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Sculpture

No doubt in my mind I want to commission Michelangelo Buonarroti. Michelangelo was born on March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Italy. As an Italian Renaissance artist he gained his fame through architecture, painting, and sculpture. Although he is mostly known today for his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, he truly considered his greatest and most favored art to be through sculpting (Kleiner, 2013). When sculpting, Michelangelo believed that the image was found as the artist unlocked the image in the stone. As the stone is chiseled away, the artist unlocks the idea that they captured in their mind. He also thought the hands did the work while eyes were judges of the artwork (Kleiner, 2013). Artistically Michelangelo doesn’t believe that he is indebted to anyone, but studied and created sketches based on the artwork of Giotto and Masaccio, Florentine artists.
For the Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and Raphael are the most important and significant artists, yet Michelangelo was prominent in sculpture. The Florentine sculptor was an apprentice for Domenico Ghirlandaio, but before his apprenticeship was complete he went to Lorenzo de’Medici’s school where his art was greatly influenced and allowed him to start sculpting (Hartle, T. W.,1999). I would like to have this work sculpture commissioned by Michelangelo in honor of my great grandfather who recently passed. Instead of something for his tombstone, he always wished to have a statue to decorate our courtyard. We both greatly admire the statue David that is in Piazza della Signoria in Florence, Italy. My great grandfather left a large amount of money and I would like to give back by being a patron to Michelangelo. I am interested in dedicating a statue of David in my open courtyard for all guests to admire. I believe my great grandfather amplified the symbolism that Michelangelo carved for the 16-foot David that represented a hero defending freedom against authoritarian. (Gasque, 2006) in Florence. Although I am interested in a statue representing one of Michelangelo’s previous works, I do have some requirements. I would like the statue to be made out of marble relief and stand between six and seven feet tall. I want the composition to be contrapposto and nude. I prefer this classical style rather than a stiff stature. I absolutely want his slingshot being held but prefer it by his side. I want there to be an immense amount of emotion in David’s face and to portray the strength of a hero. The detail in his muscular body with the definition and life-like veins should be able to be seen in exertion from just defeating Goliath. I also would like the foundation of what David will be standing to be rounding and have a pile of pebbles near his feet. I believe the tiny pebbles symbolize huge oppressors that seem to be controlling any situation wrongly can be defeated by what would seem impossible. I want the finished statue to be right after he has defeated Goliath. So he needs to look heroic, relieved, and strong. At the base I would also like my great grandfathers name be engraved to symbolize the tribute for him. I want the symbolism to be more focused on how I see my great grandfather in David’s victories so the name should only be placed where David is facing and not larger than a foot in length. I would like for the statue to be designed that it is very heavy, similar to Michelangelo’s previous statue of David in Florence (Wallace, 2014) as it is going to be the centerpiece of our personal courtyard. Since it is going to be in the middle and can be admired full circle, I would like David’s body to be twisted to show a bit of distortion of the male figure. There are many muscles that would not be flexed by just standing even in contrapposto. However, I would like to see the detail of the muscles in David’s legs to appreciate Michelangelo’s knowledge of the human body that very few artists new during the Renaissance (Wexler, S.Z. 2015). I think this would be an honorary tribute to my great grandfather. Since I would still like it to correlate as a symbol of his strength in his life I would like the statue to be done within a year. I believe because of the size I want the statue that this is manageable and of course the compensation is quite large for motivation. I am very excited to see the end result. With my guidelines and Michelangelo’s vision for the finished sculpture, I believe everyone will admire this artwork for generations, therefore, my great grandfathers name will always be remembered.

Work Cited
Gasque, Laurel. 2006. “LARGER THAN LIFE.” Christianity History & Biography, (91), 16-21.
WALLACE, W. E. (2014). How Michelangelo Made David into a Giant. Artnews, 113(4), 52-54.
WEXLER, S. Z. (2015). HOW TO IDENTIFY A MICHELANGELO. Popular Mechanics, 28.
Hartle, T. W. (1999). The men who shaped the great sculptor's life. Christian Science Monitor, 91(102), 17.
Kleiner, F. S. (2013). Art Through the Ages (14th ed.). Bostom, MA: Wadesworth

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