Famous sculptures by Michelangelo Buonarroti. Description of the most famous works

Italian culture, language, nature has long attracted tourists. But this country is famous not only for its landscapes and sonorous serenades. Today we will talk about one of the most famous sons of Italy. Also in this article will be a number of descriptions of sculptures by Michelangelo Buonarroti.

Read carefully, and you will learn a lot of new and interesting for yourself from the field of Italian culture of the Renaissance.

short biography

The future brilliant artist and sculptor was born in the family of an impoverished nobleman in 1475 in the town of Caprese. Because of lack of finance, his father gives him to be raised in the family of Topolino, where the boy gets acquainted with clay and begins to learn how to sculpt figures.

In time, he was given to the workshop by a local artist, and later to the school of sculptor Giovanni. There he also sees Lorenzo de 'Medici.

It was this man who gave Michelangelo the opportunity to reveal himself. He patronizes his studies, and afterwards until his death helps with the receipt of expensive orders.

During his life Buonarroti managed to work in Rome, Florence and Bologna.
Let's now talk about his work in more detail.

General characteristic of creativity

In this article, we will only mention one of the facets of Michelangelo's work - sculpture. A description of the most famous of them you can read below.

The genius of this man is best expressed in sculpture. Even in his painting he tolerates the plasticity of the forms and the position of the figures, which are peculiar only to voluminous things.

It is remarkable that the main achievement of Michelangelo Buonarroti is innovation. It is because of actions contrary to the canons that he became famous in the centuries. His statue "David" became the standard of the High Renaissance, and "Pieta" - the best embodiment of the body of a dead person in a sculptural performance.

Let's get acquainted with the works of this genius of the Renaissance.

"Moses"

One of the most famous works is "Moses" by Michelangelo. We will give a description of the sculpture a little later. Now let's talk about the place where it was erected.

This statue is part of the complex of the sculptural tomb of Pope Julius II, which is located in San Pietro in Vincoli, the Roman basilica.

Work on this sculpture continued for two years, beginning in 1513. In addition, on the sides are statues created by students of Michelangelo.

The initial plan of Pope Julius II was very tendentious and grandiose. He wanted to build his masterpiece in the basilica of St. Peter. Her project included many statues and other ornaments. But the plans were not implemented due to lack of finance from his heirs.

Thus, we are presented with a "budget" version of the original project.
So, "Moses" is a sculpture of Michelangelo, which glorified in the centuries its creator. Today it is considered one of the most famous sculptures. What is it remarkable about?

The height of the statue is 235 centimeters, but the power that lurks in its outlines is truly colossal. The sculptor portrayed the leader of the Jewish people at the moment of his return after a conversation with God, when Moses saw his fellow tribesmen worshiping the golden calf.

The figure is very dynamic and filled with inner energy. We see the swollen veins and the hurricane of passions on the leader's face. In his right hand he holds the tablets, and his foot is pushed out with a sharp and short movement forward, as if he is about to jump up and begin to act.

The masterful work of Michelangelo's incisor was compared by contemporaries with the painter's sable brush. The finest hairs of the beard look soft and silky, except for this, in the statue there is not a single millimeter of untreated marble. The composition is completely complete and expresses all the expressiveness of human genius.

"Moses," the sculpture of Michelangelo, leaves no one indifferent. Powerful strong-willed pressure fascinates, and sometimes frightens spectators. As Stendhal said, if you have not seen this statue, you have no idea about the possibilities of sculpture.

"David"

In this article, we will try to highlight the most famous sculptures by Michelangelo. The second such, on a par with the previous one, is "David". This five-meter statue became the symbol of the Florentine Republic almost immediately after the creation.

Today it is located in the Academy of Arts in Florence and is intended for a circular review. The statue depicts a young Jewish king, David, who is preparing to fight with giant Goliath. He is focused and a bit tense, since the opponent clearly outperforms him in his physical qualities. At the same time, David's gaze shows an unshakable confidence in victory.

Who was the customer of the masterpiece? Even in the middle of the fifteenth century, Florence began talking about the decoration of Santa Maria del Fiore. This is the cathedral Florentine temple. It was planned to surround him with twelve statues of the most famous biblical characters from the Old Testament.

Work on the project began Donatello with his apprentice, but he managed to create only one sculpture.

After his death, the project was suspended, and a block of marble (popularly known as the "Giant"), intended for the statue of David, gradually disintegrated under the influence of erosion.

In the early sixteenth century, a commission was formed, which included Leonardo da Vinci, who decided to sign a contract with the twenty-six-year-old sculptor Michelangelo Buonarroti. He began work in September 1501.

The struggle with the marble block took him more than two years. It is to this sculpture that the saying is that to create a masterpiece you just need to cut off all that is superfluous.
However, in 1504, when the work was completed, the affected Florentines decided to place David in the loggia of Lanzi, the place where the city council held meetings.

Now the struggle for freedom personified the masterpiece of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Sculptures of the same Donatello were moved to another place from the council room.

There are several interesting facts related to this work. "David" - the most copied sculpture of the Renaissance. Its duplicates are in Moscow, London and in different squares of their native city.

It is also noteworthy that the London copy is equipped with a fig leaf, in case of arrival of the queen. And in the twentieth century, Jerusalem refused to accept a copy of the statue of the "naked Italians of the fifteenth century", as the "David" Michelangelo was uncircumcised.

Allegory of the day

The tomb of the Medici in Florence keeps a lot of sculptures of Michelangelo. We will talk separately about two compositions.

The first of them depicts the involvement of the heavenly elements in the genus of "the greatest Florentine ruler." This sculptural group consists of four figures standing in pairs on two sarcophagi.

The master's idea was to show the unimaginable, even for the celestials, the heaviness of the perishable existence. They are depicted in uncomfortable poses on the lids of the sarcophagi, in an effort to slip faster down.

Allegories of different times of the day are depicted in the form of figures of young men and women. The natural antique beauty and the ideality of proportions contrast with the medieval Christian image of the "painful sense of grief" due to the impermanence of existence.

The composition consists of Night, Day, Morning and Evening. The first two sculptures are located on the tombstone Giuliano, and the second - on the sarcophagus of Lorenzo de 'Medici.

The project was created by order of Clement VII, who decided to perpetuate his relatives who died young.

Work on the statues was completed in 1534, but not all were installed in the planned locations. Today, a terracotta model of the statue "Day", for example, is in Houston, "Morning" - in London. The model of "Evening" was lost, it was bought by a collector, and traces have since disappeared.

The most beautiful part of the composition is the sculpture "Night". Michelangelo, as contemporaries said, depicted in it "a sleeping stone angel in which breathing is felt."

Thus, the sculptures of Michelangelo, despite some shortcomings, which we will talk about later, are genuine masterpieces of human genius.

Statues of the Medici

This is the second part of the composition of the famous chapel in the crypt of the rulers of Florence. It consists of two sculptures, one of which depicts Giuliano, who wore the title of Duke of Nemours, and the other - Lorenzo II, Duke of Urbino. They became famous for the fact that the first in the history of the Medici family received such high titles.

Here it is important to mention the main drawback of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Sculptures of this master do not have a portrait resemblance to their prototypes. He hated portraits and said that such a trifle is useless to anyone, since nobody will notice it in a thousand years.

An image resembling a statue of Lorenzo is expressed by Rodin's sculpture The Thinker. Michelangelo created this statue in the image of a Roman commander in a pose of deep reverie. A zoomorphic helmet hides most of the face in the shade. It is on this subject that there are still disputes among researchers.

Some say that this great master hinted that Lorenzo suffered from madness before his death. Others argue that this is just an allegorical image of the heaviness of doom.

Anyway, but Juliano's face is better. It is depicted in the form of an ancient effective principle. He is young, without a helmet, full of energy, but his look is completely indifferent. Thus, he embodies the very concept of the idea of wise government.

Together with the allegorical figures of the time of day, Lorenzo and Giuliano form a completed composition. It carries the audience in the Renaissance, when the emergence of modern states. A period of intrigue, political struggle and an exorbitant amount of comfort.

Slaves

Next we will consider one of the most successful examples of the sculpture by Michelangelo. With the names "Moses" and "David" we have already met. That composition, which we will now talk about, was conceived as part of the mausoleum of Julius II.

It consists of two figures - slaves, dying and rising. Since the master rarely attached importance to portrait resemblance and the allegorical meaning of his creations, we can not say anything about the exact meaning or about the prototypes.
If the question of the latter is unlikely to be resolved ever, then concerning the meaning invested in these dynamic images, disputes are still being debated.

Some say that this is an image of the arts favored by the Pope, others note that this is an allegory of the provinces conquered during the reign of Julius II.

Statues of slaves depict two young and strong young men, who are trapped. One of them tries to break the fetters with a superhuman effort, the second helplessly hangs, surrendering.

These figures, like many other famous sculptures by Michelangelo, seem to be "liberated" independently from the lump.

They have an interesting destiny. When the statues were finished, the tombstone project changed. Therefore, Buonarroti gives them to his acquaintance Stozzi for hospitality, and the latter presents them to Francis I. So the samples of sculptures by Michelangelo were in the Louvre.

Bacchus

"Drunk Bacchus" is considered the first successful work of a young master. He created it in twenty-two years, commissioned by Raphael Riario, an Italian cardinal.

It is interesting that the cardinal wanted to simply expand his collection of antique sculptures. But when he saw the final version of the statue, Signor Riario flatly refused to take it. The sculpture was acquired by the banker Galli, who lived near the palace of Cancellaria. After almost a hundred years, it is bought by the Medici and transported to Florence.

Today, the sculpture is an exhibit in the Florentine Museum Bargello.
Some researchers of the work of Michelangelo Buonarroti, for example Victor Lazarev, consider this work a direct imitation of antique plastic. They say that in this first independent creation there is absolutely no personality of the author.

"Bacchus" depicts the Roman god of winemaking, which corresponded to the Greek Dionysus, accompanied by a small satire. This couple is in a relaxed state, defeated by the influence of an intoxicating drink.

Bacchus looks at the cup of wine, his face expresses an impulse of love for his creation. Muscles of the hips and abdomen are relaxed. Some researchers say that this indicates his spiritual and physical weakness, a propensity for addiction. Others justify the ancient God in that he is simply in a significant stage of intoxication. This is evidenced by his posture. He leans forward, as if falling, but his back muscles are tense to keep his balance.

Lamentation of Christ

The only work on which there is an author's autograph is the sculpture by Michelangelo "Pieta". Its name comes from the Italian word, which means "sorrow, pity". The main plot of this scene is the mourning of the deceased son, Jesus Christ, by the Virgin.

Sculpture by Michelangelo "Pieta" is considered art by one of several surviving works of the transition period from the Early Renaissance of the fifteenth century to the high period of this era.

For Gothic, the image of the dead Savior is in the hands of the Virgin Mary, but in his work Buonarotti completely reinterprets it. Here the Virgin is depicted in the form of a young girl who mourns for a lost loved one.

If you look at the composition, you can see that it is a sharp division between the living and the dead. The first include attributes such as female, clothed and vertical, their antonyms are symbols of the dead in "Drink."

According to experts, this sculpture became the standard among all possible images of this biblical scene.

Altar of Piccolomini

We today know many of the sculptures by Michelangelo with names in the form of names of Catholic saints. Most of them are on the altar of Piccolomini in the Siena Cathedral. This also applies to "Pieta", which we mentioned earlier.

The contract for this order was signed in the early years of the sixteenth century by Cardinal Piccolomini. According to his conditions, the artist had to create fifteen sculptures in three years. As a reward, he received five hundred ducats, which was a considerable amount for that time.

But due to the fact that soon the order for "David" was taken, Michelangelo managed to make only four sculptures.

So, what statues of the same saints were included in the composition of this monument of Gothic architecture?

The upper part of the lower tier is decorated with the sculptures of St. Pius I (the original name is Augustine) and St. Gregory, the sixty-fourth Pope of Rome.

In the lower part are St. Peter and Paul. Despite the outspoken dislike of the master to portraits, many researchers consider the facial features of the latter as a self-portrait of a young artist.

So our brief acquaintance with such a wonderful person as the artist, thinker and sculptor Michelangelo ended. Sculptures of this master decorate not only the most beautiful monuments of architecture in Italy, but also are in the famous museums of different countries.

Travel, dear readers. Good luck and most vivid impressions!