tour 8 of 12
Michelangelo: money and medals
Bronze medal of Paul III, by Alessandro Cesati
This medal by Alessandro Cesati shows a secular
prince - Alexander the Great - kneeling before a religious leader -
the High Priest of Jerusalem. It was meant as a compliment to Pope
Paul III, whose portrait appears on the other side. On seeing the
medal, Michelangelo is said to have exclaimed that the death of the
art of medal-making had arrived as medals could not be made better.
This episode is recounted by Michelangelo's friend, the
artist and writer Giorgio Vasari, in his biography of the
artist.
In 1535, one year
after becoming pope, Paul III appointed Michelangelo Supreme
Architect, Sculptor and Painter to the Vatican Palace. He earned a
monthly salary of 100 gold scudi, a large sum which was twelve
times what Emperor Charles V was paying the painter Titian that
year. Michelangelo continued to work for successive popes until his
death in 1564.