| Show 3G STUDENT LIFE of marble mallets and chisels from As the boy his first nourishment thrived and grew he began to show an undoubted leaning toward the arts But his father as so many fathers have done very strongly opposed his wishes looking rather contemptuously upon the profession as an erratic and unreliable calling and even pushing his objection so so far as to soundly thrash the boy Angelo however with that invincible and persistent determination which was shown very early and which formed one of his great characteristics finally carried the day and induced his father to apprentice him to the painter Ghirlandajo Here he learned the rudiments of that art which was to form the climax in a great epoch At the age of sixteen he was sent by his master to the gardens of San Marco where Lorenzo de Medici the ruler of Florence had opened a school of instruction in the arts The abilities of the youth were quickly discerned by the duke and he took the boy into his household and placed him at his own table Here Angelo’s real education began He found himself surrounded by the most intellectual and cultured men of the time and came in touch with the highest thought and literature for the court of Lorenzo hrid the same position in that day that the house of Pericles did among the The boy very early lisGreeks tened to readings from Dante PeAlso at this trarch and Homer time he heard the impassioned ut terance of Savonarola The words of that fiery prophet sank deep into his nature and aroused that latent religious spirit which gives such majesty glory and terror to the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel Later when he saw that same master strangled and burned at the stake he exclaimed “His living word will always remain branded in my soul” From now on the Old and New Testaments became part of his reading Thus early in life he had the opportunity of realizing the importance of a message the value of expression — that the fundamental qualities in all great works those things which make them what they are lie deeper than cleverness talent brilliancy or technical facility that all things are valued and honored by men in proportion as they grasp the life and heart of humanity These days were undoubtedly the beginning of that appreciation which led him later in life to rely to a young sculptor who questioned him in regard to the lighting of a work : “Do not trouble yourself too much about the light on your statue the light of the public square will test its value” When Angelo was twentv Lorenzo died and not a great while later on account of the banishment of the house of Medici Buonarroti left for Bologna where he found a hearty welcome He went to Rome however shortly afterwards where his fame had preceded him Here he carved before he was twenty-fiv- e the Pieta in St Peter’s still consid- - |
