Artisans of the Spirit
Giorgio Vasari, in his Lives of the Artists (1550), introduced Michelangelo with an elaborate sentence that extended well into a second page; its length and intricate structure formed a suitable tribute to the unusual complexity of his subject. Many skillful artisans, Vasari began, strove to “imitate the grandeur of nature by the excellence of art,” each coming as close as he could to “that lofty knowledge that many call understanding” (“somma cognizione che molti chiamano intelligenza”). But then, he went on,
the most kind Ruler of heaven mercifully turned his eyes to earth and . . . . determined to send to earth a spirit universally competent in each art and every skill (“spirito che universalmente in ciascheduna arte ed in ogni professione”) . . . . to enhance details in paintings . . . . to produce sound sculpture with precision . . . . and to craft proper adornment for architecture.
On Michelangelo, moreover, God conferred extraordinary spiritual qualities, “true moral philosophy, and the adornment of sweet poetry, so that the world should marvel at the singular eminence of his life and works and all his deeds, which seemed to us as something heavenly rather than earthly” (“piuttosto celeste che terrena cosa”).
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Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
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