Nicholas of Lyra and Michelangelo’s Ancestors of Christ

NICHOLAS OF LYRA AND MICHELANGELO’S ANCESTORS OF CHRIST T HE Sistine Chapel had to be restored in 1504, since "ipsa cappella ruinosa erat et tota conquassata,” according to the testimony of the Papal Master of Ceremonies, Paris de Grassis. It is almost certain that the plans of the reigning pope, Julius II, envisaged at that time a richer decoration of the Chapel. In 1508 Michelangelo was ordered to execute this work. The first plan was relatively simple. Only the figures of the twelve Apostles were to occupy the Chapel’s nave. The ceiling was to be decorated in a purely ornamental and geometric manner, by a system of circles and squares. Michelangelo was not satisfied with this program, and submitted proposals of his own to the pope. The traditional story has it that Julius closed the discussion with the magnanimous and happy words: "Do as you want yourself.” Michelangelo was not absolutely free in his decisions. The gen­ eral program of the prospective decoration was determined by the special character of the Chapel1and the decoration already executed by former masters, and by the ideas developed in the discussions between himself and the pope. It is obvious, however, that he was not bound to a detailed program outlined by some theologian of the Papal Court, as Raphael probably was when he painted the frescoes of the Stanza della Segnatura. He was free to follow his own tem­ perament, and to condense the sacred stories into dramatic form, suppressing all details in favor of spiritual and religious concen­ tration. For this Michelangelo was especially fitted. He was of a deeply religious nature and an eager student of the Holy Scriptures. Condivi relates that "he read with deep study and attention the Holy Scriptures, both the Old and New Testaments, as well as those who have expounded them.” The master idea of the artist was the delineation of the religious history of the world, from the creation to the appearance of the 1. The Sistine Chapel was consecrated on the feast of the Assumption of the Virgin, August 15, 1483; it was dedicated in honor of the Virgin (Paris de Grassis, Codex Corsinianus, p. 164). Perugino painted the Assumption of the Virgin on its front wall. This fresco was destroyed when Clement VII decided to replace it by a representation of the Last Judgment. A drawing by Pinturicchio (Albertina, Vienna) preserves the composition. 223 224 FRANCISCAN STUDIES Savior, as focused in the representation of the relations between God and man. The central compositions, showing the Creation of the World, the Creation and the Fall of Man, and the History of Noe (each of the three subjects covered in three paintings), demon­ strate the fundamental relations between the Almighty, chastising and mercifully forgiving, and the erring creature. These stories find their continuation in the representations of the ancestors of the Lord and His spiritual predecessors among the Jews and the Gen­ tiles, the prophets and sibylis: both are here connected in a way similar to that of the old schemes of the Tree of Jesse. Originally the story of the ancestors of Christ began with Abraham and led to St. Joseph, according to the genealogy of St. Matthew. Abraham and his seed were represented by their names and illustrated by groups of figures in the lunettes and triangles of the painted frame­ work. When Michelangelo painted his Last Judgment, the first two lunettes with the names and figures illustrating the story from Abraham to Aram were destroyed.2 In the four corners of the ceiling the stories of the Serpent of Brass, of Aman, David and Goliath, and of Judith are depicted, showing once more God’s mercy toward the sinful people. Michelangelo’s representations of the ancestors of the Lord differ widely from all other representations of the same subject. Perhaps only the figure of David, the King, might be accepted as an ideal portrait. In but a very few cases is a story hinted at, from which the identity of the actors can be deduced. In most cases even the number and the sex of the painted figures do not agree with the pertinent names. We see men resting in different...