Last visit: February 2025
My rating: MUST SEE
Opening hours: Every day from 8:15 AM to 6:50 PM, except Tuesdays
Visit duration: From half an hour to two hours
Introduction: The Genesis of a Masterpiece
The New Sacristy of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence represents one of the absolute pinnacles of sculpture, Renaissance architecture, and art in general—a manifesto of Michelangelo Buonarroti’s boundless ingenuity and sculptural power.
In my personal opinion, the Medici tombs are the most extraordinary work of art of all time.
Commissioned in 1520 by Cardinal Giulio de’ Medici (the future Pope Clement VII) to house the burials of two members of the Medici family, Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino (not to be mistaken with Lorenzo the Magnificent), and Giuliano, Duke of Nemours, these tombs commemorate figures from the cadet branch of the Medici lineage, descending from Lorenzo the Magnificent. Compared to Cosimo I—Lorenzo’s cousin and the son of Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, who led the family to the height of its power in the mid-1500s—both Lorenzo and Giuliano were relatively minor figures. They would likely be consigned to historical obscurity today were it not for the artistic significance of the monument dedicated to them.
The chapel was intended to serve both as a sacred space and a political statement, celebrating the prestige of the Medici dynasty. However, Michelangelo’s unrestrained genius went far beyond mere dynastic glorification, transforming the project into a profound meditation on the human condition.
Michelangelo was entrusted with the commission for the monument at the height of his career. By 1520, he had already completed his sensational early masterpieces—the Vatican Pietà and David—which had immediately established him as a rising star in the world of sculpture. The tomb of Pope Julius II was still undergoing its troubled execution, but the Moses was already finished, and eight years had passed since the completion of the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
Immediately after finishing the Sistine Chapel ceiling, Michelangelo had been engaged to design the façade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo—a project that was never realized. However, seven years later, Pope Leo X once again called upon Michelangelo to work on the basilica, this time to create the New Sacristy.
San Lorenzo, located adjacent to the Medici Palace, already housed the tombs of Cosimo the Elder and other family members. The New Sacristy was thus conceived as an expansion of what was unofficially regarded as the Medici family church, creating a new monumental space for the two prematurely deceased cadet members of the dynasty.
Michelangelo’s ambitious project faced numerous delays due to political events, including the Siege of Florence (1529–1530) and the artist’s subsequent exile. Despite these obstacles, he managed to work on the sacristy between 1520 and 1534, though he left it incomplete upon his departure for Rome. His original vision included an even grander sculptural program with a more imposing monumental arrangement. Nonetheless, what remains today is a masterpiece that redefined Renaissance funerary sculpture and stands as Michelangelo’s most complete architectural-sculptural project.
Architecture: A Sublime Space
The architecture of the New Sacristy is a triumph of balance and dynamism. Here, Michelangelo, working alone in designing the space, creates a structure that seems animated by an unstoppable upward energy. The walls, punctuated by pilasters and niches, appear to vibrate under the impulse of an invisible force, while the dome looms over the scene with an aura of immeasurable sacredness. Marble, in its rigid perfection, is bent to the artist’s will, becoming a living material. The articulation of space, the distribution of light, and the tension of the surfaces are not merely decorative elements but part of a broader discourse that fuses architecture and sculpture into an inseparable unity.
The New Sacristy is a unique masterpiece in the world for its seamless fusion and integration of architectural and sculptural art, merging into a single plastic creation conceived by one mind and realized by one hand.
The architectural design of the New Sacristy is deeply rooted in the Renaissance tradition, which Michelangelo inherited and transcended. The influence of Vitruvius, whose treatise De Architectura provided the theoretical foundation of classical architecture, is evident in the pursuit of proportional harmony and spatial conception. However, Michelangelo moves beyond Vitruvian rationality, infusing his architecture with a pathos that makes it vibrant and almost organic.
The evolution of Renaissance architecture, initiated by Filippo Brunelleschi with his rediscovery of perspective and geometric modularity, found in Michelangelo both an heir and an innovator. The very Basilica of San Lorenzo bears Brunelleschi’s signature, as he conceived the Old Sacristy as a model of classical harmony. Michelangelo adopts these principles but deconstructs them through a greater plasticity of surfaces and an intense volumetric drama.
The influence of Leon Battista Alberti is also evident: his theory of "beauty as the harmony of proportions" manifests itself in the geometric rigor of the chapel. Yet Michelangelo introduces a dynamic tension that disrupts the static perfection of classical order.
This tension anticipates Mannerist and Baroque developments, making Michelangelo not merely a successor but a true innovator of Western architecture. His influence would extend to Rome, where he revolutionized the concept of sacred space with St. Peter’s Basilica and the Capitoline Hill. The New Sacristy thus represents a turning point—an artwork that merges tradition and modernity, rationality and passion, establishing Michelangelo as one of the central figures of Renaissance architecture.
The Funerary Statues: Life in Marble
At the heart of the project are the funerary monuments of the two Medici dukes, surmounted by allegorical figures representing the phases of the day: Day and Night for Giuliano de’ Medici, and Dawn and Dusk for Lorenzo de’ Medici. Each sculpture is a universe unto itself, imbued with pathos, sculptural power, and symbolic meaning that transcends the mere representation of time.
Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici: Effigies of Immortal Royalty
The statues of Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici rise above the allegories of the phases of the day, not as mere portraits but as idealized images of power and contemplation.
Lorenzo, known as Il Pensieroso (The Thoughtful One), is depicted in a meditative pose, his head slightly bowed, one hand resting on his face—a posture reminiscent of ancient philosophers. Though his armor is sculpted with precision, it does not seem to be the true focal point of the piece. Instead, his shadowed, introspective face suggests that greatness is not solely expressed through strength but also through the depth of thought.
Giuliano, in contrast, is portrayed with a martial bearing—an eternal commander, proud and ready for action. His upright posture and perfectly sculpted armor give him a static yet powerful presence. He embodies the virtue of action, an unyielding force, set in opposition to Lorenzo’s introspection. This duality between thought and action, contemplation and power, is one of the conceptual pillars of the entire monument.
Both statues, seated in a composition that recalls the precedent of Moses in San Pietro in Vincoli, evoke the aesthetic ideals of classical beauty. They showcase Michelangelo’s extraordinary mastery in rendering the human figure—especially the male body. From Giuliano’s elongated neck, reminiscent of Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck, to the leather fringes of the loricae, the flowing locks of hair, the grotesques decorating Giuliano’s armor, and the anatomical precision in the torsion of Lorenzo’s arm, Michelangelo displays an unprecedented technical prowess.
Until Bernini, no artist would match such an absolute command of technique, combined with an unparalleled inventiveness in the representation of beauty. These two heroic figures are a true visual feast, captivating admirers of the master sculptor of David, who here reaches the same artistic heights once again.
Day: An Unrestrained Force
Day is the personification of energy in motion, of raw vigor. The body is powerful, virile, captured in a moment of maximum muscular tension, as if Michelangelo had sculpted life itself into marble. The torsion of the torso, the latent restlessness of the muscles, and the face left unfinished all suggest a restrained energy—one that could be unleashed at any moment. This incompleteness is a deliberate choice by the artist, reinforcing the idea of humanity in perpetual transformation, trapped within the flow of time.
Day is filled with self-referential citations that admirers of Michelangelo’s art will undoubtedly recognize. The twisted torso is a recurring aesthetic motif in his work, from the Christ Child in the Madonna of the Stairs to the Libyan Sibyl in the Sistine Chapel. Yet, in Day, one can also discern influences from classical sculptures that deeply impacted Michelangelo—such as the Belvedere Torso, the Laocoön, and the Farnese Hercules.
The face, left almost in a rough-hewn state, is enigmatic and evocative. One cannot help but wonder how the first viewers in the 16th century reacted to such an innovative work—so ahead of its time that it seems to anticipate 20th-century sculpture, from Brancusi to Rodin to Modigliani. The barely sketched eye sockets lend the figure a stern and shadowy gaze, and the overall facial structure strikingly resembles that of a nocturnal bird of prey—an animal that, incidentally, accompanies the adjacent figure of Night.
Night: The Beauty of Abandonment
If Day is pure energy, Night is the quintessence of melancholic sweetness. Her languid posture, the tilted face, and the body seemingly dissolving into sleep evoke an extraordinary sensuality. The full breast, the soft drapery, and the gently relaxed foot all convey a visual poetry of unbearable beauty.
The mask beneath her figure enhances the sense of mystery—it is an allusion to sleep merging with death, an element that introduces a profound existential reflection.
Dawn: The Awakening of the Soul
Dawn is a vision of rare emotional intensity. The figure rises with difficulty, as if still enveloped by the weight of sleep. Her body is in torsion, and her face emerges with an expression suspended between weariness and awareness, as if consciousness were slowly igniting.
Dawn symbolizes the transition from night to day, from torpor to vitality. Her face is imbued with melancholy, as if awakening were also a painful realization—the awareness of an inescapable destiny.
Dusk: A Reflection on the End
Dusk is the image of weariness, decline, but also of achieved maturity. The powerful yet relaxed body, the downward-turned face, and the drapery that gently settles in a final moment of contemplation all speak of the relentless passage of time.
With its abandoned posture and gaze lost in the void, Dusk suggests an inevitable acceptance of the end.
Michelangelo’s Non Finito: A Revolutionary Vision
The concept of non finito in Michelangelo’s works sparked contrasting interpretations even in his own time. Often attributed to his chronic difficulty in meeting the deadlines imposed by his patrons, non finito is, in reality, a deliberate and innovative expressive choice.
Rather than focusing on the polished perfection of surfaces, Michelangelo prefers to leave his figures in a state of emergence from raw matter, as if they are still struggling to free themselves from the marble that confines them. This dramatic tension, heightened by the partial execution, imbues the forms with extraordinary vitality—making them eternal precisely in their incompleteness.
Michelangelo’s contemporaries had ambivalent opinions on this technique. Giorgio Vasari, one of his most ardent admirers, interpreted non finito as a demonstration of the Neoplatonic concept of creation: perfect beauty exists in the artist’s mind, and no material realization can ever fully attain it.
Regarding the Medici Chapels, the intentionality behind the non finito remains a subject of debate even today. Ascanio Condivi, Michelangelo’s closest biographer, wrote:
"In just a few months, he made all the statues that can be seen in the Sacristy of San Lorenzo, driven more by fear than by love. It is true that none of these received the final touches; however, they were brought to such a degree that one can clearly see the excellence of the artist, and the roughness does not detract from the perfection and beauty of the work ... And although they were conceived with a single intention and form, the figures are all different, in various movements and gestures."
From this account, it would seem that the works as we see them today were considered complete in Michelangelo’s intentions, with only the finishing details left undone.
In a letter dated June 17, 1526, addressed to Pope Clement VII (who had succeeded Leo X), Michelangelo himself wrote:
"I am working as much as I can, and within fifteen days, I will begin the other captain. Then, of significant works, only the Four Rivers will remain for me to complete. The four figures on the sarcophagi, the four figures on the ground—which are the Rivers—the two captains, and Our Lady, which will be placed in the burial at the head, are the figures I intend to sculpt with my own hands. Of these, six have already been started, and I have the will to complete them in a reasonable time, as well as partially executing others that are of lesser importance."
From this, we learn that in addition to the works we can admire today, Michelangelo had planned to sculpt four additional statues representing river deities, which were never realized. He had also intended to leave the execution of less significant elements to his workshop.
It is well known that the portraits of Lorenzo and Giuliano were created between 1531 and 1534, when Michelangelo left Florence, never to return. However, Dusk and Day—the two sculptures in the Medici Chapels executed in the non finito style—had already been completed by 1531. Given that Michelangelo had already outlined his work plan and the statues he intended to personally sculpt in his 1526 letter to the Pope, it is difficult to imagine that he would have worked on the portraits of Lorenzo and Giuliano without first completing Dusk and Day, leaving them untouched for three years.
Therefore, although the New Sacristy was not fully completed according to the original plan and despite the fact that the wall arrangement was executed by workshop assistants after Michelangelo had left Florence without giving precise instructions on the positioning of the statues, the New Sacristy should still be considered a finished work—at least in regard to the individual sculptures. Each statue was brought to completion by Michelangelo himself, leaving only the final refinements to his workshop.
In some of Michelangelo’s works, such as the Slaves in the Accademia, non finito is a consequence of an unfinished project—one that opens itself to interpretative suggestions in retrospect. However, in the New Sacristy, non finito is a fully intentional and conscious expressive device, making the statues true “open works,” as defined by Umberto Eco and Roland Barthes, where the viewer assumes an active role in interpretation.
While this is only partially true for Dusk, where the degree of finishing makes non finito more of a tool to enhance texture and chiaroscuro, in Day it becomes a provocative and stimulating dialectical game between artist and viewer. One could literally spend hours moving around the sculpture, imagining the completed figure still trapped within the marble.
This element adds another layer of meaning to the monument, making the Medici tombs even more of a superlative masterpiece—one that can eternally inspire those who contemplate it, revealing itself anew with each viewing and through different interpretative lenses.
Conclusion: An Eternal Masterpiece
Michelangelo's Medici Tombs are far more than a funerary monument—they are a meditation on life, time, death, and the power of art. Michelangelo sculpts marble as if it were living flesh, bearing witness to both the fragility and greatness of humanity. Here, art achieves its miracle: eternity imprisoned in stone.
Standing before these works, one is left in awe of Michelangelo’s absolute mastery of sculpture—to the point of having to pinch oneself to awaken from the suspension of disbelief that insists our eyes are not gazing upon cold rock, but living flesh. The chapel housing the tombs is an architectural creation of abstract, otherworldly beauty, seamlessly integrated with the sculptures.
Michelangelo’s uncontainable talent bursts forth here without restraint, in such an overwhelming creative force and inventive drive that one cannot help but wonder how so much artistry could have been conceived by a single man.
Practical Tips for Visiting the Medici tombs by Michelangelo
The Medici Chapels have particularly long opening hours, from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM. I recommend visiting in the late afternoon, shortly before closing time, when tourist crowds are smaller, allowing for a more intimate experience with the artworks. Fortunately, this sublime masterpiece does not attract the same hordes of tourists as David or Botticelli’s Venus, meaning it has so far been spared from the selfie-obsessed masses.
The duration of the visit can vary—from 10 minutes for the disinterested tourist to two hours for those passionate about Michelangelo’s art. During off-peak hours, access to the New Sacristy and passing through security takes only a few minutes. The Medici Tombs consist of a single chamber displaying the two sculptural groups of Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici, along with a third, less significant group (although the Madonna and Child statue is remarkable). Therefore, the time spent contemplating the work is entirely subjective.
That said, a visit to the New Sacristy should also include the Chapel of the Princes (which is part of the same itinerary but deserves a separate post), to which I would recommend dedicating at least 10 to 30 minutes, as well as a visit to the adjacent Chapel of San Lorenzo.
For lovers of libraries, I would also consider a visit to the Laurentian Medici Library essential. A well-planned itinerary should include an entire afternoon, starting with the library, moving on to the Basilica of San Lorenzo (which normally closes at 5:00 PM, except on Sundays when it is closed to visitors), and finishing with the New Sacristy.
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