It is frequently recounted that shortly before Michelangelo died, the eighty-eight-year-old artist sat before a fire and burned many drawings. Critical examination reveals various motivations for such a destructive act and elicits suggestions for what Michelangelo might have burned. Mainly because of old age and significant changes in his artistic practice, Michelangelo made far fewer drawings in his final two decades than earlier in his career. Therefore, he may have destroyed less than is usually imagined and nothing that would have impaired the completion of his current projects, most important of which was New Saint Peter’s.

中文翻译：

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绘画极限：米开朗基罗变老

经常提到，米开朗基罗去世前不久，这位88岁的艺术家坐在火炉旁烧了许多图画。批判性检查揭示了这种破坏性行为的各种动机，并为米开朗基罗可能燃烧的东西提出了建议。主要是由于年老和他的艺术创作方式发生重大变化，米开朗基罗在最后的二十年里制作的绘画远远少于职业生涯的早期。因此，他的破坏程度可能比通常想象的要少，并且没有任何事情会影响他当前项目的完成，其中最重要的是新圣彼得大教堂。