The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1875-05-06
THE BOY.SCULPTOR.

THE BOY.sCULPTOR.
Four hundred years ii 5slg ago, the
gardens 'of tie Medici Palace, q q 9, might
be seen party Of the young ,,lil;5 friends
Of Piero de Medici, who had beet dis:
missed from from tie the learned talk ofs the
savaiits a;sl and artists who sdr4fo ddi4 uRded
the hospitable table Of ri o'rrssni.o3 tie
Magnificent" as he il, offtten' ft ecaled.'
There had been an utfnuslar fall Of
snow for the warm climate Of italy,
and it lay before them on the ground
in that soft, tempting xhittsness Il; tsl. that
school-boys like SO, well. It covered
the statues and fountains, and made
grotesque figures Of the shrubs, which
were cut in curious forms.
"Let us make statues, and decorate
this gallery" proposed one, a youth
,, Of fourteen.
"Of what!" said another.
"Of the snow" replied the first
speaker, named Michael Angelo; and
with merry shouts they plunged into
the snow, without . thought Of their
costumes Of velvet and lace, Ca srryjiing
it and pi1ing' it il masses Al; different
places along the Cutlery, and shaping
it into some rude resemblance Of the
human form, which did not much
differ, I dare say, from the "old snow.
man" Of the boys Of the nineteenth
century.
But Michael Angelo saw in the
distance the statue Of q fauni, headless
| and much injured, which had been
brought from some old ruin.
"Ah! will make head to this
faun,' and he: began shipping and
molding the damp snow.
AS he worked, his i companion,
gathered around him and looked on,
forgetting their own sport in watch
ing him, as gradually the head began
to appear and grew under his touch
into a real face with good features,
Then standing. watching the effect
Of each motion, "He must be sardon.
ic;-fauns laugh!' said the boy as
he gave an upward turn with his
finger to the corner of the mouth.
There ! that is not bad and one
can always do what one loves. I have
drawn in the love Of sculpture with
the milk of my nurse. Her husband
is a sculptor, and, from baby,'I have
played making statues"
Stepping back to get a good look
at his work, he ran against some one
and, to his amazement, discovered it
was the great noble himself, who, fol-
lowed by all his guests, had entered
the gallery the youthful artists were
decorating for them, while they were
so engaged as not to perceive them.
f. They all stopped to comment on the
statues, and approaching the faun,
Lorenzo said: ...
9Th is is rather the work Of: one
entering upon the career Of d master
than the attempt Of a novice, But
Michael, do you know that this i. a
staute of an old faun, and the old dc
not have all their teeth? You have
given him more than we have. Is il
not so, my friends?'
"You are right, my lord" and.
with one stroke, Michael Knocked
out a tooth and made the hollow in
the gum which showed its loss.
Every one was delighted with this
intelligent and discriminating act
and applauded him with enthusiasm
showering praises and prophesiies.' o.
future fame on the young sculptor:
|. Among the noble guests were hi,
father and his uncle, who had sternly
discouraged all Michael's attempts al
art, and deemed Fit it an unworthy NJ thing
that the heir Of the plriiiinncely house O.
Canossa should handle the sculptor,
chisel even is sport. But now, fiat
tered by the praise of Loren1o,,' J. the
great patron Of art, they looked 1 isdmil
ingly on, and Michael knew, as h
rode home that night will: his austert
relations, that his long-forbidden low
Of art could now be indulged; th.
glory of his boyhood's dreams was was t.
become the glory of his life. :.
Who can tell what forms Of beauty
and visions of fame fitted through
his excited brain, wild with the de
light Of Lorenzo's notice?
! Could he foresee the wonderful
creations which would make 4 world
stand in silent admiration and awe
| Could he know that under the
dome Of St. Peters at Rome, thu
most magnificent Christian temple OF
the earth, people Of all nations would
come to do him homage?
| Let us follow his career. At nine
teen he made beautiful group in
marble of the dead Christ in hi,
mothers lap. He carved the colossal
statue of the young David for. the
Ducal palace of Florence. He de
signed, and in part completed, thu
grand mausoleum, for Julius H., the
central figure of which is Moses, al
which he worked over forty years
and the reclining figures Of Day and