L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, MAY 14, 2015 www.italoamericano.org 8 A unique genius, but also a survivor of his time: professor Edward Goldberg could not find a n y o t h e r w o r d t o d e s c r i b e Michelangelo Buonarotti, the Italian artist whose talent influ- enced the development of the Western art. As art historian, who attained a PhD at Oxford a n d t a u g h t a t H a r v a r d , M r Goldberg is also the founder of t h e M e d i c i A r c h i v e P r o j e c t ( M A P ) . A f t e r h i s t a l k a b o u t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n Michelangelo and the Medici Family at the Italian Institute of Culture in San Francisco, he talked to us about "the tale of two Michelangelos". First thing h e r e v e a l e d i s t h a t , w h e n i n 2012 he started investigating the archive of the Casa Buonarroti, the residence of Michelangelo's family, a few blocks from his o w n h o m e i n F l o r e n c e , h e decided to delve below the sur- face of the "Cult of the Divine Michelangelo" and the mystical a d o r a t i o n t h a t t h i s a r t i s t received, especially after his death. He started tracking the d e f i n i n g m o m e n t s i n Michelangelo's life and analyz- ing his key artis tic achieve- ments, and built a vivid, maybe sometimes disturbing, picture of both the man and the age in which he lived. Where does your interest in Michelangelo come from? Michelangelo is there - and I'm there, in every place I turn and every place I look at. I lived in Florence for most of my adult life and I am an art historian by training, as well as an archival sleuth. Michelangelo and his w o r l d a r e p a r t o f t h e a i r I b r e a t h e : t h e r e i s s o m u c h M i c h e l a n g e l o ' s h y p e i n F l o r e n c e a n d s o m u c h Michelangelo's craziness that "the real Michelangelo" can dis- appear from sight. How would you describe him, both as artist and per- son? Michelangelo was a unique artistic genius who changed the course of painting, sculpture and architecture for all time. He enjoyed a level of professional success and public adulation that no artist had experienced before or since. And fortunately, no proliferation of latter-day t o u r i s t c r a p c a n e r o d e t h e s e basic facts. He was also a man o f h i s t i m e , a h a r d - c o r e Florentine, with all of the pas- sions and prejudices of the city that formed him, living in an age of incredible political, social, religious and cultural conflict. If I had to describe Michelangelo in a single word, I would call him a "survivor". And if he was the ultimate survivor in the artis- tic sphere, the Medici were the ultimate survivors in the politi- cal sphere. So, in a very real sense, they were made for each other! How did Michelangelo deal with the world around him? Michelangelo managed the violent ruptures of Renaissance life by focusing single-mindedly on his own personal interests, d o i n g w h a t s e e m e d b e s t f o r Michelangelo in every situation. If you imagine him sculpting the David, painting the Sistine Chapel Ceiling or building the Laurentian Library in the midst of a non-stop earthquake, you won't go far wrong. Why did he decide to serve also "enemies" and not just his friends? Do not forget it's Italy in the a g e o f M a c h i a v e l l i . M i c h e l a n g e l o h a d n e i t h e r friends nor enemies, except for his friends and his enemies at a g i v e n m o m e n t , a n d e v e r y moment was a world of its own. Considering the rapid shifts of a l l e g i a n c e a n d a n t a g o n i s m , political loyalty and ideological consistency were insane luxu- ries that no one could afford. Michelangelo was a genius and achieved things that nobody else could have imagined. But he was not a moral hero nor an exemplary human being. He gave concrete form to his artis- tic vision against daunting odds. The relationship with the Medici Family… why did it become, in a way, so special and important? I t w a s a l l a b o u t s u r v i v a l : Michelangelo survived and so d i d t h e M e d i c i — o r a t l e a s t , some of them survived. And who were the Medici? "Medici" was a family name, but we are talking about a large, fractious and sometimes violent family. They dominated Florence for five centuries. "Medici" was also a political brand and a cul- tural brand, at a time when poli- tics and culture were inextrica- bly linked. And Michelangelo's "genius" was eventually sub- sumed as an essential element of the "Medici culture". Can you tell any anecdote about this relationship? There are hundreds of anec- dotes that people never hear, because they don't take the time to stop and listen. And stopping and listening is what I have been doing for the last forty y e a r s i n t h e l i b r a r i e s a n d archives of Florence. Which heritage and which l e s s o n d o y o u t h i n k Michelangelo left to us? In regard to heritage, the a r t i s t a n d h i s p a t r o n s p r e t t y much invented the concept of "artistic genius" that still holds sway and did not exist before t h e i r t i m e . I n r e g a r d t o t h e lessons, we look at works of art a n d d o c u m e n t s a n d w e f i n d people and events that we shape into stories. In fact, the self- generating flow of "history" is probably the chief point of my studies. And this is certainly a point that both Michelangelo a n d t h e M e d i c i w o u l d h a v e understood implicitly! Professor Goldberg during the Premiazione Flaiano Michelangelo and the Medici: the heroic figures of Italian Renaissance told by professor Goldberg SERENA PERFETTO Professor Goldberg with one of the manuscripts

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