Michaelangelo was born Michaelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni on March 6, 1475 to a well-respected Florentine family in the village of Caprese, situated in the valley of Arno in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. His parents were Lodovico di Leonardo di Buonarroti di Simoni, a poor yet nobleman from Florence, and Francesca di Neri Miniato di Siena, who died six years after Michaelangelo was born due to prolonged illness. He(Michaelangelo) was the second of the five children in the Buonarroti family; all were boys and only one was married. Because Michaelangelo did not have an interest in school, he used to run away to watch artists work or he would spend time drawing.
In April, 1488, Domenico Ghirlandaio, the most famous painter in Florence, apprenticed Michaelangelo in his workshop where he learned to appreciate antiques, paint using fresco and cross-hatching. He stopped painting sooner than the completion of his apprenticeship, and started working as a sculptor under the guidance of one of Donatello’s students – Bertoldo di Giovanni. Michaelangelo’s talent impressed Lorenzo (Il Magnifico) di Medici that in 1489, he invited the young artist to stay in his palace to attend his (Lorenzo’s) school. During his stay, he was able to learn Lorenzo’s special interests which included poetry, writing and architecture and was able to excel in them as years went by. He also had the opportunity to get exposed to the most superior philosophical and political ideas during that time as well as to meet the most influential and talented personalities who visited the palace during his stint in it. He continued being a part of the di Medici household until the time of Lorenzo’s death in April 8, 1492.
After the ruler’s demise, Michaelangelo began traveling. Equipped with skills and knowledge he gained while living in the di Medici palace, together with his comprehensive examinations of the human anatomy and the Greek art, his artistic skills in sculpture, painting and drawing became exceptional by the time he arrived in Rome on the third week of June in 1496. One of his numerous artworks was a life-size cupid he made resembling a Grecian antique. This incident wherein he sold the Cupid was said to be the beginning of the story behind the carving of the “Pieta”.
At first, the buyer of the statue, Cardinal Raffaele Riario did not detect that the piece was a fake, but it was not long after it was purchased that the Cardinal discovered the deception and immediately, he sent for Michaelangelo, not to be punished but to give him a job. The Cardinal authorized him to start carving an eighty-inch high statue of Bacchus, the Roman mythological god of wine for his garden. Unfortunately, Riario rejected the artwork. It was however became a part of the collection of Jacopo Galli, a Roman banker who was known both to the Cardinal and Michaelangelo.
In the latter part of 1497, Michaelangelo was to start carving another major sculpture, a Pieta, intended for the tomb of Jean Bilhères de Lagraulas, the French Cardinal of Saint-Denis. The said artwork was to be positioned at the St. Peter’s ancient basilica. The signing of the formal document regarding the agreement was done on the last week of August, in 1498. It was Jacopo Galli who acted as Michaelangelo’s guarantor and put into writing that the Pietà was the kind of marble work that no living artist could ever surpass. In the English translation of the document, Galli wrote: “I, Jacopo Galli, do promise that Michaelangelo will complete the said work within one year, and that it shall be more beautiful than any work in marble to be seen in Rome today.” (Stone, 3). The marble that the young artist used came from Carrara – well-known for its pure white marble – for the said sculpture and began carving immediately after the document was signed, hence, sealing the agreement. Michaelangelo was to receive a total of 450 gold papal ducats for his work; the said amount was to be divided in such a way that the artist would receive 150 before he began the sculpture and 100 for every quarter of the year until the time of completion of the work.
Michaelangelo decided to carve the face of a younger version of Mary – one who looked a little older than the one who bore the Christ child – instead of a middle-aged woman. He also removed the traces of violence that the previous versions of Pietà used to represent; such evidence of violence as the holes in Jesus’ hands and feet and the blood which flowed from his side wound. In addition, the artist also made Jesus’ facial appearance similar to that of a peacefully sleeping man as he lay in Mary’s lap. The artist’s interpretation of Pietà was said to be unrivaled since the ideals of Renaissance concerning naturalism and classical beauty are in equilibrium.
The Pieta
Pietà, the Italian word for sorrow, pity and compassion, comes from the Latin word pio, meaningpious. However, this term does not mean piety or pious. Pietà is oftentimes associated with artworks which depict the image of the Virgin Mary as she mourns over Jesus’ lifeless form.
It was unfortunate, for the Cardinal was unable to have a glimpse of the completed statue since Michaelangelo exceeded the one-year term that was agreed upon, and by the time it was done, the Cardinal was already lying peacefully in his tomb. Although Michaelangelo was able to accomplish the Cardinal’s requirement that the image of Christ in the Pietà should be life-size, the statue was never placed in his tomb.
Michaelangelo’s Pietà was described by experts as brilliant in the technical sense. A drill was used in order to expedite the progress of the work; it was also polished a number of times in such a way that it would glisten, thus, making it hard for the ones viewing it to comprehend that it was once nothing but a plain block of marble.
The statue’s manner of building is shaped like a pyramid. It widens down the folds of Mary’s dress to the Rock of Golgotha, the large mass of stone which supported the cross to which Jesus was crucified. If one is to analyze, it is evident that the figures are out of proportion since it may seem illogical to perceive a woman cradling a fully-grown man. However, the connection of the effigies appears quite natural since Mary’s body is hidden in her dress.
The statue stands at 69 inches high and if Mary were to stand, she would reach a height of seven feet. The statue was carefully and dedicatedly carved by Michaelangelo as what can evidently be seen by anyone who looks at it. The expression of love is clear in Mary’s right hand cradling Jesus; her left hand beautifully stretched out seems to ask God “Why?” as she looks down sympathetically and lovingly at Christ’s lifeless form.
Michaelangelo preferred carving a perfectly formed male figure as his representation of Christ over a male form that was disfigured as a result of hanging on the cross for a long period of time. His comprehension of the human anatomy contributed to the lifelike appearance of the figures particularly that of Christ’s body lying across Mary’s lap.
Due to the Virgin’s youthful appearance, the statue was deemed heretical by other artists during Michaelangelo’s time. It was even described as freakish; called it “Lutheran caprice” because they found the work very different – in all angles – from its predecessors.
According to Francisco de Holanda, a Portuguese painter and humanist, Michaelangelo told the biographer Ascanio Condivi about the Vatican Pietà and explained to him the reason why the appearance of the woman looked quite young for a mother.
For fear of rejection, Michaelangelo, together with the help of a family of stonemasons, placed the statue into the chapel while the entire Rome was sleeping. The Pietà was never given a formal blessing, nor was it formally installed.
The Pietà became a major attraction when it was installed in Santa Petronilla Chapel in old St. Peter’s in time for the Holy Celebrations of 1500. As Michaelangelo proceeded to work on the unfinished statue, he was watched over by a large number of crowds. One day, he accidentally overheard a conversation from a group of visiting pilgrims discussing that the statue was carved by a man from Milan named Gobbo. That incident triggered the young Michaelangelo to sneak into the chapel in the middle of the night, carrying only a candle as a means to light him as he carved his name across Mary’s chest. He later on felt sorry about what he did and swore never to repeat such action in his other works again.
The Pietà was moved from one place to another for several times and during those times, accidents were never avoided. In one of the transfers, four fingers on the left hand of Mary were damaged. It was then restored in 1736. The most severe damage that the statue had ever sustained occurred in 1972, when a mentally disturbed man struck the figure of the Virgin Mary with an instrument. The damage caused by the action was of great extent that it took several years before the Pietà was installed again. Taking precautionary measures, it is enclosed in a thick glass barrier which cannot easily be accessed by anyone except by those who are authorized to do so.
Michaelangelo began carving the marble statue at the age of twenty-three and completed it when he was twenty-four. According to historians, the Pietà did not cause quite as stir the way the Bacchus did, but experts on arts commented that it was because of the Pietà that Michaelangelo’s name rose to fame as he was recognized as a leading sculptor in his time. Although the Pietà may appear plain and devoid of ornaments compared to other statues carved during its time, it looks solemn and stronger and its simplicity itself depicts beauty. Many commented that Michaelangelo had never again accomplished such perfectly made masterpiece in his lifetime.
Sources:
Discussion About His Early Years and His Vatican Pieta. 2007. AskMichaelangelo.com. December 14, 2007. <http://www.ask.michaelangelo.com>
Pagels, Elaine, Thomas Merton, Fr. Thomas Keating, Lorraine Kisly, Ravi Ravindra. The Inner Journey: Views from the Christian Tradition (PARABOLA Anthology Series). 2006. Sandpoint, ID: Morning Light Press.
Stone, Irving. The Agony and the Ecstasy. 2004. New York: New American Library.
Stone, Irving. The Making of the Pieta. December 14, 2007<http://avemaria.bravepages.com/articles/jul/pieta.html.>
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