Page:The painters of Florence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century (1915).djvu/396

344 next five years in Rome, working for different patrons. The admirable statue of Bacchus in the Bargello, and the beautiful Pietà in St. Peter's in Rome, both belong to this period, and were executed in the last years of the century, the one for the banker Jacopo Gallo, the other for the Abbot of St. Denis, the French envoy at the papal court. The Madonna of Bruges, another marble group, which combines the sweetness and devotion of the early Tuscan sculptors with Michelangelo's knowledge of form and masterly execution, and the unfinished circular bas-reliefs of Madonnas in the Bargello, and at Burlington House, were probably carved soon after the artist's return to Florence in 1501

While Michelangelo was engaged on these works, his father and brother found themselves in great difficulties, and their importunate appeals were the chief cause of his return from Rome. On the expulsion of the Medici, Lodovico had lost a small post in the customs, which had been given him by Lorenzo, and his idle and incapable sons were always complaining of poverty, and writing begging letters to their absent brother. The more he gave, the more they demanded, and their ingratitude and rapacity excited Michelangelo's bitterest indignation. But they always turned to him for help and advice, and nothing is more remarkable in the great man's character than his constant affection for these worthless relatives. His correspondence with his father and brother begins in 1497, and gives us many interesting details regarding his habits and peculiarities. Lodovico repeatedly begs him to consider his health, and not to live in so penurious a manner.