Clement VII and michelangelo: An anatomy of patronage

On 25 November 1523, exactly one week after the election of Pope Clement VII, Michelangelo wrote to his quarry superintendent in Carrara: "You will have heard that Medici is made pope, which I think will rejoice everyone. I expect, for this reason, that as far as art is concerned many things will be accomplished here." Michelangelo's confidence was well-founded, for Clement was a discriminating and generous patron with whom Michelangelo already had enjoyed a long, fruitful relationship. Not only were the two boyhood acquaintances, but they had worked together successfully during the papacy of Leo X. It was Cardinal Giulio de' Medici who, in effect, "managed" the artist, as Sheryl Reiss has demonstrated in her extremely fine study of Giulio de1 Medici's patronage. With Giulio's election, Michelangelo had every reason to be optimistic, and the next few years were among his most creative, fully justifying his uncharacteristic expression of satisfaction.