A graphic novel

Niccolò Machiavelli, a mid-level functionary in the fifteenth-century city of Florence, was, ironically, not adept at the office politics of city government. On the contrary, he served his city with distinction and it was only after a regime change forced him out of office, that he retired to his farm and wrote the political treatises for which he is widely known, The Prince and The Discourses. Machiavelli, a graphic novel based on the life of Niccolò Machiavelli, focuses on the disparity between the widely held perception of the Machiavelli as an evil opportunist and the story of his actual life.

These pages represent the prologue to Machiavelli: click on the thumbnails to the left to view the pages. The text, written in a scrawl as close to Machiavelli’s as possible, is taken from his Florentine Histories, originally commissioned by Pope Leo X in 1520 and presented to him in 1525. Although I use the Histories exclusively in the prologue, as the book continues I draw on quotations from Machiavelli's other works and letters to punctuate scenes of invented dialogue based on an historical framework. For the artwork, I use pen and ink for the linework and text, and a brush with watercolor for the gray tones. It's all done on cold-press watercolor paper, which is absorbent enough for the washes and smooth enough to use a quill pen without splattering.

The prologue depicts an assassination attempt by the Pazzi, a powerful Florentine family, on Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici, whose own family’s power had begun to eclipse the Pazzi’s. It was a desperation move—an assassination in a church—and it failed. Lorenzo de’ Medici escaped, though Giuliano was killed. The Medici family and the populace took their vengeance to the streets, killing all the Pazzi they could find, and hanging the ringleaders from the windows of the Palazzo della Signoria. No doubt Machiavelli, nine years old at the time, was aware what was happening, and I have him following the mob and viewing the bodies hung from the Palazzo. The chaos and violence of the retribution initiate both the reader and the young Machiavelli into the world of Florentine and Italian politics of the fifteenth century.

About the project

Machiavelli is a full-length graphic novel, which, when completed, will run about 150 pages and chronicle the life of Machiavelli from his entry into public life to his death in 1527. It is conceptually most similar to historical fiction like I, Claudius, in that I aspire to create an engaging narrative from the life of a historical figure, keeping within the bounds of the historical framework and avoiding flights of fancy: Machiavellli's life was interesting enough that I don't feel the need to invent love affairs or fictitious collaborations with famous artists to spice it up. My aim is to combine rigorous historical research and narrative invention to create a book which is both informative and entertaining. I also seek to a portray a man who was, by all accounts, very idealistic, likeable, and engaging yet whose name has unfortunately become synonymous with duplicity and cunning.