On the right of the high altar is a statue of St. John, by Obicci,—on the left is the famous statue of Christ, by Michael Angelo. This is one of the sculptures which Francis I. tried hard to obtain for Paris. Its effect is marred by the bronze drapery.
Behind, in the choir, are the tombs of two Medici popes. On the left is Leo X., Giovanni de Medici (1513—21). This great pope, son of Lorenzo the Magnificent, was destined to the papacy from his cradle. He was ordained at seven years old, was made a cardinal at seventeen, and pope at thirty-eight, and at the installation procession to the Lateran, rode upon the same white horse, upon which he had fought and had been taken prisoner at the battle of Ravenna. His reign was one of fêtes and pleasures. He was the great patron of artists and poets, and Raphael and Ariosto rose into eminence under his protection. His tomb is from a design of Antonio di Sangallo, but the figure of the pope is by Raffaello da Montelupo.
Near the foot of Leo X.'s tomb is the flat monumental stone of Cardinal Bembo, his friend, and the friend of Raphael, who died 1547. His epitaph has been changed. The original inscription, half-pagan, half-Christian, ran:
"Hic Bembus jacet Aonidum laus maxima Phœbi
Cum sole, et luna vix periturus honos.
Hic et fama jacet, spes, et suprema galeri
Quam non ulla queat restituisse dies.
Hic jacet exemplar vitæ omni fraude carentis,
Summa jacet, summa hic cum pietate fides."
On the right of the choir is the tomb, by Sangallo, of Clement VII., Giulio de Medici (1523—34), son of the Giulio who fell in the conspiracy of the Pazzi,—who in his unhappy reign saw the sack of Rome (1527) under the Constable de Bourbon, and the beginning of the separation from England under Henry VIII. The figure of the pope is by Baccio Bandinelli. Among other graves here is that of the English Cardinal Howard, ob. 1694. Just beyond the choir is a passage leading to a door into the Via S. Ignazio. Immediately on the left is the slab tomb of Fra Angelico da Fiesole. It is inscribed:
"Hic jacet Vene Pictor Fl. Jo. de Florentia Ordinis
prædicatorum, 1404.
"Non mihi sit laudi quod eram velut alter Apelles,
Sed quod lucra tuis omnia, Christe, dabam.
Altera nam terris opera exstant, altero cœlo.
Urbs me Johannem flos tulit Etruriæ."[314]
"Fra Angelico was simple and most holy in his manners,—and let this serve for a token of his simplicity, that Pope Nicholas one morning offering him refreshment, he scrupled to eat flesh without the licence of his superior, forgetful for the moment of the dispensing authority of the pontiff. He shunned altogether the commerce of the world, and living in holiness and in purity, was as loving towards the poor on earth as I think his soul must be now in heaven. He worked incessantly at his art, nor would he ever paint other than sacred subjects. He might have been rich, but cared not to be so, saying that true riches consisted rather in being content with little. He might have ruled over many, but willed it not, saying there was less trouble and hazard of sin in obeying others. Dignity and authority were within his grasp, but he disregarded them, affirming that he sought no other advancement than to escape hell and draw nigh to Paradise. He was most meek and temperate, and by a chaste life loosened himself from the snares of the world, ofttimes saying that the student of painting hath need of quiet and to live without anxiety, and that the dealers in the things of Christ ought to live habitually with Christ. Never was he seen in anger with the brethren, which appears to me a thing most marvellous, and all but incredible; his admonitions to his friends were simple and always softened by a smile. Whoever sought to employ him, he answered with the utmost courtesy, that he would do his part willingly so the prior were content.—In sum, this never sufficiently to be lauded father was most humble and modest in all his words and deeds, and in his paintings graceful and devout; and the saints which he painted have more of the air and aspect of saints than those of any other artist. He was wont never to retouch or amend any of his paintings, but left them always as they had come from his hand at first, believing, as he said, that such was the will of God. Some say that he never took up his pencil without previous prayer. He never painted a crucifix without tears bathing his cheeks; and throughout his works, in the countenance and attitude of all his figures, the correspondent impress of his sincere and exalted appreciation of the Christian religion is recognisable. Such was this verily Angelic father, who spent the whole time of his life in the service of God and in doing good to the world and to his neighbour. And truly a gift like his could not descend on any but a man of most saintly life, for a painter must be holy himself before he can depict holiness."—Lord Lindsay, from Vasari.
In the same passage are tombs of Cardinal Alessandrino, by Giacomo della Porta; of Cardinal Pimentel, by Bernini; and of Cardinal Bonelli, by Carlo Rainaldi.