The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Novel of Michelangelo

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussion of suicide.

“Paying money for the privilege of teaching you!”

Michelangelo is an unconventional figure, even as a youth. He inverts the traditional dynamic between master and apprentice, demanding that Ghirlandaio pay him for the privilege of being an apprentice rather than the other way around. This early example of nonconformity foreshadows Michelangelo’s unconventional relationship with authority, particularly with regards to art.

“Was he praying to the beautiful Madonnas or to his mother? Was there truly a difference?”

Michelangelo lost his mother at a young age. To an extent, his attempts to depict the Virgin Mary in his work are an extension of his desire to fill a maternal void in his life. Since he did not know his own mother, he seeks to capture a spiritual mother-figure who can fill an emotional hole in his life.

“That romantic Torrigiani talks about going off to the wars. Child’s play! There is no thrill of mortal danger to surpass that of a lone man trying to create something that never existed before.”

While apprentices like Torrigiani attract much attention, they lack the devotion to art that defines men like Michelangelo and Bertoldo. Torrigiani is incapable of romanticizing art, not understanding—as Michelangelo does—that art is a battle within oneself. Instead, Torrigiani romanticizes actual battle, showing the lack of subtlety or sophistication in his thoughts.