Medici Prince's Chapel | Michelangelo Sacristy | Location | Opening Hours Tickets | Authorizations
Sculptures Sacristy | Lorenzo Magnificent | Dawn and Dusk | Night and Day | Michelangelo Drawings
The Medici New Sacristy in Florence: a place of a poetic meditation of man eternity
Altar New Sacristy Medicis The new sacristy, as Michelangelo intended it is a place of a poetic meditation on the knowledge of man and his eternity, a message superbly illustrated by Michelangelo's genius and the expressiveness of his sculptures.
An expressiveness that Michelangelo has combined with the use of opposites and contrasts.
Faced with the lunar brilliance of his statue representing the “Night” synonymous with fear, dread at its own end, Michelangelo offers us on the opposite side of the sacristy, “Dawn” whose beauty is opposed to that of the ageing woman of the “Night”.
In his dramatic staging of opposition to the symbolism of life and death, Michelangelo opposes face-to-face “Day” and “Dusk” in the same way.
Altar New Sacristy Medicis Yet, initially, Michelangelo's idea was to position the two young dukes Lorenzo and Giuliano's tombs in the centre of the chapel.
A positioning that corresponded to the idea of his proposed tomb for Pope Julius II in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, a central tomb.
A project not completed by the refusal of the heirs of Julius II to finance this project after the death of Julius II.
You can get an idea of it thanks to some of the statues of the “prisoners” that were aimed to surround the tomb, which can now be admired at the Accademia Gallery in Florence.
This idea of central positioning did not adhere to Pope Medici Clement VII, son of Giuliano, the brother of Lorenzo the Magnificent.
Dome of the New Sacristy On the third wall, facing the altar is a simple sarcophagus where Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother Giuliano rest.
He proposed to Michelangelo to position the tombs against the walls of the sacristy.
Specifically, he wanted a project that could be positioned on the walls of the sacristy, the individual tombs of the young dukes, and the double tomb intended for his father Giuliano and his uncle Lorenzo Magnificent.
Michelangelo adhered to this idea, which led to the success that can be admired in the new sacristy of the Medici.
Dome of the New Sacristy On the two sides facing each other are the tombs of the two dukes Lorenzo and Giuliano with the statues of the “Night” and “Day” on one side and the “Dusk” and “Dawn” on the other.
A simplicity that strikes compared to the complexity, size and power of the individual tombs of the dukes. The tomb of the two brothers is a simple sarcophagus surmounted by three statues.
In the centre is the Virgin and her Child and on each side of her the holy protectors of the Medici, Cosimo and Damian.
And it is here that we can only admire the genius of Michelangelo, who managed to link these three graves together in a compelling way.
Lorenzo the Magnificent and Giuliano grave The eyes of the statues of Lorenzo Duke of Urbino and Giuliano Duke of Nemours are thus directed towards the faces of the two holy protectors. Giuliano looks at Saint Cosimo and Lorenzo Saint Damian.
At the same time, Saint Cosimo and Saint Damian look at the Virgin, intercede with her on behalf of the two dukes.
In the centre, the Virgin, sculpted by Michelangelo, has her gaze lost.
Her head is slightly tilted and expresses her sorrow and sadness while the Child Jesus, ignorant of what is happening, is content to seek her mother's breast.
The triangle created by the different directions of all these looks is at the basis of the harmony and symbolic power of the sacristy.
It illustrates perfectly the questioning sought by Michelangelo about the knowledge of man and his eternity.
The chapel represents the universe.
The bottom of the sacristy is Hades.
Then the terrestrial sphere is symbolized by the four upper arches surmounted by the dome and the bezel representing the celestial sphere.
Sculptures Sacristy | Lorenzo Magnificent | Dawn and Dusk | Night and Day | Michelangelo Drawings
Medici Prince's Chapel | Michelangelo Sacristy | Location | Opening Hours Tickets | Authorizations
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