New Sacristy aka Medici Chapel

   

Construction for the New Sacristy started in 1521,  for the pope at the time Leo X, wanted this structure built as a Mausoleum for the Medici family.  As a result, italian painter, sculptor and poet Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was hired for the job. Since Brunelleschi's “Old Sancrisy” served as a mausoleum to  the older generations of the the medici family, it was only logical that the tombs of the newer princely generation got the same treatment.   

 

Though the plans to both look almost identical, the elevations are very different.  In the new sacristy an attic was added between the pilaster order and the pendentive zone.  The great height of the space makes it look more narrow, the more so as the order of the pilasters which was restricted to the wall of choir in the old sacristy. In addition, the design for michellangelo’s dome  is hemispherical , while Brunischelli’s design isn’t.

 

The design of the New Sancristy is inspired by the design of the Pantheon of Rome. The small domed building constructed from 1521-1524 was built upon the request of Cardinal Guilo Medici, who later went on to become pope.  The domed ceiling of Sancrisy is like the Pantheon but at a much smaller scale, whose beauty, and elegance was admired by Michelangelo.

  Michelangelo also used many tricks to make the New Sancrisy appear larger than it was. He made windowframes higher than that of what the proportions required, giving the room an “airy” space despite how small it is.

After completing the architectural works in 1524, Michelangelo worked on the New Sancrisy untill,  1533. The sculptures and also the  sarcophagi that were to be featured on the chapel walls, However things took a turn for the worst when Michelangelo left Florence for Rome, never to be seen again.

 

The two elaborate tombs built were ironically for two of the lesser known Medici’s : Lorenzo II de Medici, Duke of Urbino who lived a short life (1492 – 1519) and ruled Florence for a brief period (1514 – 1519) and , and iuliano de Medici, Duke of Nemours (1478 – 1516) who was the youngest son of Lorenzo the Magnificent and brother of Giovanni de Medici, Pope Leo X.

Ironically, Lorenzo the Magnificent, considered the Lord of Florence, and his assassinated brother Giuliano were buried in very simple stone coffins but were more well known than their kin who received the more elaborate decor on their tombs.

Both these tombs also included sculptures with symbolistic meanings behind them. Two sculptures that flank the 'Madonna and Child' represent the saints Cosmas and Damian, who were considered protectors of the Medici family.

In these allegorical statues of these men Lorenzo is envisioned as a reflective man, with a dark countenance whose helmet and hand keep light off his face,  and Giuliano as a man of action, holding a military weapon.  Since Michelangelo felt that in hundreds of years no one would care what these men actually looked like, the maestro used 'universal images' which represented thought and action. 

sources: 

Architecture in Italy, By Wolfgang Lotz, Deborah Howard

The Lantern of Michelangelo's Medici Chapel, by William E. Wallace