Marble Statues By Michelangelo

David is a masterpiece of renaissance sculpture created in marble between 1501 and 1504 by the italian artist michelangelo.

Marble statues by michelangelo.

It is a 14 0 ft marble statue depicting the biblical hero david represented as a standing male nude. The dimensions are 174 cm by 195 cm. These early works michelangelo was aged around 15 in 1490 are indicative of his promise and talent. The pietà is in a chapel on the right side of the nave of st peter s basilica in rome.

1520 1534 san lorenzo florence. In 1501 michelangelo was commissioned to create the david by the arte della lana guild of wool merchant who were responsible for the upkeep and the decoration of the cathedral in florence. This may be because the marble slab was narrow having been cut with the thinner statues of donatello and agostino s era in mind. The figure although muscular is slimmer than the bodybuilder like physiques that are typical of michelangelo s other works.

This monumental work was a combination of michelangelo s skills in architecture and sculpture. The french cardinal jean bilhères de lagraulas ordered the statue in 1498 from the then twenty three year old michelangelo. Michelangelo was introduced to sculpture whilst studying in the household of the medici. He began to work almost immediately producing the madonna of the steps between 1490 1492 and battle of the centaurs between 1491 1492.

It had long been an ambition of the artist to utilise these skills within the same artistic framework and his work in the medici chapel realised that ambition. Michelangelo s david is the perfection of the most famous statue in florence and perhaps in all the world. Michelangelo sought to prove that devotion to the integrity of the stone block is the foundation upon which great sculpture is created. David was originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of florence cathedral.

This astonishing renaissance sculpture was created between 1501 and 1504. Lost works are included but not commissions that michelangelo never made. Michelangelo s pietà is a famous marble sculpture by michelangelo. At the accademia gallery you can admire from a short distance the perfection of the most famous statue in florence and perhaps in all the world.

Michelangelo also left many drawings sketches and some works in poetry. The artist s obsessive process of selecting marble for his projects drove him year after year to the town of cararra where quarries that date back to roman times are legendary for their pure white marble block. It was made out of carrara marble for the cardinal s monument during his funeral but in the 18th century it was relocated to its present location and it is the only sculpture by michelangelo to have been signed. The piece portrays jesus lying on the lap of his mother mary after crucifixion.

The following is a list of works of painting sculpture and architecture by the italian renaissance artist michelangelo.