Later Renaissance, Essay Example

Michelangelo, Bacchus

Bacchus was created by Michelangelo in 1497 (Paoletti & Radke, 2005). It is a marble statue of the Roman god of wine, which combines female and male features, and which also shows a human figure in the state of instability. The god’s body is created in a way that makes him look androgynous: it is as slender as that of a man, but simultaneously, it is as round as that of a woman (Goffen, 2004). A silent observer can readily notice that Bacchus’s abdomen and breast are too swollen to be male, and although the sculpture also shows swollen testicles – a symbol of male power and nature – the figure looks like something intermediate between a man and a woman. There is also a figure of a faun eating the grapes that are falling from Bacchus’s hand.

The style of sculpture is unique and interesting. The center of gravity is high, the pose is reeling, and the marble god seems to be slightly drunk by the vine he holds in his hand (Goffen, 2004). The statue seems to symbolize Michelangelo’s creative search: that he combines female and male feature of the human body implies that the author wanted to explore the vision and the subject of the human flesh. That was the characteristic feature of Italian art at that time. The male body is beautiful, and this is the result of classical influences (Condivi, 1999). The god is also drunk, which shows Michelangelo’s desire to re-interpret mythology in his own creative way.

Michelangelo, Pieta

Pieta is another marble statue created by Michelangelo. It shows the Virgin Mary who is holding the body of Jesus Christ after it was taken of the cross. It would be fair to say that Michelangelo’s Pieta is an excellent creation of human anatomy. Anatomy was one of the predominant trends in Italian Renaissance. The features of human body are too realistic to be true. Goffen (2004) writes that the sculpture “presents strong particularities in the finished of the drapes, with translucent effects of accentuated by the way in which the light seemed to caress the marble superficies”. Pieta looks like a symbol of indefinite human suffering. The face expression of the Virgin Mary and her holding the dead Jesus are colored with visible grief. The sense of desperation is so great that it becomes almost supernatural.

Michelangelo, The Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs

Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs if often regarded as the most complex and the most emotional work of Michelangelo (Condivi, 1999). It is characterized by sophisticated composition of figures, many of which were unfinished. From mythology, the battle between Lapiths and Centaurs was the symbol of the opposition between savageness and civilized behavior (Paoletti & Radke, 2005). This work of Michelangelo resembles an antique work of art – a plate which was usually made for ancient sarcophagi. It also shows Renaissance as the artistic trend that combined the value of antiquity with that of modernity. The unique combination of the plane relief and the vision of battle make this work extremely complicated. For Michelangelo, this work had to depict the two extreme sides of human mood (Condivi, 1999). Because not a single figure can be identified, and because the author did not show any specific acts of violence, this work is a kind of generalized expression of human violence and its opposition to peacefulness.

References

Condivi, A. (1999). Life of Michelangelo. Penn State Press.

Goffen, R. (2004). Renaissance rivals: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, Titian. Yale University Press.

Paoletti, J.T. & Radke, G.M. (2005). Art in Renaissance Italy. Laurence King Publishing.