Stalking The Divine One

"Stalking Michelangelo" is an article written by Lorenzo Carcaterra, focused on the artist Michelangelo and the city he loved most, Florence. Carcaterra immediately sets a tone for the piece with his introduction; "Florence will forever be Michelangelo's. More than 400 years after his death, the artist's presence engulfs this well-loved city in central Italy, his stature enhances it, his work dominates it". Carcaterra who has visited Florence so many times he considers it his "second home", is passionate about Michelangelo, but during this trip he wants to see attempt to see the city as, "the divine one", saw it during his time.

Michelango-phile, Paulo Murino, who Carcaterra informs us has read every Italian book on the artist he could get his hands on, makes an interesting point about Michelangelo and the business savvy of both the artist and the city. Michelangelo is not just remembered because he was talented but because he understood how to get his work seen by as many people as possible. Carcaterra tells us, "Take away the cars, scooters, and antennas, and Florence is much the way it was when Michelangelo walked its streets". This sentence implies that Florence has managed to maintain a sense of its original identity, some several-hundred years later. Following this Carcaterra begins to take the reader along with him for his journey through Florence in the footsteps of the artist; "Most of my friends in Florence speak of Michelangelo in personal terms, as if he were family". This sentence depicts the closeness of the intimate connection that the city and its' people share with the artist. As he begins his trip, starting at the home of Michelangelo Carcaterra provides detailed descriptions of the sights as he sees them, allowing the reader to walk with him, while he does this he interjects artistic facts about the artist's works as he comes across them.

A quote from a random man standing near the author brings into question how the great artist would feel about his modern state of fame, that has turned replicas of his great works into common tourist souvenirs: "His shoes on display, his great works sold as refrigerator magnets and bookmarks. Did you know that in one of the piazzas you can buy men's underwear with the bottom half of 'David' on them"? I contemplated this question after reading it, because part of me feels like the business man in Michelangelo would be pleased with the obvious success of his work represented by the current situation, after all the man made himself very wealthy as a result of being a bit of a real estate trader. But I can't help but feel like the careful, reserved artist in him would be disturbed - this is not the purpose he made his art for, is it?

Carcaterra continues to take us with him on his journey reaching the infamous statue of David. I loved that he included the story about the mayor's reaction to the size of David's nose, and Michelangelo's quick-thinking response, acting with such assurance that his work was already perfect as it was. When he reaches the "Florentine Pieta", I liked the interesting side-story that Carcaterra included about Michelangelo's apparent short fuse and explosive temper. It was a side of the artist I felt I had not heard much about before, but as a museum attendant notes, "No one questioned his actions, no matter how out of the ordinary they were. When it came to his work, Michelangelo was free to behave as he pleased". To me this gave me the sense that Michelangelo might have actually been somewhat restrained or limited in other areas, but when it came to his work, whether you liked him or not, he was so revered for his extraordinary talent that it didn't matter where he was driving the cart, he held the reigns.

The piece follows a natural pattern, beginning with the start of Michelangelo's career and ending with his death and funeral. Carcaterra includes a quote from an elderly monk that captures the importance of Michelangelo even in death; "Florence was burying more than a pope or lord. It was burying a giant". To be put above the status of a pope says something truly extraordinary about the depth of the city's love and admiration for the artist, and to this day it is still, "the greatest funeral the city has ever known".

Carcaterra concludes the article with a scene that occurs before the bust of Michelangelo, the conclusion is magical and made me feel like I was standing there next to him. Carcaterra describes a gentle old man who was also gazing at the bust and remarks about the feeling that is always leaves him with, even after visiting it hundreds of times. The feeling as he describes it is, "That we are nothing but specks of dust, on this Earth for a short time, but some dust lingers for longer periods. Like the dust of Michelangelo. His dust will cling to us, be a part of us, up until the very end".

This concludes the written section of his article but attached to it is a "Florence Sourcebook" that as a fellow traveler I found very applicable and easy to use, allowing the reader the opportunity to go and see the sights for themselves.