The final blow to the project came in 1519, with the death of Lorenzo de’Medici, the ruler of Florence and Duke of Urbino. Portrait of Duke Lorenzo de’Medici by Raphael (c.1516-19). As money ran out, work on the façade began to be seen as an unaffordable luxury. The project was largely the casualty of a turn in papal finances, which were increasingly under strain from wars with Rome’s neighbors. Today, the façade of San Lorenzo appears just as it did in Michelangelo’s time – a protrusion of bare bricks.

Unfortunately, the project would never be realized. The artist, however, was not deterred, writing at one point to the Cardinal’s secretary that the façade was sure to become the “the mirror of architecture and sculpture of all Italy.” This was a monumental task, requiring Michelangelo to spend substantial amounts of time over the next few years at quarries deep in the mountains. Michelangelo, however, made it still more challenging by proposing to make the entire structure out of marble. ( wikicommons)Īs this was Michelangelo’s first foray into architecture, the façade project was always going to be a difficult undertaking. Leo’s cousin, Cardinal Giulio de’Medici (later Pope Clement VII) stands on the left (to Leo’s right). San Lorenzo was the primary church of the Medici family and the Pope likely calculated that a grand façade would add to his family’s prestige. Both had known Michelangelo since the early 1490’s when the artist lived with them in the household of Lorenzo de’Medici (better known as il Magnifico). In late 1516, Michelangelo had been commissioned to build a façade for the church of San Lorenzo by the Medici Pope Leo X and his cousin, Cardinal Giulio de’Medici. The New Sacristy was initially conceived almost as a consolation prize for Michelangelo.

Though not quite the grandiose tomb complex Michelangelo had envisioned, what he did complete was sufficient for the New Sacristy to be regarded as one of his most alluring and original masterpieces. He had, however, completed enough that later artists were able to bring the Sacristy to the semi-finished state we see today. Forced to flee Florence in 1534, Michelangelo was unable to complete four additional sculptures he had planned for the ducal tombs, as well as the double tomb for the elder Lorenzo and his brother. Like many other Michelangelo commissions, he was ultimately unable to finish it. Interrupted by wars, turns in Papal politics, and competing commissions, the project proceeded at an uneven pace throughout the almost 15 years Michelangelo worked on it. Unpacking the history of Michelangelo’s Night, Day, Dawn, and Dusk, as well as the Sacristy that houses them, is a bit of a challenge. Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother never required such a title. The tombs upon which the times of day sit are often called the “ducal tombs,” as the younger two Medici both held the title of duke. Interred beneath the Sacra Conversazione is the elder Lorenzo (the Magnificent) and his brother, Giuliano. Pictured is the tomb of Duke Lorenzo to the right and the Sacra Conversazione to the left. Woodcut of the New Sacristy by Giuseppe Barberis (1894). Michelangelo had intended to craft an elaborate double tomb to hold their remains but was forced to flee Florence before he could start it. Interred beneath the Madonna and saints are the far more historically consequential elder Lorenzo de’Medici (known as the Magnificent) and his brother, another Giuliano de’Medici. Other important monuments in the New Sacristy are the altar, which sits on the northern side of the chapel, while across from it (against the southern wall) is a sculptural Sacra Conversazion, which here includes the Madonna and child together with Saints Cosmas and Damian. These tombs are the most elaborate structures in the New Sacristy and, ironically, are dedicated to two relatively obscure members of the Medici family. Day and Night sit on the sarcophagus of Duke Giuliano to the east, while Dusk and Dawn adorn the tomb of Duke Lorenzo opposite it to the west. Michelangelo’s times of day adorn the marble ducal tombs set against the eastern and western walls. The Dome of the New Sacristy in the Basilica of San Lorenzo, Florence. Its white washed walls are embellished with stately grey-green pietra serena columns and molding, giving it a heavily-worked classical feel. Designed by Michelangelo, the New Sacristy is square in shape and capped with a dome. The New Sacristy (or Medici Chapel, as it is often called), is an appropriately solemn setting for the sculptures. The sculptures of Night, Day, Dawn, and Dusk are located in the New Sacristy of Florence’s church of San Lorenzo.

Night, Day, Dawn, and Dusk: Refining Theme and Form.

Pyramids of Marble: Michelangelo Plans the Ducal Tombs.

A Blossoming Bromance: The Pope and Michelangelo.

Dawn to dusk