the future.
Michelangelo knew that if the young man who looked a little slick in front of him had not lie, then he could use a picture to cause a conflict between Alexander and Caesar, then this young man must have an extraordinary talent that others could imagine, because at least in Michelangelo's mind, whether he was "Xiaomi" or now he has become a master admired by everyone, although Alexander values him, he has never had any conflicts with anyone.
What Michelangelo pays most attention was Proto's reasons for coming to Rome.
Because of the trouble caused by their painting, did the Moors send them to Rome?
Thinking about this, Michelangelo was even a little jealous. He felt that although he had received a lot of help from Alexander before, it was always just the aristocrat's appreciation of the artist. But could the young man in front of him use a painting to make Alexander care about his future?
Michelangelo was secretly surprised. He had heard of many geniuses, and he himself was the most talented one among them. But now he felt that he had met a truly extraordinary talented person.
"What is his name for the Moors you said?" Michelangelo asked carefully at last.
"Uriu, his name is Uriu, but I don't think he seems to be an ordinary servant or steward," Proto thought and shook his head. "Those nobles seem to respect him very much. Do you know what I mean?"
"I know." Michelangelo nodded, and he looked at the young man who seemed to be speechless again. After pondering for a moment, he waved to them. "Come on my house. You have to have a drink to quench your thirst on such a hot day. Let me tell me about your painting. I really want to know how those two saw your work."
Raphael nodded excitedly. He felt that he was so lucky that he could actually be favored by the famous Michelangelo. He followed him into the house with a little nervousness while whispering to Michelangelo about his conception and creation of his Trinity.
Behind them, Proto followed into the house, but stopped when he was about to enter the door, turned around and looked at the city of Rome far outside the yard.
"Rome is a very interesting city, and I think you will definitely like it for you."
Prato suddenly remembered what the Moor said to him when he left Pisa.
Chapter completed!