1. Introduction
The Bruges Madonna is placed slightly above the eye level in the central baroque style niche located on the right of the main altar of the Church of the Lady in Bruges, Belgium. This sculpture was done by Michelangelo when he was around 28 -29 years old and was in the city of Florence. The statue was rumored to be initially commissioned for Pope Piccolomini altar in Siena but was later secretly sold to the Mouscrons for a better offer, if it were so it would be placed nine meters above the ground slightly tilted to the right. It may be because of this reason that the certain aspects and of the Madonna (eg. her lips) seem a little exaggerated when viewed from a relatively lesser height. The Bruges Madonna was comparatively more …show more content…
In the words of D. Marx and E. Kren , the Bruges Madonna is an “under life-size (statue), Highly finished with the same care and refinement as the Pieta, (E. Kren & D. Marx, N.D.). Albrecht Durer believed that the Madonna of the Bruges resembled the Madonna of pieta precisely in “the working of her veil” and the “alabaster like purity of her face”. Mary through her features is represented as a beautiful young lady in both the Madonna of the Bruges and in the Pieta. However according to the observations of J.T. Spike, there is a difference in perception of Mary in the two figures, one is perceived as the “delicate maiden” whereas the other as the “queen of heavens”. This difference in perception could be attributed to the posture of the two Madonna’s . According to Umberto Baldini, a historian of the renaissance time, “Michelangelo (had) engaged in the search for and almost architectonic solemnity, which instills a new moral and physical content” in the sculpture. The posture of Mary being seated upright in the Bruges Madonna, is described by spike as if she had been enthroned on an earthly seat. (J.T. Spike, …show more content…
Michelangelo had a tendency to improvise on the subjects of works with an added touch of difference. This was evident with the sculpture of the Madonna of the Bruges. Unlike the tradition of representing the child Christ as a passive infant resting in the arms of Mary, he now seems to be standing on the platform (cloaked with Mary’s dress) on his left leg while leaping his right leg outward as if he were going to take his first step. According to J. Hobbs the child is carved with the “baby fat of a one year old, proportions of a three year old, (the height of) a seven year old and the face of an old man.” These observations of the physical characteristics of the child Christ could be perceived as the modifications made by artist in order to make the movement of the child believable and physically possible. The face of an old or the mature and serious expression of the child reflects a sense of his awareness and readiness towards his role as the messiah. According to Hobbs it is this character of the child Christ that appeals to many critics. Not only this but the expression and the body language of Mary too correspond to this new take on the subject of the depiction of Madonna and child. Mary seems to be looking away from the child Christ, with a serene expression of
The Bruges Madonna is placed slightly above the eye level in the central baroque style niche located on the right of the main altar of the Church of the Lady in Bruges, Belgium. This sculpture was done by Michelangelo when he was around 28 -29 years old and was in the city of Florence. The statue was rumored to be initially commissioned for Pope Piccolomini altar in Siena but was later secretly sold to the Mouscrons for a better offer, if it were so it would be placed nine meters above the ground slightly tilted to the right. It may be because of this reason that the certain aspects and of the Madonna (eg. her lips) seem a little exaggerated when viewed from a relatively lesser height. The Bruges Madonna was comparatively more …show more content…
In the words of D. Marx and E. Kren , the Bruges Madonna is an “under life-size (statue), Highly finished with the same care and refinement as the Pieta, (E. Kren & D. Marx, N.D.). Albrecht Durer believed that the Madonna of the Bruges resembled the Madonna of pieta precisely in “the working of her veil” and the “alabaster like purity of her face”. Mary through her features is represented as a beautiful young lady in both the Madonna of the Bruges and in the Pieta. However according to the observations of J.T. Spike, there is a difference in perception of Mary in the two figures, one is perceived as the “delicate maiden” whereas the other as the “queen of heavens”. This difference in perception could be attributed to the posture of the two Madonna’s . According to Umberto Baldini, a historian of the renaissance time, “Michelangelo (had) engaged in the search for and almost architectonic solemnity, which instills a new moral and physical content” in the sculpture. The posture of Mary being seated upright in the Bruges Madonna, is described by spike as if she had been enthroned on an earthly seat. (J.T. Spike, …show more content…
Michelangelo had a tendency to improvise on the subjects of works with an added touch of difference. This was evident with the sculpture of the Madonna of the Bruges. Unlike the tradition of representing the child Christ as a passive infant resting in the arms of Mary, he now seems to be standing on the platform (cloaked with Mary’s dress) on his left leg while leaping his right leg outward as if he were going to take his first step. According to J. Hobbs the child is carved with the “baby fat of a one year old, proportions of a three year old, (the height of) a seven year old and the face of an old man.” These observations of the physical characteristics of the child Christ could be perceived as the modifications made by artist in order to make the movement of the child believable and physically possible. The face of an old or the mature and serious expression of the child reflects a sense of his awareness and readiness towards his role as the messiah. According to Hobbs it is this character of the child Christ that appeals to many critics. Not only this but the expression and the body language of Mary too correspond to this new take on the subject of the depiction of Madonna and child. Mary seems to be looking away from the child Christ, with a serene expression of