The Apotheosis of Michelangelo and Allegory of The Tiber and Arno

Bartolomeo Ammannati

about 1564

Bronze

J. Paul Getty Museum

Two bronze relief panels depict mythological figures and a crowd. The left panel shows reclining male figures with lions and a wolf. The right panel shows a large group of figures in classical attire. The Apotheosis of Michelangelo brings together a lively gathering of forty-four figures all celebrating the great artist. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) is seen just left of the center, with the left hand on his chest and the other holding the square of the architects. In the middle is an altar with a burning flame and a Latin inscription. This inscription reads “NIL SINE MAGNO VITA LABORE” (“Nothing is gained in life without great effort”) and is an abbreviated version of a motto by the Roman lyric poet Horace (65–8 BCE) in his Satires (I, 9, 59). Many of the figures are depicted with such distinctive features that they sugges