Seeking to get to up to speed on all things Firenze, I recently finished Stephanie Storey’s historical fiction novel, Oil and Marble. It covers the years 1499 – 1503 when both Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo Buonarroti lived in Florence and were artistic rivals of sorts. It was an entertaining way to re-learn about this period, but I had to wonder about the mix of history to fiction. As I read, I toggled quite a bit to fact check from other resources and concluded that Storey did a fine job of being true to the actual historical framework. As with shows like The Crown, the fiction comes in in how she imagines the characters’ day-to-day activities, dialogue, and motivations, which she did to great effect.
I also toggled a lot to google maps so I could visualize where various events took place. I still can’t get over the fact that people today traipse around on the same streets and in the same piazze as da Vinci and Buonarroti (and Dante and Botticelli and Raphael and so many others). Fantastico!
One of the more macabre events in the book takes place in the Basilica di Santo Spirito. It’s in the Basilica’s mortuary where Michelangelo dissects bodies awaiting burial so he can better learn human anatomy (sorry if that was a spoiler, but even I remember that from art history class). And guess what? The apartment I’ll be staying in is less than 1/2km away. In addition to visiting Santo Spirito in the normal way, you can bet I’m going to take a twilight snoop around the perimeter to see what ghosts might be lurking.
Storey describes the “inky black” mortuary room like this: “It was a small brick chamber with a single barred window overlooking the street.” I google-mapped the backside of The Basilica and discovered this barred window, which I am going to pretend is into the room where Michelangelo performed his morbid analysis.
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Oil and Marble was published in 2016 and was/is popular; there are a kazillion reviews, so I’ll offer just this brief assessment of my own.
Storey’s account is full of pleasing symmetry: the book opens with da Vinci having recently completed his fresco’ d The Last Supper in Milan, and Michelangelo returning from Rome after completing his marble Pieta for Saint Peter’s Basilica. Thereafter, Michelangelo wins the commission to carve his David statue, while da Vinci paints his Mona Lisa. When the artworks are unveiled at the end, each artist is overcome with admiration for the others’ work.
I just vastly oversimplified the book and made it sound schmaltzy, but it’s an engaging read. Also, there is plenty of other stuff going on in Florence during this period, notably its conflict with Pisa and da Vinci’s failed attempt to divert the Arno River (what? I don’t remember learning that in high school!). The book traces all sorts of intrigue and rivalries, as well as how each artist maneuvers obstacles and hardship. Both harbor self-doubt; da Vinci hides his under arrogance and fine clothing (but is notorious for leaving artworks unfinished out of fear of imperfection), whereas the younger Michelangelo is eager to be recognized for what he ardently hopes is his outsized sculpting talent.
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