MichelangeloItalian, 1475–1564Die Eherne Schlange
May one see it?
Unknown: the museum keeps its counsel
Kunstpalast
Düsseldorf, Germany
The owner is known. Whether it is on view today, the museum does not say, and we were not trained to guess.
- In this state since
- Sep 27, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
Particulars
Sources
- Kunstpalast: the museum's own open data · fetched 3 days ago
- Image: Kunstpalast — In Copyright
Meanwhile, in the life of Michelangelo
The whole life1527
The Medici expelled: inspector of the republic's fortifications
After the Medici were expelled from Florence, Michelangelo, a republican at heart, joined the popular movement and became chief inspector of fortifications. He abandoned his post and set off for Venice, meaning to go on to France, but returned and rendered his city important services during the siege by imperial troops.
1530
A death sentence and a hiding place under the Medici Chapel
Florence fell, the Medici returned to power and Pope Clement VII sentenced Michelangelo to death. He is thought to have hidden for two months in a small chamber under the Medici chapels, covering its walls with charcoal and chalk drawings, until he was pardoned so that he could complete the Sistine Chapel and the Medici tombs.
1532
Meets Tommaso dei Cavalieri
Aged 57, Michelangelo met the 23-year-old Roman patrician Tommaso dei Cavalieri and addressed to him his longest, deeply felt sequence of poems, as well as drawings such as the Ganymede and the Fall of Phaëthon. Cavalieri replied, “Never have I loved a man more than I love you,” and remained devoted to him until his death.
1534
Moves from Florence to Rome
Michelangelo left Florence for Rome and lived near the church of Santa Maria di Loreto. Despite his support for the republic, Pope Clement VII restored his allowance and made a new contract with him for the tomb of Julius II.
1534–1541
Paints “The Last Judgment”
Commissioned by Clement VII shortly before his death, the fresco on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel occupied Michelangelo from 1534 to October 1541 under Pope Paul III: Christ is massive, youthful, beardless and naked, and the flayed skin held by Saint Bartholomew bears the artist's own likeness. The nudity was denounced as sacrilegious, and Cardinal Carafa campaigned to have the fresco removed or censored, but the pope resisted.
c. 1537
Friendship with Vittoria Colonna
In Rome Michelangelo met the poet Vittoria Colonna, a noble widow, then forty-seven. They shared a sincere platonic love, exchanging sonnets on spiritual matters, and in the 1530s she was his spiritual guide.
