Study for the Porta Pia (a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome) 1561

Michelangelo made this study for the Porta Pia using chalk and pencil on paper. These are not the materials of the building trade, exactly, but they are the means by which he, as an individual, could exert his vision on an enormous construction project. Michelangelo was in his 80s when he began designing this gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome. The Porta Pia is made from travertine stone, a material quarried near Rome since antiquity. This gives it a warm tone and solid presence, essential qualities for civic architecture. The gate was commissioned by Pope Pius IV, and its design reflects the power of the papacy. In the 16th century, control of Rome was a fiercely contested prize, and the Porta Pia, although ostensibly about urban planning, was fundamentally a political act. Note the contrast between the drawing’s loose, flowing lines, and the rigid geometries of the architecture itself. Ultimately, it would be stonecutters who would have the final touch on the building – a reminder that even the greatest artists are dependent on the work of others.