Karel Schulz: In the gardens of Medicea

In his novel Stone and Pain, Karel Schulz explored the life and work of the famous sculptor, painter and poet Michelangelo Buonarroti. He is the link between all the events that take place against the background of the master's story. This creates a massive historical fresco. The artist's story is linked to events in Italy at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century, a turbulent period of wars and ecclesiastical intrigue. The author was not merely concerned with the artist's life story, but with his inner struggle to find the meaning of artistic endeavour in spite of the times, to find truth and beauty. The episodes of the dramatisation In the Gardens of Medici are the central part of the novel. The following is an unfinished fragment, published posthumously under the title The Pope's Mass.