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Video: "Pieta" by Michelangelo Buonarroti: the fascinating history of marble sculpture autographed by a genius
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
One of the main attractions of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is a masterpiece of world art, the sculptural composition "Rieta" (1499), carved in life size from marble by the genius Florentine master Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) … The history of creation and the most interesting fate of this sculptural masterpiece will be discussed in this review.
Michelangelo Buonarroti - one of the most brilliant masters of the Renaissance in Italy - sculptor, painter, architect, poet, thinker. There are almost no equal in the world to the master who left behind such a brilliant and rich heritage. A contemporary of the genius, the artist and writer Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574), considered Michelangelo to be the unattainable pinnacle of world art, and in his manuscript of "Biographies" he wrote about the unsurpassed master:
Rieta (1799)
The interest of artists in biblical subjects has always been great. Starting from the Early Renaissance, the masters of European countries in their creations reflected the grieving Madonna, mourning the crucified son taken from the cross. One of these creations of those times was the painting by Pietro Perugino (1446-1524) - "Lamentation of Christ" (1494), in which we see a tragic, sentimental scene of the grief and suffering of the Virgin. Today the painting is kept in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
This creation prompted Michelangelo to create his three-dimensional composition from a block of marble. Few believed that the 24-year-old sculptor could handle this daunting task. But the result was amazing and exceeded all expectations. The master created his first and truly ingenious drink. Rieta from Italian “compassion, sorrow, pity, sympathy” is an iconographic composition depicting Mary with her departed son Jesus, who lies on her knees. This iconography was inherent in the works of artists of the XIII-XVII centuries.
The figures of the Virgin and Jesus were carved from a single piece of marble by the sculptor Buonarroti in 1499. The customer was French Cardinal Jean Bilair de Lagrol, who served as the French ambassador to Rome at the court of Pope Alexander VI. The agreement contains the words of the surety - an influential patrician, patron of Michelangelo's talent, Roman banker Jacopo Galli:
Thanks to the banker's guarantee, this expensive work was commissioned by an unknown and very young sculptor. The fee for this work was four hundred and fifty gold ducats.
In May 1497, the sculptor went to the quarries of Carrara for a block of marble of the purest rock, almost without inclusions and cracks, which he personally chose. The sculpture was intended for the tomb of the cardinal. And according to the agreement, this creation was to be completed in a year. But the master did not invest in the deadline: the creative process turned out to be very laborious and the work lasted for two years. The cardinal, seeing the unfinished work of the sculptor just before his death, was delighted and confirmed that Buonarroti had fulfilled the terms of the contract.
Upon completion, this ingenious creation was installed in the most honorable place in the very heart of the Vatican - St. Peter's Basilica. It served as a role model for young masters. The sculptor himself was very fond of his creation, and often dropped in to the temple to admire his work. Once he heard that his work was attributed to the sculptor Cristoforo Solari, Buonarroti, in a fit of rage, carved in a sling around Maria: "MICHILANGELO BUONARROTI FULFILLED BY THE FLORENTIAN."
Remarkably, the "poor artist", being semi-literate, made a mistake in the fourth letter of his name. But for five centuries, no one dared to correct this oversight. "Rieta" is a single work that Michelangelo signed, and after a while he was very sorry for the perfect. He never again signed any autographs on his creations.
This sculptural composition has suffered several times from negligence and vandalism over the five centuries, as shown by spectral analysis. Several centuries ago, part of the left hand of the Mother of God was beaten off, but the restorers have perfectly restored it. And at the end of the 18th century, during transportation, four of Mary's fingers were broken off, which was also impeccably restored.
In the second half of the twentieth century, a terrible act of vandalism took place: an Australian geologist, Hungarian by origin Laszlo Toth, with mad cries that he was Christ, pounced on the statue and inflicted fifteen blows on the marble with a rock hammer. Madonna's hand and her beautiful face suffered again. About fifty fragments from the mutilated marble composition were collected. The ingenious creation was, of course, masterfully restored again, and already installed behind bulletproof glass, raising it to a hill inaccessible to vandals.
In this video you can learn about the compositional structure of the marble sculpture "Rieta".
Any ingenious creation of the master has its own history of creation and destiny. Was no exception and sculpture by the genius master Auguste Rodin "The Kiss" (1886).
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