Vorbilder und Nachbilder. Michelangelos Maus in der Medicikapelle als hermeneutischer Testfall

The article reconstructs the concept originally intended by Michelangelo for the Medici Chapel in San Lorenzo in Florence. At its very core was the representation of the passing of mundane time. For his original concept, Michelangelo refers to two conceptual paradigms: ancient and medieval traditions of the allegorical representation of time (Barlaam and Josaphat), which he combines to form a synthesis. In a second hermeneutical step, a look at the perception of the Medici Chapel by Michelangelo's contemporaries follows. This reveals the extent to which 16th-century beholders have understood Michelangelo's original concept. An example of contemporary understanding is the mouse, which Ascanio Condivi referred to as a symbol of passing time.