\u201cSo, did you accept it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, I had to; it was the Pope who asked!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you\u2019re a sculptor \u2013 you hardly paint!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChrist was a carpenter. Sometimes you have to change your profession if a higher authority<\/p>\n
asks you to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michelangelo Buonarroti and his apprentice Silvio walked down the rest of the steps of the<\/p>\n
Papal residence in silence. It was a warm summer day at Rome and everyone hoped it would<\/p>\n
rain soon. However the villa of Pope Julian II, surrounded by vineyards and farms, was on<\/p>\n
the outskirts of the city where the weather was more clement. A horse-drawn carriage with<\/p>\n
the Papal emblem on it was waiting for them at the bottom of the marble steps. They got in<\/p>\n
and it sped off across the pebbled driveway and towards Rome.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what exactly do you have to do?\u201d Silvio broke the silence, interrupting Michelangelo\u2019s<\/p>\n
train of thoughts. He was known for his short temper, but somehow it never reflected on<\/p>\n
Silvio. He just couldn\u2019t be angry at his 18 year old apprentice. Silvio talked too much, but he<\/p>\n
was the best student he ever had. He remembers the first time Silvio came to him. His father<\/p>\n
was a Florentine fruit merchant and had brought him to the master. Michelangelo had looked<\/p>\n
at Silvio for a moment, and then asked him to draw the most beautiful thing he had ever seen,<\/p>\n
in under a minute. This was how the master tested. Most aspiring candidates would attempt<\/p>\n
portraits of mythical heroes, gods and churches, and would break down in tears after<\/p>\n
Michelangelo handed them back their unfinished sketches. But what Silvio did was<\/p>\n
something extraordinary; Michelangelo shook his father\u2019s hand and kissed Silvio on the<\/p>\n
forehead, a sign of his acceptance as an apprentice.<\/p>\n
Silvio had drawn a perfect circle \u2013 the most beautiful thing in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo what exactly do you have to do?\u201d Silvio asked again. The only reason Michelangelo<\/p>\n
brought him along was because he was his favorite student. He was beginning to regret that.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless he replied.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know of the Capella Sistina at the Vatican?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sistine Chapel? In the Apostolic Palace?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. That one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAren\u2019t all the walls painted there? I think Ghirlandaio and Botticelli got there before you.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t have an inch to paint!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do, young Silvio.\u201d Michelangelo said calmly. \u201cSometimes one must look up to the<\/p>\n
heavens. The walls are covered, but the ceiling isn\u2019t. Pope Julian II asked me to paint the<\/p>\n
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will be a difficult task, Signor Michelangelo. Painting vertical at that great height; and the<\/p>\n
ceiling must be a quarter of an acre!\u201d<\/p>\n
Michelangelo smiled. \u201cThat is the least of my problems, son. I haven\u2019t got the first clue of<\/p>\n
what to paint on it.\u201d<\/p>\n
They didn\u2019t speak a word for the rest of the journey. When they reached home, Michelangelo<\/p>\n
locked himself in his study. He didn\u2019t even open the door for food or drink. Silvio returned<\/p>\n
to the studio and idly scribbled on a paper with a piece of charcoal.<\/p>\n
The next morning they traveled to the Sistine chapel. Silvio had been there hundreds of<\/p>\n
times, but this was different. Today the chapel was a bit too silent, like a gigantic beast<\/p>\n
waiting, slowly breathing. Silvio watched as Michelangelo paced walls, stroking his fingers<\/p>\n
over all the frescoes on the walls, as if to find some help, some guidance.<\/p>\n
Then they both looked up.<\/p>\n
The white ceiling of this chapel spread over their heads like a vast snow desert. Its blank<\/p>\n
expanse was haunting.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t know,\u201d muttered the master. He closed his eyes and put his hand over<\/p>\n
his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe you could paint scenes from the Bible.\u201d Silvio suggested.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but what? Have you seen that vast ceiling? I would die before I could cover that<\/p>\n
behemoth with paint.\u201d<\/p>\n
He closed his eyes again. A few moments later, he opened them, pointed a bony finger at<\/p>\n
Silvio and said, \u201cGo to the Papal Archives. Read the Old Testament properly. See if you can<\/p>\n
find anything useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWill I be allowed there? I mean, I\u2019m just a -\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTell them Michelangelo Buonarroti sent you.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Silvio returned that evening, Michelangelo was already home. He was making some<\/p>\n
sketches. Crumpled sheets of paper and broken wood pencils were strewn everywhere. He<\/p>\n
checked Silvio\u2019s notes and tossed them aside. Silvio was disappointed, but he couldn\u2019t<\/p>\n
complain. If the greatest artist of the times couldn\u2019t come up with an idea, how could his<\/p>\n
novice.<\/p>\n
Three days passed. Every morning they would go to the Chapel, stare at the walls and the<\/p>\n
ceiling for hours, and come back. Michelangelo would lock himself up in his room and<\/p>\n
wouldn\u2019t come out. He was getting frailer by the day.<\/p>\n
One night Silvio was in his study, buried in texts, treatises and theses. Michelangelo was in<\/p>\n
barricaded his room. The servants were reheating his food for the fourth time when there was<\/p>\n
a knock on the door.<\/p>\n
A servant went to open it. Silvio came out to see who it was. He saw the visitor and froze. He<\/p>\n
stood there gaping with awe.<\/p>\n
It was the genius and his master\u2019s greatest rival, Leonardo da Vinci.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreetings, is your master home?\u201d asked the bearded man. Like always, he was dressed quite<\/p>\n
shabbily.<\/p>\n
\u201cY-y-yes, Signor Leonardo,\u201d stammered Silvio. The servants hurried away to fetch wine for<\/p>\n
the guest. \u201cGo right in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Da Vinci walked up to Michelangelo\u2019s study door and called, \u201cMichel, open, it\u2019s Leo.\u201d<\/p>\n
A few moments later the door unbolted from the inside and Da Vinci walked in. He closed<\/p>\n
the door behind him. Silvio sat outside, his mind racing, wondering what they were talking<\/p>\n
about inside.<\/p>\n
After an hour Da Vinci left. Silvio rushed inside his master\u2019s room, forgetting strict<\/p>\n
instructions against doing so. He found Michelangelo looking outside the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did he say, signor?\u201d cried Silvio.<\/p>\n
Michelangelo whispered. \u201cThe origin, the beginning\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat does it mean? Say something!\u201d screamed Silvio, getting very impatient.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have got it Silvio; I know what to do\u2026\u201d Michelangelo said, his eyes gazing across the<\/p>\n
Roman night sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? What will you paint?\u201d<\/p>\n
Michelangelo did not speak. Instead, he pointed towards his table. Silvio ran to it. There was<\/p>\n
only one book which was open. It was the Bible, translated by St Jerome. Silvio read the<\/p>\n
familiar verse that had been marked by a red pencil. He had read that verse several times<\/p>\n
throughout his life. But this time, it meant something else, something new to him.<\/p>\n
It was Genesis 2:7.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Silvio looked towards Michelangelo. The great man was still staring out of the window,<\/p>\n
crying.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Student: Krishnaroop Chaudhuri<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cSo, did you accept it?\u201d \u201cOf course, I had to; it was the Pope who asked!\u201d \u201cBut you\u2019re<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/civilityculturecompass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/civilityculturecompass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/civilityculturecompass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civilityculturecompass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civilityculturecompass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/civilityculturecompass.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/527\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/civilityculturecompass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civilityculturecompass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civilityculturecompass.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}