r/todayilearned • u/MyKinkyCountess • 6d ago

TIL that Michelangelo spent two months hiding in the underground chamber while evading a death sentence ordered by the Pope

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/oct/31/michelangelo-secret-sketches-under-church-in-florence-open-to-public
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u/LupusDeusMagnus 6d ago

IIRC, Michelangelo worked on fortifications for the city after the Medici were deposed and the city was put to siege. They eventually forgave him, and he kept working on the chapel.

Basically he participated in military action against his patrons and got pardoned.

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u/IlllIlllI 6d ago

IIRC, Michelangelo worked on fortifications for the city after the Medici were deposed and the city was put to siege. They eventually forgave him, and he kept working on the chapel.

Or you could just... read the article and you wouldn't have to recall correctly:

It is widely believed that Michelangelo sought refuge in the room to hide from the Medicis, his former patrons, when the rulers returned to Florence after being banished into exile in 1527 by a popular revolt that the artist had joined.

During the family’s exile, Michelangelo served as supervisor of the city’s fortifications for the short-lived republican government. [...]

[...]

He was eventually pardoned by the Medicis and the sentence was lifted by the pope so that the artist could complete work on the Sistine Chapel and the Medici family tomb. Michelangelo left Florence for Rome in 1534.

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u/WhydYouKillMeDogJack 6d ago

But he's right, so why waste time reading the article?

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u/Nickmi 5d ago

"waste time reading the article"

Le sigh