Click on photo to view larger and often sharper image
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Poster:
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Icarusfree
(see this users gallery)
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Views:
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2664
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Date:
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Wed Sep 8, 2004
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Filesize:
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352.3k, 170.2k
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Dimensions:
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900 x 600
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Description:
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The Pietā was one of Michelangelo's earliest achievements, which he completed at the age of 25. It is the only work which Michelangelo signed. His signature is on the sash across the breast of Our Lady.
There is a beautiful description of this sculpture taken from the Eleganza Ltd web site (www.eleganza.com) They also sell reproductions, in case you want one for your living room :-)
"The theme of the Pietā has been carved and painted countless times but so glorious was that of the twenty-four year old Michelangelo that when the name is mentioned it is this statue that immediately comes to mind.
When one gazes in admiration at the finely polished figures, senses the contemplation which they evoke and the beauty of it all, it seems inconceivable that this marvelous work came from a rough block of marble hauled out of the quarries at Carrara.
It is so perfect that we accept it without realizing how unique it is and how far it departs from the conventional conception.
Pietās before this had mostly been carved from wood by northern artists. Their starkness seemed intended to shock the viewer into realization of Christ's sacrifice.
With Michelangelo it was different. He had once said, "If life is pleasing to us, death, which was made by the hands of the same creator, should not be displeasing to us." Mary accepts the fate, her grief is expressed through the delicacy of her extended hand. Even the Christ in death is a paradox for it is as though he were not dead at all but only sleeping in the arms of his gentle mother. The distended veins perceptible in his limp arm tell us that blood still pulses through his body.
By the terms of the contract the young master formed the body of Christ in the life-like proportions and he made the head of the virgin in corresponding size. But should she rise she would stand nearly seven feet in height. The sculptor had often said that the compass should be kept in the eye rather than the hand, because it is the eye that judges. With great cunning he deceives us in the interest of presenting his magnificent image.
The virgin is represented as being younger than the son. Her tender age and gentle face filled with spiritual and physical beauty speak of perpetual purity. To Michelangelo there was splendorous beauty in the human body. In depicting Christ he found "there was no need to conceal the human behind the divine."
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Keywords:
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Vaticano, Italy, Art
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Photo URL:
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http://www.bytegallery.com/data/3185/4webRomaSanPietroLaPieta01-med.jpg
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| File name: |
webRomaSanPietroLaPieta01.jpg |
File size: |
174239 bytes |
| File date: |
2004:09:08 17:33:23 |
Camera make: |
Canon |
| Camera model: |
Canon EOS 10D |
Date/Time: |
2004:06:02 10:50:31 |
| Resolution: |
900 x 600 |
Flash used: |
No |
| Focal length: |
60.0mm (35mm equivalent: 325mm) |
CCD width: |
6.64mm |
| Exposure time: |
0.200 s (1/5) |
Aperture: |
f/6.3 |
| ISO equiv.: |
1,600 |
Metering Mode: |
matrix |
| Jpeg process: |
Baseline |
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