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The
Laurentian Library
The
project for the Julius Tomb
required architectural planning,
but Michelangelo's activity as an
architect only began in earnest
in 1519, with the plan for the
facade (never executed) of the
Church of San Lorenzo in
Florence, where he had once again
taken up residence. In the 1520s
he also designed the Laurentian
Library and its elegant entrance
hall adjoining San Lorenzo,
although these structures were
finished only decades later.
Michelangelo took as a starting
point the wall articulation of
his Florentine predecessors, but
he infused it with the same
surging energy that characterizes
his sculpture and painting.
Instead of being obedient to
classical Greek and Roman
practices, Michelangelo used
motifs—columns, pediments,
and brackets—for a personal
and expressive purpose.
Michelangelo, a partisan of the
republican faction, participated
in the 1527-29 war against the
Medici and supervised Florentine
fortifications.
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The
Creation of the Heavens
(detail), 1508-12, from
the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel
click
on image to
enlarge
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