Is Michelangelo S Statue Made Of Carrera Marble

Although noted for its whiteness carrara marble may contain shades of blue gray or gray.

Is michelangelo s statue made of carrera marble.

It was carved from a single piece of carrara marble. David is a 5 17 metre 17 0 ft marble statue of the biblical figure david a favoured subject in the art of florence. It has been the marble of choice since ancient times not only for sculptors but also for builders. The absence of david s traditional accoutrements a sword and the severed head of.

The more the marble wastes the more the statue grows wrote michelangelo buonarroti. David is a masterpiece of renaissance sculpture created in marble between 1501 and 1504 by the italian artist michelangelo. The great michelangelo buonarroti caprese 1475 rome 1564 though he did not leave any of his works of art in carrara always had a close relationship with the town staying there many times to visit the quarries and choose personally the marbles which gave life to his masterpieces. In 1515 michelangelo had in fact taken up residence in carrara and even founded a company with leonardo cagione a quarryman to excavate and earn on supplies of marble to the commissioners the company was fortunate until the quarrelsome minds reached irreparable disagreements regarding delivery times.

This may be because the marble slab was narrow having been cut with the thinner statues of donatello and agostino s era in mind. Every piece of carrara marble was special and specific to each project. In the 17th and 18th centuries the marble quarries were monitored by the cybo and malaspina families who ruled over massa and carrara. David was originally commissioned as one of a series of statues of prophets to be positioned along the roofline of the east end of florence cathedral.

Custom made marble sculptures and statuary. Carrara marble colors and veining. The majestic pietà measuring 5 9 x 6 5 was carved out of a single piece of white and blue marble from the famous caves of. In piazza del duomo cathedral square on the façade of the house where he lived during one of his.

The city of massa in particular saw much of its plan. Carrara marble has been used since the time of ancient rome and it was called the luni marble. Marble has been quarried in carrara located on the northernmost tip of tuscany for nearly 2 000 years. Possibly the most precious medium for unique masterpieces.

The figure although muscular is slimmer than the bodybuilder like physiques that are typical of michelangelo s other works. The family created the office of marble in 1564 to regulate the marble mining industry. The renaissance master was intimately familiar with the marble quarries near carrara in tuscany where he traveled to select raw materials for his famous pietà and other sculptures. Until the late 19th century the process of extracting marble from the mountains had remained little changed since michelangelo s time.