After
the Dark Ages, in the earliest period of the Renaissance, Pope
Nicholas V., in 1450, finding that the old church was rapidly
falling into decay, commissioned Leon Battista, Alberti, and
Bernardo Rossellino to make plans for a new and larger church.
Five years later Pope Nicholas died; and not until the time of
the Venetian Pope, Paul II., was the work continued. He, too,
lived but a short time, and little progress was made until
Julius II. came to the papal throne in 1503.
This
Pope was a great man. No longer young, and delicate in health
when elected Pope, he was possessed of an energy which
overcame physical suffering, and all other kinds of obstacles
that came between him and the ends he had in view. His great
desire was the establishment of one grand national kingdom. He
went to the field to fight in his own battles, and conquered;
he gathered much treasure together, and left it in the vaults
of the Castle of S. Angelo at his death. And whatever he
conquered or gained, he did it for the Church--not for his
relatives, the Rovere. He was rough, but dignified; fierce,
but not cruel; and more noble than all other popes in his
appreciation of great artists and their works, to which
quality was added a marvellous power to discern those who
merited his protection, and to draw them to himself and enlist
their devotion to his schemes.
While
a cardinal, Julius had employed the architect Giuliano di
Sangallo; and the Pope at once summoned him to Rome and
occupied him in various works, but did not make him architect
of S. Peter's, for which post Sangallo had hoped. To this
service he appointed Bramante d'Urbino. As pontifical
architect under both Alexander VI. and Julius II., Bramante
was employed on the cloister of the monks della Pace; the
fountain of Trastevere; a large portion of the Palazzo della
Cancellaria; the arrangement of the space between the Vatican
and the Belvedere; and the basilica of S. Peter's.
Under
Bramante the work on S. Peter's advanced rapidly; he had great
fertility of invention and undoubted genius. His style, at
first cold and stiff, became majestic and elegant. He had
small regard for the remains of antiquity, and became
notorious for his destruction of such monuments at Rome. The
only remnants of his work in S. Peter's are the four great
arches which support the tower of the dome. Bramante was a
bitter enemy of Michael Angelo, being jealous of him as an
architect on his own account, and jealous of him as a painter
on account of Raphael, who was Bramante's nephew. Michael
Angelo cordially returned the dislike and enmity of Bramante;
and on one occasion these two artists indulged in a most
violent scene in the presence of the Pope.
It
had become evident that Bramante was scheming to drive Michael
Angelo from Rome, that he and Raphael might be the first two
in the capital. Michael Angelo, fully aware of his intrigues,
upbraided him with all he had endured from him; he also
demanded his reasons for demolishing the splendid old columns
which had supported the ceiling of S. Peter's, and which then
lay in fragments where he had thrown them down; "to place
a million of bricks one upon another is no art,"
exclaimed Michael Angelo, "but to execute a single column
like those you have destroyed is a great art." And having
begun, he freed his mind of all his indignation and his hatred
of Bramante, as he would have done had the Pope not been
there.
But
Julius, who justly estimated the value of each, permitted
Michael Angelo to bluster, while he could not prevent Bramante
from showing the despicable traits of his character. But as an
architect Bramante must have been worthy the Pope's
confidence, when even Michael Angelo, years after Bramante's
death, paid him the following tribute:--
"Bramante
was, if any one deserves the name, one of the most able
architects since the days of the ancients. And, as it is
evident now, whatever the standard of beauty, whoever departs
from his idea, as Sangallo did, departs from the very rules of
art."
In
1514 Bramante died, and was interred in S. Peter's with great
honours.
Julius
had been Pope but two years when he summoned Michael Angelo to
Rome in great haste, and he speedily left his important work
in Florence to attend upon the Head of the Church. The first
commission which Julius gave the artist was the erection of a
colossal mausoleum for himself, to be built in S. Peter's. The
design made by the master satisfied the Pope, who ordered him
to decide at once upon the spot in the basilica best suited to
the purpose. This church was already a treasure-house of
artistic works; and surrounded as it was with various chapels,
cloisters, dwellings for the clergy, and the Vatican Palace,
it was an ecclesiastical stronghold, so important and so
exalted among the churches of the world that even so grand and
proud an artist as Michael Angelo might well be pleased to be
added to its makers by some more imposing work than his
exquisite Pieta, already in the chapel of S. Petronilla. In
this basilica emperors were crowned, anathemas pronounced, and
pardons promulgated, while here the tribute of all lands was
brought. Where else could an artist place his work with
greater confidence that it would be seen and judged by the
greatest of all nations?
When
Nicholas V. died he left an unfinished tribune behind the old
basilica. Michael Angelo advised the Pope to finish this and
place his mausoleum there. But this plan, with many others,
came to naught. We cannot here give all the story of the
"Tragedy of the Mausoleum," as Condivi called it;
but it was the first association of Michael Angelo with Julius
II. and with S. Peter's, and so leads on to other matters in
connection with the famous basilica.
In
April, 1506, Julius, in presence of thirty-five cardinals,
laid the corner-stone of Bramante's foundations, which neither
pope nor architect lived to know were all too weak. In 1513
Leo X. succeeded Julius, and the master survived but a year.
He was followed by Giuliano di Sangallo, Giocondo da Verona,
and Raphael, making what we should now term an architectural
commission. But these colleagues did little more than make
plans, that of Raphael being the one they intended to follow.
In actual work they had accomplished little more than the
strengthening of some piers before Sangallo and Raphael died.
Leo
X. then employed Baldassare Peruzzi, who found that Raphael's
plan of a Latin cross would be far too costly to be carried
out, and returned to the earlier design of a Greek cross. Leo
died the year after the death of Raphael, and almost nothing
was accomplished at S. Peter's by his immediate successors.
When
Paul III. succeeded to the papacy in 1534, he appointed
Antonio Sangallo as architect of the basilica, and this master
died too soon to have accomplished much more than to make his
plans, which is also true of his successor, Giulio Romano, who
died in the year in which he was appointed. This singularly
repeated fatality would seem to have been sufficient to deter
an artist from attempting the work; but Michael Angelo
accepted the position of architect of S. Peter's from Paul
III., when he was in his seventy-second year, and prosecuted
its building with great vigour during his remaining years,
retaining his office until he died, at the age of eighty-nine.
During
these years he suffered many annoyances, but met them with his
wonderful determination. His first care was to strengthen the
piers, enlarge the tribune, and begin the dome on a different
plan from that of Bramante, retaining the design of the Greek
cross. Leonardo da Vinci laid down a law that the less
resistance in the material that is worked, the greater the
art. Accordingly the poet and musician would stand as the
highest artists, the painter second, the sculptor third, and
the architect last. Michael Angelo had executed mighty works
as a sculptor and a painter, and had written poems that give
him a place among the honoured poets of his country, and lead
Italians to call him "a poet, a painter, and one who was
great in all arts."
This
wonderful man was now to crown his career by showing his power
in an art which Leonardo considered the least. But there are
other views of this question; and while to-day such an
argument could scarcely arise, it is interesting to consider
its bearings. There is a view in which architecture is the
most mechanical of arts, for the reason that when the artist
has conceived his plan and given it life in his drawing,
mechanics of various grades can erect the edifice. This is but
one way of saying that when architecture embodies artistic
ideas it is an art; and when, as often happens, a work of a
mere builder and one of a true architect are so situated that
they can be compared, the most untrained eye at once perceives
the difference.
In
the abstract and loftiest view of architecture it cannot be
mechanical. It is customary to use the word
"architecture" where the word "building"
would be much nearer what is intended to be said; for example,
we speak of the architecture of many human dwellings in which
there is not a particle of anything but the product of
mechanical skill. Dwellings can be made practically
comfortable, well ventilated, spacious, and in every way
delightfully usable, and still be as far removed from anything
that merits the term "artistic" as plain wall
painting is removed from Raphael's decoration in the Loggie of
the Vatican.
The
nations who first excelled in architecture were those who
loved their soil perhaps even more than their people. The
Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans were eminently of this class,
while the Germanic peoples were happy wherever their friends
surrounded them. Intense love of soil leads to the passion for
adorning it, as men desire to bring tribute of adornment to
the women whom they love; and when the gifts are accepted and
worn, men have a sense of personal acceptance as well, and a
dawning sense of possession of the beloved one. Grimm well
expresses this thought when he says: "And the temples of
the Acropolis and the Capitol were, as it were, jewels which
the people set in the golden soil of their home, crowns and
golden chains which they placed upon it."
As
the adjuncts of architecture, sculpture and painting have made
their greatest achievements as pure or abstract arts. The
temples afforded the opportunity for their display in their
highest forms, and the decline of these arts begins when the
artist must endeavour to meet the wishes of his employer.
Michael Angelo had the misfortune to undertake his great works
just when this decline began; when it was possible for Pope
Julius II. to threaten to throw the artist off the scaffolding
in the Sistine Chapel.
Architecture
is far less individual than other arts. In its grand
achievements it emphasises the political power of a people or
the religious power of a faith. In the sixteenth century
Catholicism was renewed in strength, the apostasy of the
Germans having called up the extremest loyalty of the entire
Catholic Church; and Michael Angelo devoted himself to making
S. Peter's what has been well called "a religious
fortification," an ecclesiastical stronghold, the Mother
Church of the faithful of the world.
Michael
Angelo had gained reputation as an architect in Florence,
where he had erected the facade, the sacristy, and the library
of S. Lorenzo, before he was made architect of S. Peter's. But
these gave him no opportunity to conceive the colossal in a
truly masterly manner, as did his office at S. Peter's. Other
architects brought together numbers of small towers or other
lesser features, which, thus assembled, produced the effect of
a great mass; but they were separable, while truly great
architecture must be the production of a single conception,
great in itself. In this way, as a whole, Michael Angelo
conceived and made his plan for S. Peter's. He boldly declared
that he would suspend the dome of the Pantheon in air above
Saint Peter's grave.
As
the great artist refused a salary, declaring that he would
work but for God and Saint Peter, he held an advantage over
his enemies, and was able to ignore the many intrigues by
which they attempted to injure him. He was also better able to
treat peculations by his subordinates with severity and thus
put a new element of honesty into the work on this basilica.
Although
nearly forty years had passed after Bramante laid the
foundation-stone, and although so many and such different
artists had done their share in this great work, it was not so
far advanced but that Michael Angelo could give it any form he
chose. A vast amount of substructure work had been done. The
four pillars were erected and connected by the magnificent
arches,--such pillars and arches as have not been excelled.
But as, from this slight and imperfect beginning, the plans of
Michael Angelo, with but small exceptions, were followed, he
may be regarded as the real founder of the present S. Peter's.
The
dome is strictly his work. In one respect, which is much to be
lamented, his plan was changed, and the form of the Latin
cross adopted, when he intended to follow Bramante's plan and
use that of the Greek cross. By this change the dome is
rendered ineffective as one approaches the church. The long,
projecting nave and the elaborate facade were not contemplated
by either Bramante or Michael Angelo. The facade of the latter
was simple, but grand in effect, it being a pure Corinthian
portico. Had the Greek form been retained, and this front
erected, the entire dome would have been visible from the
Piazza.
When
Michael Angelo began his actual work, his first care was to
strengthen the four pillars so that they might support his
dome. He then proceeded to erect the drum, on which the dome
is raised. This drum was not finished according to his design,
although, with its surrounding columns and the windows between
them, it is a masterpiece in architecture, and as light and
symmetrical as could be desired. Michael Angelo, however,
intended to have the columns which stand free from the walls
of the drum in pairs, finished with pedestals and surmounted
with statues, which were "to surround the dome like
tapers."
Paul
III. died in 1549, and was succeeded by Julius III., who, in
spite of the intrigues against Michael Angelo, confirmed him
as architect of S. Peter's without limit to his authority.
This greatly displeased the old, or Sangallo's party, as under
that architect many had made money. Michael Angelo was so
determined, first, that no one should make money, and second,
that no material which he did not approve should be accepted,
that the sub-contractors greatly desired his removal.
On
one occasion, when some cement was furnished which he thought
of an inferior quality, he wrote a scathing letter to the
cardinals in charge of the work, in which he expressed his
suspicions of those who were endeavoring to make money out of
the building. He declared that he would not use unsuitable
material, saying, "Even were it to come down from heaven,
it shall not be done."
At
another time Julius III reported to Michael Angelo that
certain defects in his work had been brought to his notice.
The artist demanded that the complaints be made in his
presence; and when Cardinal Marcello appeared before the Pope
and the master, the latter explained that his completed work
would overcome the objections. The cardinal, satisfied with
what he heard, expressed surprise that he had not been
informed of this sooner. Michael Angelo answered: "I am
not, nor will I consent to be obliged to tell, to your
Eminence or any one else, what I ought or wish to do. Your
office is to bring money and guard it from thieves, and the
designing of the building is left to me."
Then
to the Pope he said, "Holy Father, you see what I gain:
if these fatigues which I endure do not benefit my soul, I
lose both time and labour."
The
Pope loved the great artist, and, laying his hands on Michael
Angelo's shoulders, he answered, "Your eternal and
temporal welfare shall not suffer from it. There is no fear of
that;" and so long as Julius III lived, Michael Angelo
was not again disturbed.
Julius
III died in 1555; and after the brief reign of Marcellus II.,
Cardinal Caraffa became Pope, and took the name of Paul IV.
Meantime Michael Angelo, although he made a journey and
executed other works, had his mind fixed upon the dome of S.
Peter's, and carefully constructed a wooden model of his
design, which is seventeen feet high, and so made that it
could be followed in every detail by his successors. He was
asked if this dome would surpass that of S. M. del Fiore in
Florence, to which he replied, "It will be more grand,
but not more beautiful."
By
still another Pope, Pius IV., was the brave old man confirmed
as autocrat over the building of S. Peter's, and he continued,
though a sufferer from a fatal disease, to apply himself to
this great trust, and to execute a few other works, until, in
February, 1564, his strength gave way; and, on the eighteenth
of that month, surrounded by his friends and faithful
physicians, he ceased to breathe, but not to live; for does he
not to-day survive in a sense beside which physical death
loses its meaning?
In
spite of all the precautions which he had taken, the
successors of the great master seriously lessened the grandeur
of his plans. After his death Vignola and Pierre Ligorio were
appointed to carry on the building, and were strictly enjoined
by the Pope to adhere strictly to Michael Angelo's plans.
These artists did not live to complete the dome, which was
accomplished in the pontificate of Sixtus V., by Giacomo della
Porta, in the spring of 1560.
So
impatient of delay had the Pope become that the work was
pushed day and night by eight hundred workmen. Everything,
even decency, was sacrificed to haste, for, being in need of
an additional trough for water, the masons tossed the bones of
Pope Urban VI. aside, and took his sarcophagus to fill their
need, and this coffin was used as a tank for about twenty
years. The ball and cross were not placed on the summit of the
dome until 1593.
So
long as Della Porta lived,--1601,--the plans of Michael Angelo
were essentially followed, although even in the dome a serious
omission had been made. The model has a triple dome, and it
was intended that the inner one should duplicate the dome of
the Pantheon; the second should support the lantern, while the
outer one should give majesty to the exterior of the church.
But the inner dome was entirely omitted, the two outer were
constructed of brick and bound with chains at weak points,
while the statues which were to encircle it were never made.
After
the death of Della Porta, Carlo Maderno, being architect under
Paul V., changed from the plans of Bramante and Michael
Angelo, and ruined the effect by the long nave and unsuitable
facade of which we have spoken. Not until the thirteen
hundredth anniversary of the original consecration of S.
Peter's, by Saint Sylvester, was the present edifice
consecrated by Pope Urban VIII. in 1626.
Bernini
began the decoration of the Piazza of S. Peter's in 1667, and
Pope Pius VI. erected the sacristy and made some minor
additions in the late years of the eighteenth century; so that
from the beginning of the foundations to the time when S.
Peter's could be said to be complete, three and a half
centuries had elapsed, forty-three popes had reigned, sixteen
architects that I can name had been employed, and I doubt not
there were others. The cost of this church could scarcely be
estimated; and so great had the financial burden proved that
at two periods, in the time of Julius II. and Leo X., the sale
of indulgences was instituted to support it. At the end of the
seventeenth century its cost was estimated at about fifty
million dollars, which does not include the sacristy, the
bell-towers, mosaics, etc. The last important work was done by
Pius IX. on the four hundredth anniversary of the birth of
Michael Angelo, when the dome and lantern were thoroughly
repaired and newly covered at a cost of about sixty thousand
dollars.
Other
architectural works attributed to Michael Angelo in Rome are
the Porta Pia, begun by Pius IV. in 1564 after the plans of
the master, but not completed until 1869, so that it is not
possible to know how faithfully the plan was executed; the
Sforza Chapel in S. Maria Maggiore, which Della Porta
completed; and he is said to have been the chief architect of
the church of S. Mary of the Angels in the Baths of Diocletian.
The Piazza del Campidoglio is made after the design of Michael
Angelo, as well as the facades of the palaces on three sides
of the Piazza, although it was not completed until after his
death. He also designed the cornice of the Palazzo Farnese,
built its upper story, and made the plan of its court. He made
a design for a bridge over the Tiber and the necessary road by
which the Farnese Palace and the Villa Farnesina could be
united; but these, like other undertakings for which he made
the plans, were not executed.