Europe 1300 - 1800
Course: Europe 1300 - 1800 > Unit 4
Lesson 4: Michelangelo- Michelangelo: Sculptor, Painter, Architect and Poet
- Who was Michelangelo?
- Michelangelo and his early drawings
- Pietà (marble sculpture)
- Michelangelo's David and the Florentine Republic
- Unfinished business—Michelangelo and the Pope
- Moses (marble sculpture)
- Moses (marble sculpture)
- Carving marble with traditional tools
- Slaves (marble sculptures)
- Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
- Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
- Studies for the Battle of Cascina and the Creation of Adam
- Studies for the Libyan Sibyl and a small Sketch for a Seated Figure (verso)
- Studies for the Libyan Sibyl (recto); Studies for the Libyan Sibyl and a small Sketch for a Seated Figure (verso)
- Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
- Last Judgment, Sistine Chapel
- Last Judgment (altar wall, Sistine Chapel)
- Studies for the Last Judgment and a late crucifixion drawing
- Michelangelo, Medici Chapel (New Sacristy)
- Laurentian Library
- Replicating Michelangelo
Pietà (marble sculpture)
The Pietà was a popular subject among northern european artists. It means Pity or Compassion, and represents Mary sorrowfully contemplating the dead body of her son which she holds on her lap. This sculpture was commissioned by a French Cardinal living in Rome.
Look closely and see how Michelangelo made marble seem like flesh, and look at those complicated folds of drapery. It is important here to remember how sculpture is made. It was a messy, rather loud process (which is one of the reasons that Leonardo claimed that painting was superior to sculpture!). Just like painters often mixed their own paint, Michelangelo forged many of his own tools, and often participated in the quarrying of his marble -- a dangerous job.
When we look at the extraordinary representation of the human body here we remember that Michelangelo, like Leonardo before him, had dissected cadavers to understand how the body worked.
. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.Want to join the conversation?
- Isn't it true that this was the only work that Michelangelo signed?(13 votes)
- Yes, that is correct. Pietà was the only work Michelangelo signed.
"According to Giorgio Vasari, when it was first put on display, Michelangelo happened to hear some men from Milan telling each other it was the work of one of their sculptors. Michelangelo couldn’t allow that. He thought it was one of the best statues ever carved and he wanted credit for it. So that night he went into the church with his hammer and chisels and candles and carved his name in big letters on the Virgin."
"Vasari also reports the anecdote that Michelangelo later regretted his outburst of pride and swore never to sign another work of his hands."
Sources:
http://www.rome.info/michelangelo/pieta/
http://saintpetersbasilica.org/Altars/Pieta/Pieta.htm(16 votes)
- Wasn't this attacked by someone with a hammer? If so, how was it repaired?(6 votes)
- Yes, it was attacked. They put if behind bullet-proof glass after restoration so this won't happen again. See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0_%28Michelangelo%29(11 votes)
- How many artworks did he made right after his death in 1564?(0 votes)
- I consider Michelangelo's architecture a work of art. The construction of St. Peter's Basilica was continued for 60 years after his death. It was finally finished and opened Nov. 18, 1626.(2 votes)
- Why Michelangelo depicted a young Mary as she holds her son's body effortlessly? Is he trying to show divine immortality?(3 votes)
- Mary wasn't exactly an old crone. Jesus was 33 at the time of his death and Mary was 14 years older, making her 47. She wasn't a noble woman and probably had to do some manual labor in her day. Therefore, it wouldn't be unthinkable that she could cradle a grown man for a few moments. As for her appearance, artists tend to idealize divine figures.(5 votes)
- Was Michelangelo a believer in Christ?(2 votes)
- Regardless of the political climate Michelangelo was extremely devout. Anyone who wishes to know his personal religious feelings should read his poetry which includes a lot of religious verse. He wrote "Tear you, Lord, the veil, break down the wall which with its hardness keeps us from the light of your sun, now quenched in the world." Translated from Italian by Christopher Ryan. I don't think it's possible to make something so beautiful and clear without strong convictions. Michelangelo also refused commissions from popes on more than one occasion or argued till he got his own way and still managed to die of old age.(4 votes)
- What stage in Michelangelo's life was the Pieta made?(1 vote)
- This was not his only Pieta. Wish we could see a photo of both, side by side.
Where is the other Pieta located?(2 votes)- Here is Michelangelo's early Pieta in Saint Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo%27s_Pieta_5450_cropncleaned_edit.jpg
and here is his last Pieta (unfinished and likely his very last sculpture) in Milan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo_piet%C3%A0_rondanini.jpg(3 votes)
- I know that Michelangelo carved his name on the Pieta, but where exactly is Michelangelo's name carved on it?(2 votes)
- atyou can see it on the sash running across Mary's breast . 2:22(3 votes)
- Were the fingers broken off before or after the glass case was put on?(2 votes)
- before,
they were broken off in 1736
the glass case has only recently been put on after a mentally disturbed geoglest broke marys elbow(2 votes)
- How do we know the woman is not Mary Magdalene?(2 votes)
- Because Mary Magdalene is not the mother of Jesus Christ.
Michelangelo was commissioned in 1498 by French cardinal Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas, to produce a sculpture of Mary holding her dead son. We know that the dead son is Jesus Christ, therefore this is not Mary Magdalene.(1 vote)