1.
Michelangelo
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Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Considered to be the greatest living artist during his lifetime, he has since described as one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of Michelangelos works of painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence and he sculpted two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, before the age of thirty. As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library, at the age of 74, he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as the architect of St. Peters Basilica. Michelangelo transformed the plan so that the end was finished to his design, as was the dome, with some modification. Michelangelo was unique as the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was alive, in his lifetime he was often called Il Divino. One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, the attempts by subsequent artists to imitate Michelangelos impassioned and highly personal style resulted in Mannerism, the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance. Michelangelo was born on 6 March 1475 in Caprese near Arezzo, at the time of Michelangelos birth, his father was the Judicial administrator of the small town of Caprese and local administrator of Chiusi. Michelangelos mother was Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena, the Buonarrotis claimed to descend from the Countess Mathilde of Canossa, this claim remains unproven, but Michelangelo himself believed it. Several months after Michelangelos birth, the returned to Florence. There Michelangelo gained his love for marble, as Giorgio Vasari quotes him, If there is good in me. Along with the milk of my nurse I received the knack of handling chisel and hammer, as a young boy, Michelangelo was sent to Florence to study grammar under the Humanist Francesco da Urbino. The young artist, however, showed no interest in his schooling, preferring to copy paintings from churches, the city of Florence was at that time the greatest centre of the arts and learning in Italy. Art was sponsored by the Signoria, by the merchant guilds and by patrons such as the Medici. The Renaissance, a renewal of Classical scholarship and the arts, had its first flowering in Florence, the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti had laboured for fifty years to create the bronze doors of the Baptistry, which Michelangelo was to describe as The Gates of Paradise. The exterior niches of the Church of Orsanmichele contained a gallery of works by the most acclaimed sculptors of Florence – Donatello, Ghiberti, Andrea del Verrocchio, and Nanni di Banco. The interiors of the churches were covered with frescos, begun by Giotto. During Michelangelos childhood, a team of painters had been called from Florence to the Vatican, among them was Domenico Ghirlandaio, a master in fresco painting, perspective, figure drawing, and portraiture who had the largest workshop in Florence at that period
Michelangelo
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Portrait of Michelangelo by
Daniele da Volterra
Michelangelo
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The
Madonna of the Stairs (1490–92), Michelangelo's earliest known work
Michelangelo
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Michelangelo's
Pietà, St Peter's Basilica (1498–99)
Michelangelo
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The
Statue of David, completed by Michelangelo in 1504, is one of the most renowned works of the Renaissance.
2.
Cappella Paolina
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The Cappella Paolina is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City. It is separated from the Sistine Chapel by the Sala Regia and it is not on any of the regular tourist itineries. They did not conform to the conventions of the time. Despite the importance of the chapel and the significance of their subjects, the chapel was commissioned in 1538 by the order of Pope Paul III and completed in 1540 under the design and supervision of Antonio da Sangallo the Younger. The Cappella Paolina served as both the Chapel of the Sacrament and the Chapel of the Conclave, Paul III dedicated the chapel to the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul, a festival to which he displayed particular devotion. This is shown by a letter dated October 12,1541 from Cardinal Alexander, Paul III’s nephew, to Bishop Marco Vigerio which discusses the paintings to be carried out in the “New Chapel. ”Other paintings in the chapel are by Lorenzo Sabbatini and Federico Zuccari. The statues in the background are by P. Bresciano, the cardinals then withdraw to the Sistine Chapel. In the Cappella Paolina are sung daily the conclave Solemn Masses De Spiritu Sancto, in 1549 and 1550, the Cappella Paolina was used for the papal conclave itself, the Sistine Chapel having been set aside and divided into 19 cells for use by infirm cardinals. The conclave elected Pope Julius III, however, due to restoration work that had begun in 2002, the chapel was unavailable for the 2005 conclave so the Hall of Blessings instead was used for this purpose. The restoration work was finished in 2009 and during the 2013 conclave the cardinal-electors assembled in the Pauline Chapel to begin their procession into the Sistine Chapel. The Pauline Chapel was also the venue where the officials, support staff. In 2004, the Vatican announced plans to restore the frescoes in Cappella Paolina, work was completed in 2009, revealing bright colors and hues that had been dulled by centuries of dirt and grime. In 2010, the Vatican website released a virtual reality rendered version of the Cappella Paolina and it presents the chapel in part 3D rendering and part high-resolution photography, unquestionably made after the 2009 restoration. Two other chapels with the name are in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore and in the Quirinal Palace. Index of Vatican City-related articles Freedburg, Sidney J. Painting in Italy, 1500–1600,1993, Yale, ISBN0300055870 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles, ed. article name needed. The Vatican, spirit and art of Christian Rome, a book from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries, which contains material on Cappella Paolina
Cappella Paolina
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Detail of the Crucifixion of St. Peter by
Michelangelo in the Cappella Paolina.
3.
Vatican Palace
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The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Papal Palace, Palace of the Vatican and Vatican Palace, the Vatican itself refers to the building as the Palace of Sixtus V in honor of Pope Sixtus V. The modern tourist can see these last and other parts of the palace, the Scala Regia can be seen into from one end but not entered. In the fifth century, Pope Symmachus built a palace close to the Old St. Peters Basilica which served an alternative residence to the Lateran Palace. The construction of a fortified palace was sponsored by Pope Eugene III. The Vatican Palace had fallen into disrepair from lack of upkeep, in 1447, Pope Nicholas V razed the ancient fortified palace of Eugene III to erect a new building, the current Apostolic Palace. In the 15th century, the Palace was placed under the authority of a prefect and this position of Apostolic Prefect lasted from the 15th century till the 1800s, when the Papal States fell into economic difficulties. In 1884, when this post was reviewed in light of saving money, the major additions and decorations of the palace are the work of the following popes for 150 years. In the 20th century, Pope Pius XI built an art gallery. Construction of the Papal Palace at the Vatican in Vatican City, covering 162, 000m squared, it contains the Papal Apartments, offices of the Roman Catholic Church and Holy See, chapels, Vatican Library, museums and art galleries. The Apostolic Palace is run by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, the palace is more accurately a series of self-contained buildings within the well-recognized outer structure which is arranged around the Courtyard of Sixtus V. It is located northeast of St Peters Basilica and adjacent to the Bastion of Nicholas V, the Apostolic Palace houses both residential and support offices of various functions as well as administrative offices not focused on the life and functions of the Pope himself. Perhaps the best known of the Palace chapels is the Sistine Chapel named in honor of Sixtus IV and it is famous for its decoration that was frescoed throughout by Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and others. One of the functions of the chapel is as a venue for the election of each successive Pope in a conclave of the College of Cardinals. In this closed-door election, the cardinals choose a successor to the first pope, St. Peter and this suite of rooms is famous for its frescos by a large team of artists working under Raphael. They were originally intended as a suite of apartments for Pope Julius II and he commissioned Raphael, then a relatively young artist from Urbino, and his studio in 1508 or 1509 to redecorate the existing interiors of the rooms entirely. It was possibly Julius intent to outshine the apartments of his predecessor Pope Alexander VI and they are on the third floor, overlooking the south side of the Belvedere Courtyard. After the death of Julius in 1513, with two rooms frescoed, Pope Leo X continued the program, following Raphaels death in 1520, his assistants Gianfrancesco Penni, Giulio Romano and Raffaellino del Colle finished the project with the frescoes in the Sala di Costantino
Vatican Palace
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A view of the
Papal Apartments from
Saint Peter's Square
Vatican Palace
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The Portone di Bronzo at the Vatican Apostolic Palace entrance.
Vatican Palace
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A model of the palace in the
Vatican Museums. The buildings are arranged around a central courtyard.
Vatican Palace
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Under the patronage of
Julius II, Michelangelo painted the
chapel ceiling between 1508 and 1512.
4.
Vatican City
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Vatican City, officially Vatican City State or the State of Vatican City, is a walled enclave within the city of Rome. With an area of approximately 44 hectares, and a population of 842, however, formally it is not sovereign, with sovereignty being held by the Holy See, the only entity of public international law that has diplomatic relations with almost every country in the world. It is an ecclesiastical or sacerdotal-monarchical state ruled by the Bishop of Rome – the Pope, the highest state functionaries are all Catholic clergy of various national origins. Vatican City is distinct from the Holy See, which dates back to early Christianity and is the episcopal see of 1.2 billion Latin. According to the terms of the treaty, the Holy See has full ownership, exclusive dominion, within Vatican City are religious and cultural sites such as St. Peters Basilica, the Sistine Chapel and the Vatican Museums. They feature some of the worlds most famous paintings and sculptures, the unique economy of Vatican City is supported financially by the sale of postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to museums, and the sale of publications. The name Vatican City was first used in the Lateran Treaty, signed on 11 February 1929, the name is taken from Vatican Hill, the geographic location of the state. Vatican is derived from the name of an Etruscan settlement, Vatica or Vaticum meaning garden, located in the area the Romans called vaticanus ager. The official Italian name of the city is Città del Vaticano or, more formally, Stato della Città del Vaticano, although the Holy See and the Catholic Church use Ecclesiastical Latin in official documents, the Vatican City officially uses Italian. The Latin name is Status Civitatis Vaticanæ, this is used in documents by not just the Holy See. The name Vatican was already in use in the time of the Roman Republic for an area on the west bank of the Tiber across from the city of Rome. Under the Roman Empire, many villas were constructed there, after Agrippina the Elder drained the area and laid out her gardens in the early 1st century AD. In AD40, her son, Emperor Caligula built in her gardens a circus for charioteers that was completed by Nero, the Circus Gaii et Neronis, usually called, simply. Even before the arrival of Christianity, it is supposed that this originally uninhabited part of Rome had long considered sacred. A shrine dedicated to the Phrygian goddess Cybele and her consort Attis remained active long after the Constantinian Basilica of St. Peter was built nearby, the particularly low quality of Vatican water, even after the reclamation of the area, was commented on by the poet Martial. The Vatican Obelisk was originally taken by Caligula from Heliopolis in Egypt to decorate the spina of his circus and is thus its last visible remnant and this area became the site of martyrdom of many Christians after the Great Fire of Rome in AD64. Ancient tradition holds that it was in this circus that Saint Peter was crucified upside-down, opposite the circus was a cemetery separated by the Via Cornelia. Peters in the first half of the 4th century, the Constantinian basilica was built in 326 over what was believed to be the tomb of Saint Peter, buried in that cemetery
Vatican City
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View of St. Peter's Square from the top of Michelangelo's dome
Vatican City
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Flag
Vatican City
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The Vatican
obelisk was originally taken from Egypt by
Caligula.
Vatican City
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Bands of the British army's 38th Brigade playing in front of St Peter's Basilica, June 1944
5.
Mannerism
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Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, lasting until about 1580 in Italy, when the Baroque style began to replace it. Northern Mannerism continued into the early 17th century, stylistically, Mannerism encompasses a variety of approaches influenced by, and reacting to, the harmonious ideals associated with artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, and early Michelangelo. Where High Renaissance art emphasizes proportion, balance, and ideal beauty, Mannerism exaggerates such qualities, Mannerism is notable for its intellectual sophistication as well as its artificial qualities. Mannerism favors compositional tension and instability rather than the balance and clarity of earlier Renaissance painting, Mannerism in literature and music is notable for its highly florid style and intellectual sophistication. The definition of Mannerism and the phases within it continue to be a subject of debate among art historians, for example, some scholars have applied the label to certain early modern forms of literature and music of the 16th and 17th centuries. The term is used to refer to some late Gothic painters working in northern Europe from about 1500 to 1530. Mannerism also has been applied by analogy to the Silver Age of Latin literature, the word mannerism derives from the Italian maniera, meaning style or manner. Like the English word style, maniera can either indicate a type of style or indicate an absolute that needs no qualification. Vasari was also a Mannerist artist, and he described the period in which he worked as la maniera moderna, james V. Mirollo describes how bella maniera poets attempted to surpass in virtuosity the sonnets of Petrarch. This notion of bella maniera suggests that artists thus inspired looked to copying and bettering their predecessors, in essence, bella maniera utilized the best from a number of source materials, synthesizing it into something new. As a stylistic label, Mannerism is not easily defined, “High Renaissance” connoted a period distinguished by harmony, grandeur and the revival of classical antiquity. The term Mannerist was redefined in 1967 by John Shearman following the exhibition of Mannerist paintings organised by Fritz Grossmann at Manchester City Art Gallery in 1965. The label “Mannerism” was used during the 16th century to comment on social behaviour, however, for later writers, such as the 17th-century Gian Pietro Bellori, la maniera was a derogatory term for the perceived decline of art after Raphael, especially in the 1530s and 1540s. From the late 19th century on, art historians have used the term to describe art that follows Renaissance classicism. By the end of the High Renaissance, young artists experienced a crisis, no more difficulties, technical or otherwise, remained to be solved. The young artists needed to find a new goal, and they sought new approaches, at this point Mannerism started to emerge. The new style developed between 1510 and 1520 either in Florence, or in Rome, or in both cities simultaneously and this period has been described as a natural extension of the art of Andrea del Sarto, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Michelangelo from an early age had developed a style of his own, one of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur, and subsequent artists attempted to imitate it
Mannerism
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In
Parmigianino 's
Madonna with the Long Neck (1534-40), Mannerism makes itself known by elongated proportions, highly stylized poses, and lack of clear perspective.
Mannerism
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Mannerism role-model:
Laocoön and His Sons, an ancient sculpture, rediscovered in 1506; now in the
Vatican. The artists of Mannerism greatly admired this piece of sculpture.
Mannerism
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Ignudi from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling.
Mannerism
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The Libyan Sibyl from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling.
6.
Crucifixion of St. Peter (Michelangelo)
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The Crucifixion of St. Peter is a fresco painting by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti. It is housed in the Cappella Paolina, Vatican Palace, in the Vatican City and it is the last fresco executed by Michelangelo. The artist portrayed St. Peter in the moment in which he was raised by the Roman soldiers to the cross, Michelangelo concentrated the attention on the depiction of pain and suffering. The faces of the present are clearly distressed. Pope Paul commissioned this fresco by Michelangelo in 1541 and unveiled it in his Cappella Paolina, restoration of the fresco completed in 2009 revealed an image believed to be a self-portrait of Michelangelo himself. The figure is standing in the left corner of the fresco, wearing a red tunic. Blue turbans were worn by Renaissance sculptors to keep the dust out of their hair. St. Peter is known by his attributes, as “rock of the church, ” the “first vicar of Christ. These attributes, specially the latter, made him the subject of works of art in the Vatican. St Peter is depicted receiving the keys to the kingdom of Heaven from Christ on the wall of the Sistine chapel in Perugino’s The Delivery of the Keys, Pope Paul III commissioned Michelangelo to paint yet another fresco of St Peter around the year 1545. In contrast to themes of power and glory depicted by Perugino, St Peter’s status as a major martyr is not only because he was the “first vicar of Christ, ” but also because he was, like Christ, crucified. Although his final request is not mentioned in the canonical New Testament, it was believed that he demanded, Crucify me head downwards. The Crucifixion fresco is situated on the wall of the Pauline Chapel. The backdrop to the scene is a minimally elaborated mountainous background, Michelangelo did not render this background in great detail. Vasari states, “There are no landscapes to be seen in scenes, nor any trees, buildings or other embellishments and variation. ”The mountains are painted in a faint blue hue. The land represented in the ground and foreground is a pale yellow-green that is in some places more of a yellow ochre in color. The only real vertical elements in the painting are the figures, many clusters of people surround a single large central figure that is mounted on a crucifix. The most impressive formal attribute of this painting is its central compositional element, unlike the many prior representations of the martyrdom of Peter, this one depicts the raising of the cross- the moment before the crucifixion has truly begun
Crucifixion of St. Peter (Michelangelo)
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The Crucifixion of St. Peter
7.
Head of a Faun
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Head of a faun is a lost sculpture by Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo, dating from c. His first known work of sculpture in marble, it was sculpted when he was 15 or 16 as a copy of a work with some minor alterations. According to Giorgio Vasaris biography of the artist, it was the creation of work that secured the young Michaelangelo the patronage of Lorenzo de Medici. Artists Life — Michelangelo, page 14,15 — Enrica Crispino,2001, the Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti, page 23 — John Addington Symonds, BiblioBazaar. Michael Angelo, Giorgio Vasaris Lives of the Artists, Fordham University The Boy Michelangelo carving the Head of the Faun - Sculpture of Cesare Zocchi
Head of a Faun
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Cast of a head in
Bargello Museum until 1944, once attributed as Michelangelo's Head of a Faun
8.
Madonna of the Stairs
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The Madonna of the Stairs is a relief sculpture by Michelangelo in the Casa Buonarroti, Florence. It was sculpted around 1491, when Michelangelo was about seventeen and this and the Battle of the Centaurs were Michelangelos first two sculptures. The first reference to the Madonna of the Stairs as a work by Michelangelo was in the 1568 edition of Giorgio Vasaris Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects. Pronounced is the muscle of the Child and the taking of Mary, especially with large hands, thanks to the different treatment of the surfaces, make it appear vigorous simple, everyday gesture. Virtuoso is finally the fall of the drapery, especially on Cubics seat and it is difficult to determine the significance of this background scene, perhaps a simple exercise in style or a tribute to dancing putti Donatello
Madonna of the Stairs
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Madonna of the Stairs
9.
Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)
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Battle of the Centaurs is a relief by Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, created around 1492. It was the last work Michelangelo created while under the patronage of Lorenzo de Medici, inspired by a classical relief created by Bertoldo di Giovanni, the unfinished marble sculpture depicts the mythic battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. A popular subject of art in ancient Greece, the story was suggested to Michelangelo by the classical scholar, Battle of the Centaurs was a remarkable sculpture in several ways, presaging Michelangelos future sculptural direction. Michelangelo had departed from the current practices of working on a discrete plane to work multidimensionally. Whether intentionally left unfinished or not, the work is significant in the tradition of non finito sculpting technique for that reason, Michelangelo regarded it as the best of his early works, and a visual reminder of why he should have focused his efforts on sculpture. Michelangelo, at 17, was working under the patronage of Lorenzo de Medici when he crafted the Battle of the Centaurs, the work reflected a then current fashion for reproducing ancient themes. Specifically, Michelangelo was inspired by a relief that had produced for de Medici by Bertoldo di Giovanni. Michelangelo chose to work in marble rather than the more expensive bronze to keep down costs, Bertoldo took other liberties with his source material and seems to have himself been inspired by the Antonio del Pollaiolo engraving Battle of the Nudes. The young sculptor never finished the work and he also notes that Michelangelo expressed no dissatisfaction with the work. Whether or not the sculpture was left incomplete, Michelangelo regarded this sculpture as the best of his early works. According to Condivi, the poet Poliziano suggested the subject to Michelangelo. The battle depicted takes place between the Lapiths and the Centaurs at the wedding feast of Pirithous, Pirithous, king of the Lapith, had long clashed with the neighboring Centaurs. To mark his good intentions Pirithous invited the Centaurs to his wedding to Hippodamia, whose name and this led not only to an immediate clash, but to a year-long war, before the defeated Centaurs were expelled from Thessaly to the northwest. The myth was a subject for Greek sculpture and painting. Battles between Lapiths and Centaurs were depicted in the friezes on the Parthenon and on Zeus temple at Olympia. Scigliano suggests that Michelangelos Battle of the Centaurs also reflects the themes of Greeks over barbarians and civilization over savagery, the triumph of stone over flesh. The relief consists of a mass of figures, writhing in combat. Architectural historian Howard Hibbard says that Michelangelo has obscured the centaurs, one of the few identifiable centaurs is visible in the bottom center, his leg extending between the legs of the twisting figure above him
Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)
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Battle of the Centaurs
Battle of the Centaurs (Michelangelo)
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Battle of the Nudes (c. 1470)
Antonio del Pollaiolo
10.
Crucifix (Michelangelo)
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Two different crucifixes, or strictly wooden corpus figures for crucifixes, are attributed to the High Renaissance master Michelangelo, although neither is universally accepted as his. Both are relatively small figures which would have produced in Michelangelos youth. It was perhaps made for the altar of the Church of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito in Florence. The work is notable for the fact that this Christ is naked. Michelangelo Buonarroti was a guest of the convent of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito when he was seventeen years old, after the death of his protector Lorenzo de Medici. Here he could make anatomical studies of the coming from the convents hospital, in exchange. Today the crucifix is in the sacristy of the Basilica of Santa Maria del Santo Spirito. The nudity of the figure is true to the Gospels, christs clothing being removed by Roman soldiers is offered as the fulfilment of Psalm 22,18, They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. All of the Gospel writers suggest the nakedness, while John supplies the details, The sign attached to the cross includes Jesus accusation inscribed in Hebrew, Greek, the wording translates Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews. All of the record this inscription, which varies slightly among them. Here the artist favored the rendering from Johns Gospel, also present is the spear wound inflicted into Jesus’ side by a Roman soldier. His blood is seen here dripping from the wound on his right side, the figure had been previously exhibited in 2004 in the Museo Horne in Florence. The figure measures 41.3 by 39.7 centimetres and was made around 1495. In December 2009, an inquiry has been opened into the acquisition of the crucifix by the Italian state. ANSA reports that, several experts have cast doubts on the attribution, with the doyenne of Michelangelo cross studies, German art historian Margrit Lisner, media related to Michelangelos crucifix in Florence at Wikimedia Commons
Crucifix (Michelangelo)
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Crucifix
Crucifix (Michelangelo)
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The so-called Crucifix Gallino displayed at the
Bargello
11.
Arca di San Domenico
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The Arca di San Domenico is a monument containing the remains of Saint Dominic. It is located in Dominic’s Chapel in the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna, the elaboration of this artistic masterpiece was performed in separate stages by the best sculptors of their time and took almost 500 years to finish. Saint Dominic died in the convent of the church of San Nicolò delle Vigne on 6 August 1221 and he was buried behind the altar. The church of San Nicolò was expanded into the Basilica of San Domenico between 1228 and 1240. The remains of the saint were moved in 1233 from its place behind the altar into a marble sarcophagus. Since most of the pilgrims, who came in numbers to see the grave, were not able to see this shrine, hidden by so many people standing in front of it. In 1264, the Dominicans then commissioned a new tomb for their founder to Nicola Pisano and he was certainly responsible for the design of the new sarcophagus, but in 1265 he was already at work on another assignment, the pulpit for the Siena Cathedral. The front side was done in his workshop, partially by Nicola Pisano himself, the rectangular sarcophagus was originally borne on caryatid figures. The sarcophagus was relocated in the middle of the church in 1411, between 1469 and 1473 a crowning was added on the flat top of the sarcophagus by Niccolò dellArca and several other masters in their art. Among them was the young Michelangelo, who added the statuettes of San Petronio, in 1532, a step was added between the sarcophagus and the altar slab by Alfonso Lombardi. The Saint Dominic’s chapel was built by the Bolognese architect Floriano Ambrosini from 1597, the Dominicans wanted a chapel for their founder to match the splendour of the other existing chapels. The fresco on the cupola of the apse St. Dominic’s Glory, finally the whole tomb was put on a marble altar in the 18th century. In a little chapel, on the back of the tomb, is the reliquary with the Head of St. Dominic. The sarcophagus is the part and also the oldest part of the shrine. It contains the remains of Saint Dominic in a cypress coffin, Nicola Pisano, already famous for his pulpit in the Pisa Baptistery, was asked in 1264 to construct this sarcophagus. He was certainly responsible for the design, but left the brunt of the work to his workshop, the front side was done in his workshop, partially by Nicola Pisano himself but mostly by his assistant Lapo di Ricevuto. and another famous sculptor Arnolfo di Cambio. The Dominican brother fra Guglielmo da Pisa made a small contribution, according to Gnudi an anonymous Fifth Master was also involved. A collaboration of several sculptors on such a commission was normal practice in medieval sculpture
Arca di San Domenico
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General view of the Arca di San Domenico.
Arca di San Domenico
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Front side of the sarcophagus.
12.
Bacchus (Michelangelo)
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Bacchus is a marble sculpture by the Italian High Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect and poet Michelangelo. The statue is somewhat over life-size and depicts Bacchus, the Greek god of wine, along with the Pietà the Bacchus is one of only two surviving sculptures from the artists first period in Rome. Bacchus is depicted with rolling eyes, his body almost teetering off the rocky outcrop on which he stands. Sitting behind him is a faun, who eats the bunch of grapes slipping out of Bacchuss left hand, the inspiration for the work appears to be the description in Pliny the Elders Natural History of a lost bronze sculpture by Praxiteles, depicting Bacchus, Drunkenness and a satyr. The sense of precariousness resulting from a centre of gravity can be found in a number of later works by the artist, most notably the David. Bacchus wears a wreath of ivy leaves, as that plant was sacred to the god, in his right hand he holds a goblet of wine and in his left the skin of a tiger, an animal associated with the god for its love of the grape. The hand holding the goblet was broken off and the penis chiseled away before Maarten van Heemskerck saw the sculpture in the 1530s, only the goblet was restored, in the early 1550s. The mutilation may have been to give the sculpture an illusion of antiquity, placed as it initially was among an antique torso. Such a concession to classical sensibilities did not, however, convince Percy Bysshe Shelley of the fidelity to the spirit. He wrote that It looks drunken, brutal, and narrow-minded, the art historian Johannes Wilde summarised responses to the sculpture thus, in brief. It is not the image of a god, the statue was commissioned for the garden of Cardinal Raffaele Riario who intended for it to complement his collection of classical sculptures. There it first appeared in a drawing by Maarten van Heemskerck, the statue was bought for the Medici and transferred to Florence in 1572. The Mirror of the Gods, Classical Mythology in Renaissance Art, Michelangelo and the Reinvention of the Human Body. London, Chatto & Windus Hirst, Michael, Dunkerton, Jill, making and Meaning, The Young Michelangelo. New Haven and London, Yale University Press, Italian High Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture. Project Gutenberg Media related to Michelangelos Bacchus at Wikimedia Commons
Bacchus (Michelangelo)
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Bacchus
Bacchus (Michelangelo)
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Drawing of the Bacchus in the sculpture garden of Jacopo Galli by
Maarten van Heemskerck, c. 1533–6
13.
David (Michelangelo)
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David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504 by Michelangelo. It is a 5. 17-metre marble statue of a male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a subject in the art of Florence. The eyes of David, with a glare, were turned towards Rome. The statue was moved to the Galleria dellAccademia, Florence, in 1873, the history of the statue begins before Michelangelos work on it from 1501 to 1504. In 1410 Donatello made the first of the statues, a figure of Joshua in terracotta, a figure of Hercules, also in terracotta, was commissioned from the Florentine sculptor Agostino di Duccio in 1463 and was made perhaps under Donatellos direction. Eager to continue their project, in 1464, the Operai contracted Agostino to create a sculpture of David, a block of marble was provided from a quarry in Carrara, a town in the Apuan Alps in northern Tuscany. Agostino only got as far as beginning to shape the legs, feet and his association with the project ceased, for reasons unknown, with the death of Donatello in 1466, and ten years later Antonio Rossellino was commissioned to take up where Agostino had left off. Rossellinos contract was terminated soon thereafter, and the block of marble remained neglected for 25 years, all the while exposed to the elements in the yard of the cathedral workshop. This was of concern to the Opera authorities, as such a large piece of marble not only was costly but represented a large amount of labour. In 1500, an inventory of the cathedral workshops described the piece as a figure of marble called David, badly blocked out. A year later, documents showed that the Operai were determined to find an artist who could take this piece of marble. They ordered the block of stone, which they called The Giant, raised on its feet so that an experienced in this kind of work might examine it. Though Leonardo da Vinci and others were consulted, it was Michelangelo, only 26 years old, on 16 August 1501, Michelangelo was given the official contract to undertake this challenging new task. He began carving the statue early in the morning on 13 September and he would work on the massive statue for more than two years. They convened a committee of 30 Florentine citizens that comprised many artists, including Leonardo da Vinci and Sandro Botticelli, while nine different locations for the statue were discussed, the majority of members seem to have been closely split between two sites. Another opinion, supported by Botticelli, was that the sculpture should be situated on or near the cathedral. In June 1504, David was installed next to the entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio, replacing Donatellos bronze sculpture of Judith and Holofernes and it took four days to move the statue the half mile from Michelangelos workshop into the Piazza della Signoria
David (Michelangelo)
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David
David (Michelangelo)
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David in the
Galleria dell'Accademia.
David (Michelangelo)
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David, modelling of the marble.
David (Michelangelo)
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A replica of David now stands outside the
Palazzo Vecchio.
14.
Madonna of Bruges
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The Madonna of Bruges is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo of Mary with the Child Jesus. Instead, Jesus stands upright, almost unsupported, only loosely restrained by Marys left hand, meanwhile, Mary does not cling to her son or even look at him, but gazes down and away. It is believed the work was intended for an altar piece. If this is so, then it would have been displayed facing slightly to the right, the early 15th Century sculpture also displays the High Renaissance Pyramid style frequently seen in the works of Leonardo Da Vinci during the late 1400s. Madonna and Child shares certain similarities with Michelangelos Pietà, which was completed shortly before--mainly, the long, oval face of Mary is also reminiscent of the Pietà. The work is notable in that it was the only sculpture by Michelangelo to leave Italy during his lifetime. It was bought by Giovanni and Alessandro Moscheroni, from a family of cloth merchants in Bruges. The sculpture was sold for 4,000 florin, the sculpture was removed twice from Belgium after its initial arrival. It was returned after Napoleons final defeat at Waterloo in 1815, the second removal was in 1944, during World War II, with the retreat of German soldiers, who smuggled the sculpture to Germany enveloped in mattresses in a Red Cross truck. It was discovered a year later in Altaussee/Austria within a salt mine and it now sits in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium. This is part of the fact-based movie The Monuments Men, after the attack on Michelangelos Pietà in 1972, the sculpture was placed behind bulletproof glass, and the public can only view it from 15 feet away. Roman Catholic Marian art Monuments Men
Madonna of Bruges
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Madonna and Child
Madonna of Bruges
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The statue being recovered from the
Altaussee salt mine
15.
Piccolomini Altarpiece
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The Piccolomini Altarpiece is an architectural and sculptural altarpiece in the left-nave of Siena Cathedral, commissioned by cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini. Francesco Caglioti, in Le sculture del duomo di Siena, Silvana Editoriale, Milano,2009, umberto Baldini, Michelangelo scultore, Rizzoli, Milano,1973. Guida dItalia, Touring Club Italiano, Milano,2003
Piccolomini Altarpiece
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Piccolomini Altarpiece
16.
Taddei Tondo
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The Taddei Tondo or The Virgin and Child with the Infant St John is a marble relief tondo by Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti. Part of the permanent collection of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, a perfect demonstration of his carving technique, the work delivers a powerful emotional and narrative punch. The tondo dates to Michelangelos time in Florence before his move to Rome in 1505, which works were considered outstanding and marvellous. A chisel blow on the reverse seemingly from this phase resulted in a hairline crack in the face of the Virgin that may only have become apparent as carving progressed. The missing segment to the right may be a result of an excess of his celebrated direct attack. In 1568 the tondo was still in the Palazzo Taddei, at an unknown date the tondo was taken to Rome, where it was acquired from Jean-Baptiste Wicar by Sir George Beaumont in 1822. It has been housed and displayed in various locations there ever since, except for an exhibition at the Victoria, the discovery of the hairline crack running through the upper half of the marble contributed to the decision in 1989 to provide a permanent home for the tondo. The tondo was left unwaxed and no other coating applied, as the work is not finished and was not originally polished, the tondo as a format for painting and relief sculpture was a quintessential product of the Florentine Renaissance. Compositionally, the eye of the viewer is drawn diagonally along Christs body, back up that of his mother, with her gaze across to John, and from his face back to Christ. John, patron saint of Florence, with his attribute of a bowl, crosses his arms. Executed with only a point and claw chisel, often hard and with great energy. The Christ child in full relief is highly finished, the relief of the Virgin finished to a lesser degree, St. John more so again. These marked variations in texture help establish the status of the three figures while creating a sense of compositional depth all the greater for not being more conventionally finished. Many of Michelangelos works are unfinished, according to nineteenth-century French sculptor and critic Eugène Guillaume, Michelangelos non finito was one of the masters expressive devices in his quest for infinite suggestiveness. Raphael returned to the body of the Christ child stretching across his mothers lap in the Bridgewater Madonna. It is indeed a great addition to our stock of art, cockerell noted in his diary how the subject seems growing from the marble & emerging into life. It assumes by degrees its shape, features from an unformed mass, with its differing degrees of finish the tondo is an outstanding technical study piece, plaster casts may be found at the Victoria and Albert Museum and Fitzwilliam Museum. Pitti Tondo Doni Tondo Taddei Tondo
Taddei Tondo
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Taddei Tondo
Taddei Tondo
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Sketch by Sir David Wilkie (c.1823)
Taddei Tondo
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Sketch by John Constable (1830)
17.
Tomb of Pope Julius II
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The Tomb of Pope Julius II is a sculptural and architectural ensemble by Michelangelo and his assistants, originally commissioned in 1505 but not completed until 1545 on a much reduced scale. Originally intended for St. Peters Basilica, the tomb was placed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli on the Esquiline in Rome after the popes death. This church was patronised by the della Rovere family from which Julius came, as originally conceived, the tomb would have been a colossal structure that would have given Michelangelo the room he needed for his superhuman, tragic beings. The original project called for a freestanding, three-level structure with some 40 statues, the most famous sculpture associated with the tomb is the figure of Moses, which was completed during one of the sporadic resumptions of the work in 1513. Michelangelo felt that this was his most lifelike creation, legend has it that upon its completion he struck the right knee commanding, now speak. As he felt that life was the only thing left inside the marble, there is a scar on the knee thought to be the mark of Michelangelos hammer. 1505 – Julius commissions a tomb from Michelangelo, who spends 6 months choosing marble at Carrara,1506 – Michelanglo returns to Rome due to a lack of funds available for the project, and is dismissed by an angry and bitter Julius. Michelangelo moves to Florence until Julius threatens to wage war on the state unless he returns,1512 – With his decoration of the Sistine Chapel ceiling complete, Michelangelo resumed work on the tomb. Between 1512 and 1513 he completed three sculptures for the project, the Dying and Rebellious Slaves and Moses,1513 – Julius died in February 1513. A new contract was drawn up on 6 May which specified a wall tomb, on 9 July Michelangelo contracted a stonemason, Antonio del Ponte a Sieve, to execute the architectural elements of the tombs lower register, which can be seen in the final design. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City has a drawing of the tomb from this period, though no longer for a free-standing monument, the project in fact became more ambitious both in terms of size and the complexity of its iconography. 1516 – A new contract is agreed between Michelangelo and Julius’s heirs who demand the completion of the project, 1520s – Michelangelo carves The Genius of Victory and four unfinished Slaves. 1532 – A second new contract is signed by Michelangelo which involves a wall-tomb,1542 – The wall-tomb is begun by Michelangelo after final details are negotiated with Julius′s grandson. The statues of the Dying Slave and the Rebellious Slave were finished but not included in the monument in its last and they are now in the Louvre. Another figure intended for Pope Julius tomb is The Genius of Victory, other sculptures for the tomb were the Young Slave, the Atlas Slave, the Bearded Slave and the Awakening Slave. The sculptures of Rachel and Leah, allegories of the contemplative and the life, were executed by Raffaello da Montelupo. The other sculptures are by less experienced pupils, media related to Michelangelos grave for Julius II at Wikimedia Commons
Tomb of Pope Julius II
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The tomb of Julius II, with Michelangelo's statues of
Rachel and
Leah on the left and the right of his Moses.
Tomb of Pope Julius II
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Study for a wall tomb, c. 1506, attributed to Michelangelo. This is the only surviving visual evidence for the project commissioned in 1505, and contradicts Michelangelo's early biographers’ description of a freestanding tomb.
Tomb of Pope Julius II
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Rebellious Slave
18.
Moses (Michelangelo)
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The Moses is a sculpture by the Italian High Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. The statue of Moses would have placed on a tier about 3.74 meters high. In the final design, the statue of Moses sits in the center of the bottom tier, giorgio Vasari in the Life of Michelangelo wrote, Michelangelo finished the Moses in marble, a statue of five braccia, unequalled by any modern or ancient work. The Jews still go every Saturday in troops to visit and adore it as a divine and his right arm links the Tables of the Law with a portion of his beard, his left arm lies in his lap. When he came down from Mount Sinai, Moses found his people worshipping the Golden Calf - the false idol they had made and his anger defies the prison of stone, the limits of the sculptors art. Few can resist the impression of a mind, real emotions. Today, he glares at the tourists who mob the church of San Pietro in Vincoli and he outfaces them, just as he outfaced Sigmund Freud, who spent three weeks in 1913 trying to figure out the sculptures emotional effect. Mosess vitality has made this work popular since the 16th century, according to Vasari, Romes Jewish population adopted the statue as their own. Its power must have something to do with the rendition of things that should be impossible to depict in stone, most quirkily, following the iconographic convention common in Latin Christianity, the statue has two horns on its head. This was Jeromes effort to translate the difficult, original Hebrew Masoretic text, which uses the term, karan. The Greek Septuagint, which Jerome also had available, translated the verse as Moses knew not that the appearance of the skin of his face was glorified. In general medieval theologians and scholars understood that Jerome had intended to express a glorification of Moses face, the understanding that the original Hebrew was difficult and was not likely to literally mean horns persisted into and through the Renaissance. For the next 150 years or so, evidence for further images of a horned Moses is sparse, in the 16th century, the prevalence of depictions of a horned Moses steeply diminished. The depiction with horns is first found in 11th-century England, a book published in 2008 advanced a theory that the horns on Michelangelos statue were never meant to be seen and that it is wrong to interpret them as horns, never had horns. The artist had planned Moses as a not only of sculpture. For this reason, the piece had to be elevated and facing straight forward, the two protrusions on the head would have been invisible to the viewer looking up from the floor below — the only thing that would have been seen was the light reflected off of them. Freud describes Moses in a psychological state, We may now, I believe. But this interpretation had to be given up, for it made us expect to see him spring up in the moment, break the Tables
Moses (Michelangelo)
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Moses
Moses (Michelangelo)
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External video
19.
Rebellious Slave
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The Rebellious Slave is a 2. 15m high marble statue by Michelangelo, dated to 1513. It is now held in the Louvre in Paris, the two slaves of the Louvre date to the second version of the tomb of Pope Julius II which was commissioned by the Popes heirs, the Della Rovere in May 1513. Among the first pieces completed were the two Prigioni, destined for the part of the funerary monument, next to the pilasters which framed the niches containing the Victories. Their poses were determined by the needs of this setting, so from the front they have great effect. All the Prigioni produced in the studio of the artist were eliminated from the monument in its final version, completed in 1542. In 1546 Michelangelo gave the two works in the Louvre to Roberto Strozzi, for his generous hospitality in his Roman house during Michelangelos periods of sickness in July 1544 and June 1546. When Strozzi was exiled to Lyon in April 1550 for his opposition to Cosimo I de Medici, in April 1578 they were put on view in two niches in the courtyard of the castle of the constable of Montmorency at Écouen, near Paris. In 1749, the Duke of Richelieu had them taken to Paris, the Rebellious Slave is portrayed trying to free himself from the fetters which hold his hands behind his back, contorting his torso and twisting his head. The impression given, which would have contributed to the appearance of the monument, was that he was moving towards the viewer, with his raised shoulder. For Ascanio Condivi, however, they symbolised the Arts taken prisoner after the death of pontif, the Rebellious slave in particular might, speculatively, represent sculpture or architecture. Other meanings of a symbolic and philosophical nature have been suggested as well as linked to Michelangelos personal life
Rebellious Slave
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Rebellious Slave
Rebellious Slave
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Detail
20.
Dying Slave
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The Dying Slave is a sculpture by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo. Created between 1513 and 1516, it was to serve with another figure, the Rebellious Slave and it is a marble figure 2.15 metres in height, and is held at the Louvre, Paris. In 1976 the art historian Richard Fly wrote that it suggests that moment when life capitulates before the force of dead matter. However, in a recent scholarly volume entitled The Slave in European Art, twelve reproductions of the Dying Slave adorn the top storey of the 12th arrondissement police station in Paris. Although Art Deco in style, the building was designed in 1991 by architects Manolo Nunez-Yanowski, st. Quentin Representation of slavery in European art Media related to Michelangelos Dying Slave at Wikimedia Commons
Dying Slave
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Dying Slave
21.
Young Slave
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The Young Slave is a marble sculpture of Michelangelo, datable to around 1525–1530 which is conserved in the Galleria dellAccademia in Florence. It is part of the series of Prigioni intended for the Tomb of Julius II. With one on side of each niche, it must have been initially intended for there to be sixteen or twenty Prigioni. In the course of the reductions of the project which followed, according to de Tolnay the Young Slave was intended for the space left of the central niche in the project of 1516. The first examples of the series are the two Prigioni of Paris, which are mentioned in Michelangelos letters and were named the Slaves in the 19th century, the Dying Slave and they were sculpted in Rome around 1513. The Florentine Prigioni were probably sculpted in the half of the 1520s. They are known to have been in the store on the via Mozza until 1544. They were removed there in 1908 to join the Michelangelo collection which had been formed in the Florentine gallery. Wilde proposed 1523, because there is a reference to the cardinal Giulio de Medici having seen them before he left for Rome on that date, a wax bozzetto of the work at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is generally considered to have been made by Michelangelo himself. The Young slave has slightly bent knees as if bearing an enormous force bearing down his back and his left arm is raised to cover his face and his right arm is behind his back, held by a chain which is not visible. The figure is among the most complete of the group and shows clear definition in his legs, torso and his hands and head are less worked, while the back is completely unsculpted. The whole surface gives clear traces of the chisels and scrapers used in the sculpting process. Because of its unfinished state it has an energy, which connects the figure to some kind of primordial act of liberation from its prison of crude stone – an epic battle with chaos. The meaning of the Prigioni was probably linked to the motif of the Captivi in Roman art, in fact, Vasari identifies them as personifications of the provinces controlled by Julius II. For Condivi, however, they symbolised the Arts, turned into prisoners after the Popes death, other scholars have made suggested philosophical-symbolic meanings or links to the personal life of the artist and his torments. Umberto Baldini, Michelangelo scultore, Rizzoli, Milano 1973, marta Alvarez Gonzáles, Michelangelo, Mondadori Arte, Milano 2007
Young Slave
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Young Slave
Young Slave
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Young Slave at the
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence
Young Slave
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Probable bozzetto at the
V&A
22.
Bearded Slave
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The Bearded Slave is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo datable to around 1525–1530 and kept in the Galleria dellAccademia in Florence. It forms part of the series of unfinished Prigioni intended for the Tomb of Pope Julius II, with a pair on each side of each niche, there must initially have been sixteen or twenty such statues planned. This number was reduced in successive designs, to twelve, eight and finally maybe only four, before being eliminated from the project altogether in the final version of 1542. The first members of the series, who are mentioned in Michelangelos letters are the two Prigioni of Paris, named the Slaves in the century, the Dying Slave. They were carved in Rome around 1513, the Florentine Prigioni were probably carved instead in the second half of the 1520s, while Michelangelo was employed at San Lorenzo in Florence. It is known that they were in the warehouse on the via Mozza in 1544. The permission was denied and only in 1564 were they donated, along with the Genius of Victory and they were removed from there in 1908, in order to be reunited with other works of Michelangelo in the Florentine gallery. The Bearded Slave is the most finished of the Florentine Prigioni and gets his name from his thick, curly beard. The way his muscular torso twists indicates a knowledge of anatomy, typical of the best works of Michelangelo, his legs, slightly bent. His right arm is raised to hold his bent head, while his hand remains unfinished. The whole surface retains many traces of the chisels and scrapers used on the sculpture. Along his hips there is a fracture, whose cause is unknown. Its unfinished state creates an energy, with the figure caught in a sort of primordial act of freeing himself from the cage of the rough stone. For Condivi, however, they symbolised the Arts, made prisoners by the death of the pontif, other scholars have made proposals of a philosophical/symbolic character or connected to the artists personal life and his torments. Umberto Baldini, Michelangelo scultore, Rizzoli, Milano 1973, marta Alvarez Gonzáles, Michelangelo, Mondadori Arte, Milano 2007. ISBN 88-09-04880-6 Prigioni Tomb of Pope Julius II List of works by Michelangelo http, //www. polomuseale. firenze. it/catalogo/scheda. asp. nctn=00281986&value=1
Bearded Slave
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Bearded Slave
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