the magnificent Lorenzo he was so greatly incensed against the offender, that if Torrigiano had not fled from Florence he would without doubt have inflicted some very heavy punishment on him.
The Pope, Alexander VL, was at this time occupied with the construction of that part of the Vatican called the Torre Borgia, and Torrigiano, who had repaired to Pome, on leaving Florence, was employed with others on the numerous decorations in stucco required for that building. Now the Duke Valentino was then making war in Romagna, and paid large sums to those who assisted him in recruiting his army, whereupon Torrigiano, being led away by other young Florentines, suddenly changed himself from a sculptor to a soldier, and comported himself very bravely in that campaign of Romagna. He did the same under Paolo Vitelli, in the war against Pisa, and was with Piero de’ Medici, at the action on the Garigliano, where he obtained a pair of colours with the reputation of being a brave standard-bearer.
But after a time, perceiving that he should never be permitted to attain the grade for which he had hoped and which he well merited, that of captain namely, and having saved nothing in the wars, nay, rather having vainly consumed all he had, as well as his time, Torrigiano resolved on resuming his sculpture. He at once prepared various small works in marble and bronze, little figures, which he sold to certain Florentine merchants, and which are distributed among the houses of the citizens: he also made numerous drawings, which exhibit great boldness and a very good manner, as may be seen by some from his hand now in our book of designs, and by others which he made in
with him, and one day among others, his words offended me so much that I became more than usually irritated, and, stretching forth my hand, 1 gave him so violent a blow on the nose with my closed fist that I felt the bones and cartilage cranch under my hand as if they had been thin biscuit {cialdone, a sort of wafer, or thin cake, curled into a form somewhat resembling that of a horn), and thus, bearing my mark, will Michael Angelo remain all the days of his life.” —“From what we know of Torrigiano’s disposition,” remarks the Italian writer from whom we quote the above, “we may safely infer that his own envy and jealousy was the cause of this brutal outrage, and the bantering of Michael Angelo only the pretext: but there is no criminal who, when he is relating his own story, does not set it forth in a manner which makes him appear excusable.”
