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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
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Slaves (marble sculptures)
Michelangelo, The Slaves (commonly referred to as the Dying Slave and the Rebellious Slave), marble, 2.09 m high, 1513-15 (Musée du Louvre, Paris) Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker Usually considered unfinished, these sculptures were originally intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II. According to the Louvre, the artist gave the marbles to Roberto Strozzi who presented them to the King of France. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker.
Want to join the conversation?
- Why are the Pieta and the tomb very shiny, whereas these two have a dull aspect? Is it a different marble, or a different finish?(10 votes)
- I think that based on the fact that they were never used for the tomb, and that there is uncarved stone still attached, that Michelangelo would not have considered these as finished works. They probably were never as finished/polished as those he deemed complete.(11 votes)
- during his position, they talk about how his head is back opposite to his shoulder.5:50
what does that mean?(3 votes)- Atwhen she says that the head moves "up and back" "the opposite way that the shoulders move", this is because the shoulders are tilted forward and down. Imagine standing up straight with your head level. Lean forward like in a bow, but keep your head stationary in relation to the ground; keep it level. Now tilt your head even farther back. This is a very uncomfortable position. 2:38(3 votes)
- Atyou say that the salves "weren't needed" for the final version of the pope's tomb. Do you know why this was? 0:45(3 votes)
- For more on this issue see the video on Michelangelo's Moses and the Tomb of Julius II: https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/art-history/art-history-1500-1600-end-of-the-renaissance-and-the-reformation/high-renaissance/v/michelangelo--moses--ca--1513-15(2 votes)
- Why did Michelangelo leave some raw stone attached to the slave statues?(0 votes)
- Possibly because it made them look neat. I for one like the look.(3 votes)
- What was the significance of the slaves to the tomb and to Moses on the tomb?(1 vote)
- I can answer about the slaves:
they stand for all the different populations ruled by that pope.(2 votes)
- What exactly was the reason for Miachelangelo carving the "Dying Slave" structure during the Renaissance era? Was it to symbolise some event or something?(1 vote)
- In the text about Moses it was written that the tomb was planned for 20 figures, now they say it was planned for 40 figures. Which one is correct?(1 vote)
- Why exactly were the two separated from the tomb?(1 vote)
- They were never needed for the tomb, he just made them and then decided not to use them.(1 vote)
- Did slaves ware clothes back then or was it just for the art?(1 vote)
- Slaves did were clothes, but it looked more artistic without.(1 vote)
- Where did you guys see these sculptures?(0 votes)
Video transcript
STEVEN ZUCKER: We're
in the Musee du Louvre, and we're looking at
Michelangelo's "Two Slaves." These were originally intended
for Pope Julius II's tomb, and they date from 1513 to 1515. BETH HARRIS: So Pope
Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to sculpt his tomb. The original plans were
for a very elaborate tomb with more than 40 figures. Michelangelo was
pulled off to paint the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel. Then the tomb was redesigned. And there were
three figures made for this next
version of the tomb-- the two slaves that we see
here together with Moses, who is actually on the current
version of the tomb, which is in San Pietro
in Vincoli in Rome. These two figures were not
needed for that final version, and so here they
are in the Louvre. STEVEN ZUCKER:
Immediately I start to try to imagine what
these figures would look like with the Moses, which
is this extraordinarily powerful figure, but
interestingly, is seated, whereas these figures
are ineffectual, and yet they're standing. They're vertical. BETH HARRIS: The figure
known as "The Dying Slave--" and of course,
these aren't titles that Michelangelo gave
them, but titles-- STEVEN ZUCKER: Right, they're
later attributed titles. BETH HARRIS: --that
they acquired-- is a very internalized figure. His eyes are closed. He seems to be in a
trance-like state. He seems to be in another place,
compared to the figure known as "The Bound Slave" that
struggles against the ties that bind him and seems to
look upward toward God. There's a Neoplatonic
interpretation of these figures, struggling to
be free from the earthly realm and struggling to
be one with God. STEVEN ZUCKER: He does allow
those figures to remain bound to the stone, bound to the rock. And this is a really
interesting aspect of Michelangelo's sculpture. He's willing to allow the
raw stone to remain visible. BETH HARRIS: And
Michelangelo talked about how when he looked
at a block of marble, he saw a figure struggling to
be free from within that marble. The figure of "The Bound
Slave" is bound up in himself. His body is really twisted in
a serpentine position that's different from
"The Dying Slave." STEVEN ZUCKER: It's also that
his actual anatomy is heavier. His muscles are larger. He's a more mature figure. BETH HARRIS: That
makes that journey to transcend even more powerful. If you look at the
muscles of the arms, they're not as
athletically perfect. And his proportions are wider. STEVEN ZUCKER: They are. And he's actually
distorting his own body. The way that arm that you
mentioned just a moment ago actually presses
against his side actually sort of pushes
it out and creates a kind of distortion. BETH HARRIS: And
the face is wider. It's more unfinished. And the head moves in an
almost painful way, up and back in the opposite way
that the shoulders move. And then the shoulders move
in the opposite direction of the hips. If you think about how
expressive the body becomes under Michelangelo, this
is the best example. STEVEN ZUCKER: Looking at these
sculptures for just a moment, even though there's raw
stone still attached to them, you begin to forget very
quickly that this is something that was once a block of marble. BETH HARRIS: Yeah.