The Apotheosis of Michelangelo and Allegory of The Tiber and Arno

The Apotheosis of Michelangelo brings together a lively gathering of forty-four figures all celebrating the great artist. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) is seen just left of the center, with the left hand on his chest and the other holding the square of the architects. In the middle is an altar with a burning flame and a Latin inscription. This inscription reads “NIL SINE MAGNO VITA LABORE” (“Nothing is gained in life without great effort”) and is an abbreviated version of a motto by the Roman lyric poet Horace (65–8 BCE) in his Satires (I, 9, 59). Many of the figures are depicted with such distinctive features that they suggest portraits. In the group at left, the female figure standing behind the kneeling man, with the left hand on her chest represents Laura Battiferri (1523–1589), a famous poetess and also the wife of Ammannati. In the group at right, in front of a female figure holding a map of St. Peter’s and another one holding a square, the kneeling figure resembles Raphael (1483–1520). At right, the three standing figures in the foreground hold respectively, from left to right, brushes, a square, and a chisel, attributes of the arts of painting, architecture, and sculpture. Behind them is an elderly bearded man showing an opened book, perhaps to personify poetry. These are the four arts Michelangelo mastered during his career.

Allegory of The Tiber and Arno depicts the two gods personifying the rivers of Rome and Florence, the principal cities where Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) worked. Both river gods are reclining symmetrically, each on an overturned urn pouring water that flows under their bodies. At left is Tiber, the river of Rome, identified with the She-Wolf nurturing Romulus and Remus, who led to the founding of the city, according to Roman mythology; some antique ruins are visible in the background. At right is Arno, the river of Florence, identified with the so-called Marzocco, the lion, protector of the city and representative of its power since the Middle Ages. In between, in the center of the relief, a panel enclosed by scrollwork and ferns bears the Latin inscription “COROLLIS FERIO SIDERA” (“I strike the heavens with my little crowns”), while a lily, heraldic symbol of Florence, is featured underneath.

The original purpose and context of these two reliefs are still to be discovered. Ammannati enjoyed a friendly relationship with Michelangelo and was among the artists involved in the preparation of the funeral ceremony held in Florence after the master’s death in 1564.