Bartolomeo Ammanati is an outstanding Italian sculptor of the 16th century, one of the founders of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. Among the master's clients were mainly aristocrats, for whom he created statues and also rebuilt palaces. Despite its great success, Ammanati had many critics. Sometimes he allowed strange proportions in his works, which is why reproaches were thrown at him: they say that the sculptor ruined precious marble.
Ammanati maintained friendly relations with Michelangelo Buonarroti and imitated the great master. In the 1560s, probably after Michelangelo's death, Ammanati presented a relief dedicated to him. The bronze composition entitled “Apotheosis of Michelangelo” depicts a group of people gathered around the sculptor. The Master stands to the left of center: he is an old man with his left hand pressed to his chest. In the center is an altar with the Latin inscription NIL SINE MAGNO VITA LABORE, which translates as: “Nothing is achieved in life without great labor”.
Researchers were able to identify several people. For example, one of the women on the left is Laura Battiferri, a Renaissance poet and Ammanati's wife. The three figures on the right with tools in their hands (brush, square and chisel) embody the types of art: painting, architecture and sculpture. A bearded man with a book symbolizes poetry - during his life Michelangelo composed several hundred sonnets and madrigals. It remains unclear whether the relief was an independent work or part of something larger.
Sources:
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