ABSTRACT
In Florence, Michelozzos simple sequence of blocks shows unformed matter caught in the act of evolving towards geometrical form, or divine idea, metaphorically climbing a great chain of being from the stones chthonic birthplace towards Olympic heights. A century later Michelangelo, steeped in the same Neoplatonic philosophy, left his famous slaves in state of non-finito, figures caught in a struggle to free themselves from the marble block or collapsing back into it. In similar ways they recognized matters mythic geology, its continuous cycles of transmutation. The well-known Renaissance garden grottoes were only created decades later, including one in Palazzo del Tes secret garden: a marvel of encrustation and color, as if the rock were sprouting with life, over spilling its boundaries. In Platos dialogue The Sophist, the Eleatic Stranger presents the Gigantomachy as a battle staged over whether being is bodily and material, or incorporeal and ideal, pitting the Giants versus the friends of Ideas or the Olympians of the myth.
