The Agony and the Ecstasy Chapter Summary & Analysis - Book Two Summary

Book Two Summary

On the first anniversary of his entrance into Ghirlandaio's school, the master tells the apprentices that Il Magnifico, Lorenzo de' Medici, had "asked" if Ghirlandaio would like to send two of his best apprentices to the sculpture school. Ghirlandaio does not wish to do that, but Ghirlandaio does not want to refuse the most influential man in Florence. Ghirlandaio knows that Michelangelo wants to attend the school, but he does not want to release the student with the most potential. Knowing that Michelangelo is not happy in his school, Ghirlandaio releases both him and Granacci, the friend who got Michelangelo into the school as an apprentice a year prior. Granacci, one of Ghirlandaio's better apprentices, is not as fond of sculpture as Michelangelo, but accepts simply to be with his friend.

Michelangelo does not know how to tell his father. His father doesn't think the arts are a suitable occupation...
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