memory in San Pietro-a -Montorio, and Pope Julius, his nephew and heir, had commanded that this should he done, and had given charge of the undertaking to Vasari, who wished much that Mosca should execute some extraordinary work in sculpture for that monument.
But Giorgio having prepared certain models for the tomb above-mentioned, the Pope took counsel with Michelagnolo as regarded the whole structure, before he would decide on anything. Wherefore Buonarroti advised his Holiness to have nothing to do with sculptures in that work, seeing that while they enrich the composition, they produce a kind of confusion, and thus detract from the beauty of the figures, while a simpler mode of ornamentation, if well executed, is more beautiful as well as in better keeping with the statues, which do not love to be surrounded by other works in relief; and his Holiness gave orders that as Michelagnolo counselled, so it should be done; on which account Vasari could not give Mosca anything to do for that sepulchre, and he was dismissed, the tomb being finished without any sculptures whatever, and did indeed eventually produce a much better effect than it would have done had they been added.[1]
Simone then returned to Orvieto, where he was commissioned to prepare designs for two large tabernacles in marble, which vrere to be constructed under his direction in the transept and towards the upper part of the church. These II Mosca erected accordingly, and certainly with fair proportions and much grace. For one of these Tabernacles Raffaello Montelupo executed a nude figure in marble of Our Saviour Christ, bearing his cross on his shoulders; this was placed in a niche of the same. For the other, Moschino was commissioned to execute a figure of San Sebastiano, also nude. It was then determined to proceed with the statues of the Apostles commenced for the same church, and Moschino received the charge of two, San Piero and San Paolo namely. He was ordered to make them of equal size, and they are tolerably well executed figures.
- ↑ An impartial annotator and compatriot of our author here remarks on the honesty with which Vasari cites the opinion of Michelagnolo, though directly opposed to what had been his own wishes and purposes of the moment: the same writer points out the candour of Vasari’s admission that the result proved Michelagnolo to have been right, himself consequently, who had intended to decorate the tomb with sculptures, totally wrong.
