Madonna of Bruges

The Bruges Madonna is a sculpture by Michelangelo from the years 1501 to 1506 in the Moscron Chapel of Bruges Church of Our Lady.

Description

The Bruges Madonna is unsigned, with base 1.26 m tall and made ​​of polished marble. She is a full plastic, designed to front view worship. The illustration shows Mary holding the infant Jesus standing. Both have downcast eyelids, the Leonardo da Vinci has introduced in his Marie representations. This introversion is an expression of their consciousness of future events.

It is not the familiar figure of Mary, standing with the Child Jesus in her arms, but a sedentary, with an already standing between her knees boy, whose right hand she grabs with her left. Her right hand holds a book firmly on her knee. This unique design has the obvious Platytera -Marie type of role model. Mary's dress is closed down fall with a jewelry -like plate trim in the chest area of the two bands. In the middle to the end of Mary Michelangelo draped an omega- fold. When Madonna her hair, adorned with the omega- fold scarf and her coat is placed over the head.

The artwork is available in a black Marmorkonche whose upper end the dome, a large shell motif adorns as a sign of virginity of Mary.

Attribution and History

• See: Piccolomini Altar

The write-up was in the 19th century on the basis of Michelangelo's letter of 31 January 1506 his father, Lodovico di Leonardo Buonarroti Simoni in Florence, in which he mentioned this art work. He asked the father, " to those troubling Madonna of marble, because I want to wear them in your house and let them see anybody ." The existence of the sculpture had to be hidden because they. Component of a contract between Michelangelo and Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini, later Pope Pius III had. This intended to be set up for himself and his family in the north aisle of the cathedral at Siena an altar. First Pietro Torrigiano that Michelangelo was had smashed his nose in the Scuola di San Marco, has been appointed as an artist. Torrigiano occurred, however, after he had begun the statue of St. Francis for the altar, as a soldier in the army of Cesare Borgia.

For Michelangelo likely the chance for delayed gratification to obtain, have been instrumental, as he was asked about the continuation of the order. Deliver were fifteen statues braccia (Ellen ), so should be about 120 cm high two. Should not satisfy the quality, Michelangelo would have to rectify or supply spare. Within the contractual period of three years Michelangelo was entitled to take any further orders. He did not, however, by the contract; after this period, he could have already been collected for the Pope Piccolomini show not a single statue. The heirs sent a reminder letter Michelangelo with the offer, the contract be extended for two years. Under this impression Michelangelo delivered in October 1504 five sculptures ( Peter, Paul, Gregory, Pius, St. Francis ). 1508 Michelangelo got out of the contract, he had taken operatively.

It is believed that the Bruges Madonna was originally intended for this order. How did it come to Brussels to sell the Madonna remains unclear. It is believed that Michelangelo did not want to put in a "niche" his significant work or that he has sold the work at a discount of 33 1/2 ducats. On April 21, 1564 paid Michelangelo's nephew Leonardo, shortly after the artist's death, 100 ducats to the Piccolomini heirs back.

The statue was of John and Alexandre Mouscron, merchants of Bruges, acquired as it suited their ideas to a planned of them altar Foundation. In August 1505, the statue was completed and received its final polish. Until the shipment still a year went by. Nevertheless, they arrived safely in Bruges. There they remained first in the family Mouscron, to Alexandre Mouscron it the Notre Dame founded in Bruges in 1514. On April 7, 1521 Albrecht Dürer saw it there, who called it the " Marie Picture of Alabaster ".

Unlike the Roman Pietà Michelangelo has not signed his work. However, its authorship is not disputed in the rule. A note to the general assignment when his work is that there is a receipt for the transport of the statue on Viareggio to Bruges and acquisition by the Mouscron. The work represents the ideals of the High Renaissance in Florence. Based on a design sketch received one suspects that for the Madonna figure a man has been the model.

During the French Revolution, was a statue in Paris, from 1815 back to the Church of Our Lady Bruges. In 1944 she was seized by the German occupying forces and stored in a disused mine in Altausee from where they should be placed in the planned museum in Linz leader later along with other Nazi-looted art. After the war ended in 1945 she was able to return to its old location.

Trivia

The Bruges Madonna is a central theme of the film Monuments Men - Unusual Heroes (2014). In addition to the other ways of looted art, the search for her and her recovery in Altausee after the fall of the Nazi regime is shown 1945.