As It Happens6:16You can now see these secret sketches by Michelangelo
Paola D’Agostino says that when visitors step into the small room at the Medici Chapels in Florence, Italy, a stunned silence falls across the space as they view what are believed to be sketches by the Italian Renaissance artist, Michelangelo Buonarroti.
“People are shocked…. Just being in that space, it’s something that gives a very special emotion,” the Bargello Museums director told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
Its the first time the famous sketches have been shared widely with the public. The tour takes people into a small room underneath the chapels, where it’s believed Michelangelo went into hiding in 1530.
The walls show sketches in charcoal that seem to be imitations of ancient sculptures, including a large sketch of a nude man. And while the sketchings aren’t nearly as grand as Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel or the statue of David, they are no less awe inspiring.
“Every time I go in, it’s breathtaking. It’s like stepping back through a time machine and having in front of you a 3D sketchbook of this amazing period,” said D’Agostino.
Why Michelangelo was hiding
The sketches sit are underneath the New Sacristy, a mausoleum designed by Michelangelo, commissioned by the powerful Medici family. It was meant to be the final resting place for family members.
It’s believed that Michelangelo made the doodles in 1530. At the time, he was wanted by the wealthy Medici family for supporting a revolution against them, after they were chased out of Florence. Pope Clement VII, a member of the family, had sentenced Michelangelo to death.
So Michelangelo hid in the basement of the building for two months and he passed the time by doing what he loved.
“At that time he was really trying to keep his genius exercised, but also tried to remember what he had done and his great enterprises, but also keep focused on finishing the work on the New Sacristy,” said D’Agostino.
Eventually, Michelangelo was pardoned so he could continue his work.
Debate
When the works were discovered in 1975, the room was being used for storage. The then-museum director Paolo Dal Poggetto was trying to create a new exit at the museum, and he found a trapdoor underneath a wardrobe.
“The moment they started emptying the space, he noticed some marks on the wall and the restorers were called in and they started removing the layers of whitewash,” said D’Agostino.
At the time, there was a debate about whether the sketches were in fact by the famous renaissance painter. D’Agostino believes that at least some of the sketches can be attributed to the master artist, due to the connection between those sketchings and his work on the floors above.
“Now each visitor who will enter the secret room will be somehow a guest of honour in this debate, and they can judge for themselves,” said D’Agostino. “A good majority believes that they are all by Michelangelo himself.”
It’s open to the public from Nov. 15 to March 30, 2024. But good luck getting in to see the work. Only four people are allowed into the room at a time, which is 33 feet long and just eight feet high. And all the tickets are already booked.
But D’Agostino says there still may be more opportunities. Her and her colleagues will continue to monitor the room and the sketches, and if they are able to maintain and protect the work, they will open up more slots.
“I hope visitors will be patient enough to wait until we are able to give the green light for the next lot. But we only did this because we have to be careful with conservation,” said D’Agostino.