Michelangelo
1475-1564
The genius was born in Italy | Youth.
Years of study.
1488-1495 / Rome.
"Pieta".
1496-1501 / Florence.
"David".
1501-1505 / Rome.
Tomb of Pope Julius II.
1505-1545 / Rome.
Frescoes of the Sistine Chapel vault.
1508-1512 / Florence.
The Medici tombs.
1516-1534 / Rome.
Late works.
"The Last Judgment".
1534-1541 / Architecture.
The Cathedral of St. Peter.
1538-1564 | site map | home page
2.
Youth.
Years of study (1488-1495)
"Madonna on the stairs" marble bas relief (1490-1492)
"The same Lionardo kept in his house a few years ago, in memory of his uncle, a bas relief with the Virgin Mary, carved from marble by Michelangelo himself, a little more than an elbow high; in it, being at that time a young man and planning to reproduce the manner of Donatello, he did it so successfully, as if you see the hand of that master, but there is even more grace and drawing here.
This work was then presented by Lionardo to Duke Cosimo de 'Medici, who esteems it as the only thing of its kind, because there was no other bas relief, except for this sculpture, by the hand of Michelangelo," Vasari.
At the beginning of his creative career, Michelangelo acts primarily as a sculptor.
Already the first works testify to his originality and are marked by features of the new, what his teachers could not give him: the painter Domenico Ghirlandaio and the sculptor Bertoldo.
His first relief "Madonna at the Stairs" (1489-1492, Florence, Buonarroti Museum), carved by him in marble when he was barely sixteen years old, differs from the works of his predecessors in the plastic power of images, emphasized by the seriousness of the interpretation of the theme used hundreds of times.
"Madonna at the Stairs" is made in the traditional technique of low, subtly nuanced relief for Italian sculptors of the XV century, reminiscent of Donatello's reliefs, with which he is also related to the presence of babies (putti) depicted on the upper steps of the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs, a madonna is sitting with a baby in her arms (hence the name of the relief).
The subtle gradation of the sculpting of the forms of this three plan relief gives it a picturesque character, as if emphasizing the connection of this type of sculpture with painting.
If we take into account the fact that Michelangelo began studying with a painter, then it becomes clearer the reason for his appeal at first to this particular type of sculpture and its corresponding interpretation.
But the young Michelangelo gives, however, an example of the performance of a non traditional image: the Madonna and the Infant Christ are endowed with unusual power and inner drama for the art of the Quattrocento.
The main place in the relief belongs to the Madonna, majestic and serious.
Her image is associated with the tradition of ancient Roman art.
However, her special concentration, a strong sounding heroic note, the contrast of powerful arms and legs with the grace and freedom of interpretation of the picturesquely melodious folds of her long robe, the amazing baby in her arms in the strength of a child — all this comes from Michelangelo himself.
The special compactness, density, balance of the composition found here, the skillful comparison of volumes and shapes of various sizes and interpretations, the accuracy of the drawing, the correctness of the construction of figures, the fineness of the processing of details anticipate his subsequent works.
There is another feature in the "Madonna by the Stairs" that will characterize many of the artist's works in the future — a huge inner fullness, concentration, the beating of life with external calm.
The madonnas of the XV century are pretty and somewhat sentimental.
Michelangelo's Madonna is tragically pensive, immersed in herself, she is not a pampered Patrician and not even a young mother touching in her love for the baby, but a stern and majestic virgin who is aware of her glory and knows about the tragic test prepared for her.
Michelangelo sculpted Mary when she, holding a child at her breast, had to decide the future - the future for herself, for the baby, for the world.
The entire left part of the bas relief is occupied by heavy stairs.
Maria is sitting in profile on a bench, to the right of the stairs: a wide stone balustrade seems to end somewhere behind Maria's right hip, at the feet of her child.
The viewer, looking at the thoughtful and tense face of the Mother of God, can not help but feel what decisive moments she is experiencing, holding Jesus to her chest and, as if weighing in the palm of her hand the whole weight of the cross on which her son was destined to be crucified.
The "Mother of God", known as the "Madonna della Scala", is now in the Florence Buonarroti Museum.
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