The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Novel of Michelangelo

In May 1488, a 13-year-old Michelangelo Buonarroti sits in his room and sketches his own face. He fears that he is “not well designed” (7). The Buonarroti family has a long history in their native Florence, but the family is not wealthy. Michelangelo’s mother died when he was very young, and his father has tried (and failed) to restore the family’s fortunes. Neither Michelangelo nor any of his four brothers seems poised to earn the family money. Due to his father’s illness when he was young, Michelangelo spent much time with his relatives, a family of stonecutters with the surname Topolino. They have become like a second family to Michelangelo and introduced him to his lifelong fascination with stone and stone carving. Despite his obligations to his family, Michelangelo feels drawn to art.

Michelangelo is called outside by his friend, Francesco Granacci, who is 19 years old and already an apprentice in the studio of renowned artist, Ghirlandaio. Certain of his friend’s talent, Granacci encourages Michelangelo to meet with Ghirlandaio. On Michelangelo’s birthday, he takes Michelangelo to meet Ghirlandaio in the studio. They pass through the streets of Florence. Though the city is nominally a republic, everyone knows that the true rulers are the Medici family.