Replica based on a work by Michelangelo (1501-1504)
Material: Polyresin
Height: 24 cm
This is the only sculpture by Michelangelo to leave Italy during his lifetime. It was purchased in 1506 by a rich textiles merchant from Bruges and later bequeathed to that city. It had originally been intended for the Cathedral of Siena, however due to conflict with the principal, Francesco Picollini (later to became Pope Pius III.) the sculpture was never delivered.
The depiction of the overly familiar theme is characterised by Maria's introverted expression. Her face is remarkably similar to that of the Maria in the Pietà which was sculpted five years earlier. The assumption is therefore that Michaleangelo used the same life model.
The movement of the child, with its hair sculpted away from the body of the statue and Maria's robe herald the transition to the baroque.
Michelangelo (1475-1564) - As an artist, sulptor, architect and poet Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarotti Simoni was the archetype of the Renaissance artist, the 'Uomo universale'.
