o far above its own time. Decadence can
only be averted or retarded by intelligent and moderate talents like the
Carracci, who, hardly separated from the average of their times, are
easily understood by it. They are the geniuses of common sense, and they
are, therefore, useful to the common man. The heroes of art are also its
tyrants; their glory kills, and the greater they are the more they are
to be feared, for they impose on all men the laws of a personality
which can exist but once. They are a devouring force; they illumine, but
they burn; they have the right to be unique in their being and in their
work. They seem to realise in themselves the whole aim of nature, and
there is nothing left for those who follow but to be absorbed and
disappear.

It would be absurd to offer Michelangelo as a model to young artists.
Should great men ever be taken as models in art? Is not that one of the
errors of classical training? They are examples of energy, sources of
force and beauty. It is well to look for a moment on their radiance,
then tear ourselves from their contemplation and work.

CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

DATE IMPORTANT EVENTS PRINCIPAL WORKS

1475 March 6. Birth of Michelangelo
at Caprese.

1488 April 1. He enters the school of
Domenico and David Ghirlandajo.

1489 He enters the school of Bertoldo
and becomes the protege of Lorenzo
de' Medici.

1490-1492 _Mask of a Faun._
_Madonna of the Stairs._
_Combat of the Centaurs._

1492 April 8. Death of Lorenzo de'
Medici.

1492-1494 In the service of Piero de' Wooden crucifix.
Medici. Statue of _Hercules_.

1494 October. Flight to Venice Angel for the Arca of
and Bologna. He worked at S. Domenico in Bologna.
S. Petronio in Bologna.

1495 Return to Florence. _Giovannino._
_Sleeping Love._

1496 June 25. Arrival in Rome. _Bacchus._
_Cupid._

1498 May 23. Savonarola is burned
in Florence.

1498-1500