Summary

Michelangelo returns to Florence with no commissions and no money. He sends Argiento back to his family, and Michelangelo moves into his own family’s apartments. He revels in the beauty of the stonework of Florence, but he is saddened to learn Contessina and her husband Ridolfi have been exiled to a peasant’s house outside of the city. The city itself has entered a time of political calm, with Piero Soderini elected gonfaloniere, mayor-governor of the city-state of Florence.

With the return of stability, artists have returned to Florence, including Leonardo da Vinci, after an eighteen-year absence. Michelangelo sees Leonardo’s drawing—the “cartoon”—for a fresco, and is taken by the “power and authenticity” of the figures. After seeing that drawing, Michelangelo realizes the council would be justified in awarding the contract for the huge new statue to Leonardo. But Leonardo rejects the commission...