L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2021 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano S eeing the words "Michelangelo" and "forgery" in t h e s a m e s e n - t e n c e i s n ' t p e r - haps that surprising: in 500 years, there have definitely b e e n p e o p l e w h o t r i e d t o imitate the masterful hand of Italy's most celebrated artist. Picturing Michelangelo as a forger, however, may be harder, even though there are plenty of sources - some reputable, some, perhaps, a tad more outlandish - stat- ing that the artist did engage in some forgery work when he was young and trying to e s t a b l i s h h i m s e l f i n t h e world of art. I m p o s s i b l e y o u s a y ? Read on, then. Legends say that, while in F l o r e n c e , a v e r y y o u n g Michelangelo was commis- s i o n e d a s l e e p i n g C u p i d s t a t u e b y h i s p a t r o n , L o r e n z o d i Pierfrancesco de Medici, c o u s i n o f a m u c h m o r e famous Lorenzo, Lorenzo il Magnifico. Unbeknownst to the artist - or so our story maintains - the statue was buried for a while to make it look older, then sold as an Ancient Roman antique to C a r d i n a l R a f f a e l e R i a r i o , who probably spent quite a b i t o f c a s h o n i t . R i a r i o w o u l d h a v e n e v e r q u e s - tioned the origin of his new p u r c h a s e , i f i t w a s n ' t f o r some juicy gossip he came across, according to which he had been elegantly frega- t o b y P i e r f r a n c e s c o , w h o was probably in Florence enjoying some Chianti with his court, laughing at the prelate's naiveté. Cardinal Riario was so angry he sent J a c o p o G a l l i , a f a m o u s Roman banker, to Florence seeking the truth. Galli was an important figure in the life of Michelangelo, who h a d o b t a i n e d m o s t o f h i s first commissions in Rome thanks to the banker; Galli also hosted the artist in his house for some time and it is believed that there was e v e n a s t u d i o f o r h i m t o work on his statues in the p a l a c e . T h a t ' s w h y Michelangelo confessed he was the author of the sleep- ing Cupid sold to Riario: he c o u l d b e a f o r g e r , b u t h e couldn't lie to someone who helped him. B u t w h i l e m a n y , a s w e m e n t i o n e d , b e l i e v e Michelangelo didn't know about the fraud, others are quite convinced of the con- trary, perhaps because this w a s n ' t t h e o n l y t i m e t h e sculptor and painter dabbed into the world of forgeries. Another interesting tale says that when Michelangelo was only a young apprentice at Ghirlandaio's atelier, it was customary for him to p r a c t i c e c o p y i n g h i s teacher's famous paintings. His copies were so perfect that, apparently, he once g a v e o n e t o G h i r l a n d a i o i n s t e a d o f t h e o r i g i n a l - which Ghirlandaio himself had painted - and he didn't even notice! How much truth is in this h u m o r o u s s t o r y ? W e l l , I d o n ' t k n o w , b u t f o r s u r e Michelangelo had the habit to ask art collectors for "old masters'" drawings, copied t h e m a s a n e x e r c i s e , a n d then returned said copies instead of the original to their owners: Vasari wrote it in his Lives so I guess this i s p r e t t y a c c u r a t e . Apparently, Michelangelo had learned how to "age" paper by holding it above green wood smoke, and in fairness, it's likely he knew a thing or two about how to age stone, as well. This is n o t t o s a y h e w a n t e d t o become a forger by profes- s i o n , b u t i t w a s p r o b a b l y quite normal among artists to know about this type of techniques. B u t w h y w o u l d Michelangelo be interested in forgery? The answer is quite simple. The artist was at the very beginning of his career and showing he could forge Greco-Roman sculp- tures and copy great artists' works without anyone notic- ing the difference was proof of his abilities: of course, an e s t a b l i s h e d a r t i s t w o u l d have scoffed at the idea, but a y o u n g , p e n n i l e s s o n e ? Let's face it, it was a good way to advertise his talent. I n f a c t , w e e v e n k n o w i t w o r k e d : C a r d i n a l R i a r i o , e v e n t u a l l y , c a l l e d M i c h e l a n g e l o i n R o m e , eager to meet the artist who c o u l d c r e a t e a C u p i d a s beautiful as those seen dur- ing the glorious days of the Empire. T o d a y ' s w o r d i s tosto (toh-stoh), w h i c h c o m e s f r o m t h e L a t i n tostus, the past participle of the verb torrere, or "to dry out," "to toast." W e s t a r t e d u s i n g t o s t o sometimes in the 13th centu- ry, but not with the meaning we, today, associate it with the most. In fact, back then t o s t o w a s a n a d v e r b t h a t meant "soon," and also an adjective that meant "quick." Used in this sense, you'll find it often in Dante, but also in many other poets of our past, from the Renaissance to the early 19th century. Today, h o w e v e r , y o u w o n ' t e n c o u n t e r a n y o n e s a y i n g something like sarò tosto da te (I'll be at yours soon"), b e c a u s e i t ' d s o u n d q u i t e funny. But tosto, in times past, also meant "hard," as in pane tosto ("stale bread"), or carne tosta ("tough meat"), and it is with this meaning we are more likely to use it today, but not in the same context. Indeed, we don't use tosto to say something is tough or s t a l e a n y m o r e , r a t h e r w e apply the adjective to people! When we say quella ragazza è una tosta ("that girl is a tough cookie"), we appreciate her resilience, strength and, perhaps, we even feel a bit i n t i m i d a t e d b y h e r . Sometimes, you may come across someone saying some- thing like bisogna essere tosti per studiare medicina ("one must be determined to study medicine"), a familiar way to state you need some strength and determination to become a doctor! Tosto can also be associat- ed to things, especially with difficult situations or tasks: mi hanno detto che la verifi- ca di Italiano è tosta, dobbi- amo studiare di più ("I heard the Italian test is hard: we h a v e t o s t u d y m o r e " ) , o r andare a cena con la tua ex e il suo nuovo partner? Tosta come situazione ("Having dinner with your ex and her current boyfriend? That's pretty rough"). But remember: when you u s e t o s t o f o r a p e r s o n , i t always has a positive conno- tation: it means you appreci- ate their strength and you can often translate it with "cool." Il nostro prof di matemat- ica è tosto, però aiuta chi si impegna O u r I t a l i a n t e a c h e r i s d e m a n d i n g , b u t h e h e l p s those who work hard Devi essere uno tosto per fare il poliziotto You must be pretty strong to become a policeman Sei proprio una tosta! You're really cool! LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Word of the Day: tosto, the word only the strongest can use! I t a l i a n C u r i o s i t i e s : d i d y o u k n o w t h a t Michelangelo started as a forger? Michelangelo Buonarroti (above) shortly worked as a forger at the very beginning of his career (Photo: Georgios Kollidas/Dreamstime) © Volodymyr Tverdokhlib | Dreamstime.com

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