It didn't work with Big Brother or Facebook though!
Maybe the following man will help change your ways, if you (like me) can judge too soon.
Giovanni di Lorenzo de Medici was one of the sons of Lorenzo 'Il Magnifico' de Medici.
He went on a tour of europe – while he was in exile.
He was imprisoned for a time in France.
He suffered from stomach ulcers.
He, like Leonardo, Botticelli, and others, was an exclusive sodomite.
He once said 'death...cannot adequately explain the rebirth of learning, art and culture which flowers in Italy. While one can never rule out divine will, I postulate a more prosaic explanation – money.'
He was accused of paganism.
He owned a pet elephant called Hanno.
He also said 'I am Pope Leo X, the Vicar of Christ, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of the Apostles, the Patriarch of the West, the Primate of Italy, the Vice-regent of the Prince of Peace, the Ambassador of Heaven.'
Of his father, Lorenzo, he said, 'I believe that, five hundred years from now, men will still celebrate his contributions to learning, art, architecture and politics.' He wrote this around 1515-20, 500 years ago.
I think Leo X was definitely a pragmatist. His portrait by Raphael indicates him as a laidback fellow.
ReplyDeleteWhat is your source for Botticelli being an 'exclusive sodomite' You're referring to the same Botticelli that followed Savonarola, was reportedly mystified by Simonetta Vespucci and painted the last judgment into the mystic nativity complete with a revelations quote in Greek on the top?
Have a great 2011!
H
Leo himself, in 'Confessions of an Infallible Man', his memoirs.
ReplyDeleteThe same Botticelli as you say. Of course, we can never be sure.
Then again, sodomy was fairly widespread among the learned – after all, it wasn't only the literature of ancient Greece that Italians were following. Perhaps Simonetta did mystify him, in a way no mere physical act could satisfy, beyond the science of painting.