The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Novel of Michelangelo

In the world of Renaissance Italy, art serves the interests of political power. Lorenzo de’ Medici is an early embodiment of the symbiotic relationship between art and power. He commissions works from the foremost Florentine artists and assembles the greatest thinkers from around the world, enjoining them into his Plato Academy to create a sense of burgeoning artistic and philosophical intellectualism in the city. Though the city is nominally ruled by councils and politicians, Lorenzo wields immense power through his wealth and status, then uses art to make this power more acceptable to the people. Since he glorifies Florence, the Florentines accept his authority. At the same time, his artistic interests inform his governance. His humanism is part of his political identity, an example of the interplay between artistic and political interests. Lorenzo’s humanistic, artistic idealism is juxtaposed against the spitefulness of Piero. Since Piero has no interest in glorifying anything other than himself, the people of Florence reject him. He ostracizes artists, demonstrating that he does not know how to use art as a political tool. He would rather use Michelangelo as a military engineer than a sculptor, a stark contrast to Lorenzo’s understanding of Michelangelo’s strengths and the power of art.