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Michelangelo is considered one of the greatest artists in history and was a great leader during the Italian Renaissance. Not only was he a great painter, but a sculptor as well. His most famous sculptures all depict variations of the same scene: the Virgin Mary and the body of the dead Christ after his calcification. These four sculptures, collectively called the Pietas, are all very unique. Pieta 1 was sculpted in 1499, when Michelangelo was only 23 years old. It is the most intricate and beautiful Pieta and it established Michelangelo's reputation as a sculptor.
Compared to the other 3 Pietas, Pieta 1 is by far the most beautiful. The care and delicacy of Michelangelo's artistic hand shows in the intricate folds of the cloth on Marys lap. Marys face is youthful, yet beyond her time, the expression on her face as her head leans slightly over the lifeless body of her dead son in her lap is one of peace and serenity. The body of Christ itself exhibits the perfection of a real human body, each muscle so very well defined. The veins and muscles are indicated with so much exactitude that one cannot help but marvel at how such a young artist could capture divine beauty in a piece of marble. The sculpture is one of piece.
Though signs of malnutrition are shown by the protrusion of Christs ribs, there are no signs of nail marks in his hands or feet, no crown of thorns adorn his head. There is no sign of abuse or suffering at all. None of the other 3 Pietas can compare to Pieta 1, with all its detail. Pieta 2 was destroyed by Michelangelo, only to be reconstructed by a servant of his. Pieta 3 lacks the lifelike detail contained in Pieta 1. The faces are blurs of marble, one not being able to tell if it is Mary holding the dead Christ up or whether it is some other person.
While looking at Pieta 1, one can clearly tell that it is Mary and Christ together one last time in a scene of peacefulness. In Pieta 1, Michelangelo not only convinces himself, but others who view the masterpiece of the divine quality and significance of the Virgin Mary and Christ by means of natural beauty, perfect by human standards and therefore divine. One is face to face with not only pain as a condition of redemption while viewing the piece, but with absolute beauty as one of the consequences.
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Research essay sample on Dead Christ Virgin Mary
