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First
Roman Sojourn
Michelangelo
then went to Rome, where he was
able to examine many newly
unearthed classical statues and
ruins. He soon produced his first
large-scale sculpture, the
over-life-size Bacchus (1496-98,
Bargello, Florence). One of the
few works of pagan rather than
Christian subject matter made by
the master, it rivaled ancient
statuary, the highest mark of
admiration in Renaissance Rome.
At about the same time,
Michelangelo also did the marble
Pietà (1498-1500), still
in its original place in Saint
Peter's Basilica. One of the most
famous works of art, the
Pietà was probably
finished before Michelangelo was
25 years old, and it is the only
work he ever signed. The youthful
Mary is shown seated
majestically, holding the dead
Christ across her lap, a theme
borrowed from northern European
art. Instead of revealing extreme
grief, Mary is restrained, and
her expression is one of
resignation. In this work,
Michelangelo summarizes the
sculptural innovations of his
15th-century predecessors such as
Donatello, while ushering in the
new monumentality of the High
Renaissance style of the 16th
century.
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David
1504,
marble,
Galleria dell'Accademia at
Florence
click
on image to enlarge
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