Ln Search of Michelangelo's Tomb for Julius Il
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ln Search of Michelangelo's Tomb for Julius Il Reconstructing that for which no fixed rule may he given. Robert Louis Kelly School of Architecture McGill University, Montréal June 2002 A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. © Robert Louis Kelly 2002 National Library Bibliothèque nationale 1+1 of Canada du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisisitons et Bibliographie Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A DN4 Ottawa ON K1A DN4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 0-612-85716-6 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 0-612-85716-6 The author has granted a non L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant à la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microform, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/film, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownership of the L'auteur conserve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts from it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou aturement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Canada ii It is imagination that is the decisive function of the scholar. Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900 - 2002) iii Contents Abstract (Engl ish) p. vi Abstrait (français). p. vii Preface p. viii Acknowledgments p. ix Introduction: The Search for the Tomb p. 1 Part One - The Historical Search Introduction to the Historical Search p. 11 Giorgio Vasari's First Edition of The Lives (1550) . p.16 Asconio Condivi's Life of Miche/ange/o (1553) p.19 Giorgio Vasari's Second Edition of The Lives (1568) p. 22 The Divine Michelangelo p.25 The Narrative Context p. 30 Before the Tomb p. 32 The Tomb Project p.37 The Postponement p.45 The Sistine and the Tomb p. 50 The Conclusion of the Tomb. p. 55 iv Part Two - The Descriptive Search Locating the Tomb p. 59 The New St. Peter's p.69 The Ordering of the Tomb. p. 73 The Interior of the Tomb p.96 Una Forma Ovale p. 101 The Metaphorical Tomb p. 112 Part Three - The Search for Michelangelo's Architectural Treatise An Implied Treatise . p.122 Ethos and Imagination p.129 Transmutable History. p.133 Body p. 140 Stone p. 148 Drawing p.155 Sculpture p.158 Architecture p.162 Michelangelo's Transformations of the Tomb p.168 Necessarily Non-finito p.176 v Part Four • The Poetic Search Twentieth Century Reconstructions of the Tomb p. 188 The Problem of Reconstruction p.203 Structural Possibilities p.206 The Question of Physical Making p.208 Poetic Research p.2l0 Making with the Hands p.213 Glimpses, Transformations, and Transmutations p.215 Visualizing the Tomb. p.238 Epilogue p.247 Excursus: A Different Kind of Monument. p.255 Bibliography . p. 261 vi Abstract ln early 1505, at twenty-nine years of age, Michelangelo began work on a massive tomb for Pope Julius II. The formai, temporal, and constructional intertwinings of this project are plumbed to create the foundation of this text. Finding its only full manifestation in the narratives of Vasari and Condivi, this tomb was the site of Michelangelo's first engagement with the making ofarchitecture. The execution ofthis project would go on to intermittently occupy nearly half of Michelangelo's lifetime, making it a pivotai and paradigmatic work in the understanding of his opera. Explored as an embodied architectural treatise, the tomb reveals Michelangelo's dynamic process of creative making. Problematic issues in the prevailing Twentieth Century analyses and reconstructions of the tomb are called into question and alternative approaches to establish a deeper understanding of the project are proposed. Conjectures on the relevance of history, the hegemony and limits of analysis, the physical manifestation of ideas, what it means to "finish" a project, and what constitutes a "work," are projected from the foundations of the tomb onto the making of architecture today. vii Abstrait C'est au début de l'année 1505 que Michel-Ange, alors âgé de vingt-neuf ans, entreprit l'édification du tombeau du pape Jules II. Les entrelacements à la fois formels, temporels et architecturaux sont mis d'aplomb et constituent la fondation de ce travail. Ne trouvant sa seule expression complète que dans les écrits de Vasari et Condivi, ce tombeau fut le site d'une première dévotion entre Michel-Ange et l'architecture en évolution. La réalisation de ce projet se poursuivra par épisodes intermittents tout au long d'une bonne moitié de la vie de Michel-Ange et deviendra l'édifice central et paradigmatique de son oeuvre architecturale. Explorée en tant qu'incarnation d'un traité architectural, le tombeau révèle le processus dy'namique de l'art créateur de Michel-Ange. Les points problématiques contemporains les plus courants concernant les analyses et les tentatives de reconstruction du tombeau sont remis en question et de nouvelles approches sont proposées pour une meilleure compréhension de ce projet. Les conjectures concernant la pertinence de l'histoire, l'hégémonie et les limites des analyses, la manifestation physique des idées, le sens profond de la signification du terme "achever", ainsi que ce que représente une "oeuvre" sont projetées des fondations du tombeau sur tout ce qui constitue l'architecture d'aujourd'hui. viii Preface Architecture, the profession, struggles for relevance in our contemporary world. Architecture, the enduring form of cultural self-knowledge, is largely an academic pursuit remote from the pressures and exigencies of modern life. Can architects justify invention and innovation when they are not applied technologies? Can imagination still have value in a world driven by applied science and economic exigency? Why should an architect, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, be concerned with a project that was not built, 500 years ago? If Architecture is to continue (for the few), or aspire (for the many), to simultaneously inform and manifest this culture's ethos, it is crucial to understand what Architecture has meant in the past, in order to unfold its latent knowledge in the present. It is in the history of ideas, and with the artifacts that have shaped or responded to these ideas, that the search for meaningful action begins. An Examination ofwhat past cultures have believed and what they have made is a first step in rediscovering the potential value of Architecture for our own time. Architecture allows us to go beyond the limit of words; to speak the ineffable. Architecture renders the metaphysical; physically. The manifestation of our knowledge in a built, thus perceivable form, allows us to re-act to it, check it for consistency, and reflect upon it. Our imaginative creations embody, "where we are," and can potentially guide us on to "where we want to be." Architecture can be a confirmation of Life, a rest- stop, or fuel to drive us onward.' 'Ayn Rand, The Romantic Manifesta, (New York: Penguin, 1971), p. 170. ix Acknowledgments 1wish to express my gratitude to: Dr. Alberto Pérez-G6mez for patience, understanding, insight, and support; for remaining tireless in the pursuit of academic excellence; for creating the program that made this work possible; for giving voice to the other half of architecture; and for being such a human being about it ail. Dr. Christine Smith for being a sympathetic advisor to an architect trying to act like an historian; for guidance toward many sources; for editing my text toward greater rigor; for upholding high standards of scholarship; for enduring flights to Montréal; and for doing it ail with grace and enthusiasm. Prof. Ricardo Castro for taking the time to thoroughly read my text and for offering his profound insight. Prof. Adrian Sheppard for serving on my first two committee meetings. The supporting cast at the School of Architecture: Kathleen Innes-Prévost, Susie Spurdens, Helen Dyer, and Marcia King for arranging meetings, providing hospitality, and helping me navigate the unfamiliar academic territories of McGi11. My many insightful teachers, colleagues, students, and clients who have traveled with me on my architectural search: rangers and their progeny from Texas to the rue de Sèvres; folders of space and miners of mica; whose influence and wisdom helped to shape this work. My mother for inspiring me with her tireless energy and sense of order. My late father for endowing me with his love of reading, traveling, and making. My other parents, acquired through marriage, not only for helping us move to Montréal, but for many years of love, understanding and support. My daughters, Shannon and Faryn who don't remember a time before 1worked on this project and who happily offered unlimited diversion, insight, and love throughout its duration. My wife Debbie, for more than 1can ever express, not to mention crucial editing and support when 1needed it most. 1 l've looked under chairs l've looked under tables l've tried to find the key to fifty million fables They cali me the seeker l've been searching low and high 1won't get to get what l'm after till the day 1die Pete Townshend The Seeker Michelangelo, Two Figures after Giotto c. 1490 (Hartt). Introduction: The Search for the Tomb Surrounded by provocative hints of grandeur and 500 years of speculation, the tomb for Pope Julius Il remains Michelangelo's most enigmatic work.