Review: The Medici Boy–Art and Homoeroticism in Renaissance Florence

This post was originally published on my personal blog in April 2020.

Renaissance Florence was a period of great artistic ferment. Under the patronage of the Medici family, artists such as Donatello, Michelangelo and Leonardo produced great works of painting and sculpture. Among the best known of these works are the sculptures of David produced by Donatello (c. 1440s) and Michelangelo ( 1501-1504).

John L’Heureux’s novel The Medici Boy focuses on the creation of Donatello’s David (the titular “Medici boy”). The story is narrated by Luca Mattei, a former monk who works as Donatello’s apprentice. Luca becomes jealous of his foster brother, Agnolo, who serves as Donatello’s inspiration for David and later becomes his lover. Donatello’s relationship with Agnolo serves as the major plot complication since Agnolo is repeatedly denounced as a sodomite. His illegal activities also threaten to bring down Donatello and through him his patron and friend, Cosimo de’ Medici.

L’Heureux gives a marvelous sense of art being created. One of the pivotal moments in the novel is when Donatello decides to sculpt David nude (it would be the first nude statue in a thousand years). In the novel, this is portrayed as a spontaneous decision inspired by Agnolo’s beauty. L’Heureux describes the scene as follows:

Donatello had stopped sketching. Agnolo stood there motionless. There was a great silence and a pulsing in my ears as if I knew what was about to happen.

“Take off your clothes.”

“I’ve taken them off.”

“Take off all of them.”

“Even my boots?”

“Leave the boots on.”

Agnolo tugged the cord that held up his drawers and they fell to his feet. He kicked them aside and stood there, utterly comfortable in his nakedness. After a moment he raised one foot and rested it on the posing stool. He raised his hands to his hips. “Now what?” He looked down at himself to see how he must look to Donatello and he was satisfied by what he saw.

It was at this moment that my lord Cosimo finally spoke. “Goliath, conquered by the boy David.” (108-109)

This moment is perhaps the most pivotal in the entire novel as it sets in motion all the events which are to follow.

In addition to the process of artistic creation, the novel’s second major theme is the homoerotic culture of Florence. In 1432, the city set up the “Office of the Night” to punish sodomy–apparently so common that it was referred to in the rest of Europe as the “Florentine vice”. This office worked mostly through denunciations or through confessions (in exchange for amnesty against prosecution). This period of history has been extensively documented by Michael Rocke in his book Forbidden Friendships: Homosexuality and Male Culture in Renaissance Florence (Oxford 1998). Through studies of court records, Rocke argues that nearly all fifteenth century Florentine males had some sort of same-sex experience as part of their “normal” sexual life.

As mentioned above, Agnolo’s homosexual behavior and his relationship with Donatello threatens to be used by Cosimo’s enemies to bring down the Medicis, thus serving as one of the major plot catalysts of the novel. It also allows L’Heureux to give a vivid sense of the societal dynamics of Florence during this era.

In conclusion, The Medici Boy is a fascinating exploration into art and homoeroticism. I would highly recommend it to those who are interested in either of these two themes.

Donatello’s David