Slave (1800)
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| Artist | Unknown ; Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian b.1475, d.1564) |
|---|---|
| Title | Slave |
| Date | 1800 |
| Period | 19th century ; 1800s |
| Description | This is a small bronze copy of one of Michelangelo's slaves for the tomb of Pope Julius II, depicting a youth with one arm on his head and the other on his back. Michelangelo undertook the project for the tomb of Pope Julius II in 1505, and began to carve the Slaves in 1513, as part of a modified project. On the pope's death, the project changed once again, for financial reasons. Michelangelo donated the Slaves to Roberto Strozzi, who brought them to France. Originally there are two slaves in contrasting emotions, one called rebellious and the other dying. This bronze is based on the image of the dying slave, superbly young and handsome, and apparently in a deep, perhaps eternal, sleep. However, this reproduction is of poor quality, which is already visible in the lacquer, but also the details of the composition are lacking or inconsistent with the original. The left arm for instance, which is here held at the back, is in Michelangelo’s version actually touching the breast of the young man, pulling up a vest which does not appear in the copy, as well as the monkey that sits at the feet of the original marble. Next to this, the hand resting on the head of the figure is placed much further backwards in the original, suggesting that whoever made this copy has not seen the original in detail, or tried to make his own version of a sculpture of a young man. |
| Material | bronze (metal)/copper alloy/nonferrous metal/metal/inorganic material/materials (substances) |
| Dimensions | height: 20.4 cm |
| Type | Sculpture |
| Subject | mythological scene |
| Collection | Art Collection ; Torrie Collection |
| Accession Number | EU0664 |