Michelangelo Sculptures.

 Michelangelo Buonarroti is without doubt the most revered sculptor of the Renaissance period and, despite his fresco work in The Sistine Chapel, he always considered himself to be a sculptor rather than a painter.

 He was raised in Florence but had lived with a stonecutter and his wife during his mothers long illness, and also for some time after her death.

 This early introduction to the stonecutters trade fed Michelangelo's interest in sculpture and he studied at the school of Lorenzo de' Medici under the guidance of Bertoldo di Giovanni. Two of his first sculptures are 'The Madonna of the Stairs', and 'The Battle of the Centaurs'. 

Bacchus, 1496-1497 Bargello Museum, Florence. (s)

 The twenty-two-year-old artist has captured the unsteady, drunken ancient god of wine attempting to balance his wine cup despite his awkward, lurching posture. This statue was not well received by Michelangelo's patron, Cardinal Raffaele Riario, who found the work distasteful.  

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'Pietà', St Peters, Rome. 1499–1500. (s)

 What a contrast to the Bacchus, the god with the all too human defects! The Rome Pieta is an emotionally charged incarnation of a mother cradling her lifeless son. It is an almost universally loved portrayal of the Virgin and Christ.  

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'David', 1501-1504 Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts. (w)

The statue on the Piazza della Signoria is a copy.

Personal opinion:-

 Yes, I know it's probably the most recognized statue in the world and it's sometimes overlooked because the image is so familiar; but try to look at this work with fresh eyes and I think you will agree; it's just perfect!

The art historian Giorgio Vasari wrote: " Without any doubt this figure has put in the shade every other statue, ancient or modern, Greek or Roman... To be sure,anyone who has seen Michelangelo's David has no need to see anything else by any other sculptor, living or dead."  Do you get the impression that Vasari was quite taken with this statue?

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The Bruges Madonna.  Named because it was commissioned by a group of merchants from that city. This is one of the artists lesser known works and was in fact described as being made of bronze by Michelangelo's biographer, Ascanio Condivi.

Madonna and Child, 1501-1504. Marble, height 128 cm
Bruges, Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk. (w)

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Michelangelo Sculptures:-
The Tomb of Pope Julius II. 1505-1545.

San Pietro in Vincoli on the Esquiline in Rome. (s)

 Michelangelo designed at least six different styles for this monument. The artist was given the commission by Julius with the promise of a huge payment of 10,000 ducats, an astronomical amount of money at the time. The scale of the project was reduced over the forty year period from conception to completion, however the tomb contains some magnificent statues, and remains as a fine example of renaissance art.

 Only the three figures at the bottom of the tomb (Rachel, Moses and Leah) are by Michelangelo, two figures of slaves intended for the tomb are now in the Louvre Museum in Paris.

'Moses',  1513–1515. (w)

Intended for Pope Julius II funeral monument this magnificent work was designed to be the central figure of the mausoleum.

Dying Slave. (s)

Rebellious Slave. 1513-1520 (s)

 Both works were created between 1513-1520 for the base of the tomb of Pope Julius II.  The statues can now be seen in the Louvre Paris.

Rachel. (w)

Leah. (w)

 These two figures flank the statue of Moses, both are over six feet high but do not compete with the central figure. (Moses, over eight feet tall)  

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Michelangelo Sculptures:-
The Medici Chapel Statues. 1520-1534
San Lorenzo, Florence.

 This monumental work was a combination of Michelangelo's skills in architecture and  sculpture. It had long been an ambition of the artist to utilize these skills within the same artistic framework and his work in the Medici Chapel realized that ambition.

"Giuliano de'Medici"  (s) Giuliano was murdered in 1478 and this statue is an idealized, heroic depiction, created in the classical style by Michelangelo.

Lorenzo de Medici (s) This is of Lorenzo, Duke of Urbino, and not Lorenzo the Magnificent who was the most  important member of the Medici family.

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The Deposition ("The Florentine Pietà") Michelangelo, c. 1550 Marble, height 226 cm Florence, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo (w)