The Bust of Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo Buonarroti

PERSONAGE

MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI

Michelangelo was an architect, sculptor, painter, and poet (Arezzo, 1475 - Rome 1564). The pinnacle of Renaissance civilization celebrated as the greatest genius of his time, he also represented its dramatic conclusion. Apprenticed from 1487 in Ghirlandaio's workshop, around 1489 he came into contact at the garden of S. Marco, home of the Medici family's collection of antiquities, with classical statuary and neo-Platonic philosophy, essential components for the development of his artistic production. On one hand, he absorbed the complex religious, literary, and philosophical atmosphere of the Florentine and Roman environment, on the other hand, the Bible, Dante and his commentators, and Petrarch remain the most direct sources of his culture, which transpire from his literary work and, certainly more nuanced and interwoven with more specifically figurative symbols, in the elaboration of his artistic work. He died in Rome: his body was taken to Florence where he had solemn obsequies in S. Lorenzo and was buried in S. Croce.

THE PIETY

The work can be dated between 1497 and 1499 and is considered the first masterpiece of the artist, then in his early twenties, and one of the greatest works of art the West has ever produced. It was commissioned by French cardinal J. Bilhères for his tomb in S. Petronilla in Rome. The work aroused universal admiration for its character of perfect harmony, grace, and beauty.

"The excellent sculptor does not conceive an idea that the marble alone does not already contain in itself, with the superfluous part, and the hand can reach it only if it obeys the thought."

Michelangelo personally chose the marble blocks to make his sculptures. He believed that the work of art was already inside the block and the artist's task was to "bring it out" through the skill of his hands and intellect. The idea of the artist's mission, the 'taking away of the superchio' surrounding the work, ideally already enclosed in the marble, already expounded by Plotino, is taken up by Ficino.

CURIOSITY

Milk and Marble

Michelangelo always had a preference for sculpture over painting (although he excelled in both arts). Some believe the reason for this is related to his childhood. When the family lived in Settignano, little Michelangelo was placed in the care of a wet nurse, the wife of a stonemason. Indeed, Settignano was famous for being the town of stonemasons, as pietra serena was quarried there. This environment greatly marked the very young Michelangelo, who, to explain his love for sculpture, used to say that he was born in the town of stonemasons and was therefore breastfed by the wet nurse with "milk and marble dust.”

The signature

The stunning beauty of the Piety, which bordered on perfection, led some contemporaries to attribute the work to a Lombard artist, not believing that a sculptor as young as Michelangelo could conceive of such a work. In response, the young artist engraved on the band across the Madonna's chest the words: MICHAEL.ANGELVS.BONAROTVS.FLORENT.FACIEBAT (i.e., "made by the Florentine Michelangelo Buonarroti"). That was the first and last time Michelangelo signed a work.

The defective block

The celebrated David sculpture was born from a "defective" block of Carrara marble (with a long crack that could have irreparably damaged any sculpture). Aware that the work was already inside the block and only needed to be "pulled out," Michelangelo accepted the challenge and created one of his greatest masterpieces. For this very reason, the David was placed in Piazza della Signoria in Florence, in front of Palazzo Vecchio.

BUSTS

Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation

The Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation was established in the 1990s in Florence by an enlightened entrepreneur to foster opportunities for young people from different cultures and countries to meet. The saying is: "For peace in the world, among young people from different countries, with Culture, meeting, knowing, understanding each other to develop friendship among peoples." The Foundation stimulates the exercise of respect for the diversity of cultural expressions, helping to develop friendly relations among Peoples through the organization of international meetings preferably in cultural places or heritage sites, promoting and implementing initiatives, research, publications, awards, and scholarships under the banner of "Heritage for Dialogue among Cultures," non-profit.

Donations

On the occasion of celebrations of particularly significant moments for the receiver institutions, the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation has donated to 4 educational and cultural institutions a white Carrara marble bust depicting Michelangelo, who is one of the symbols of the Italian artistic genius in the world, to seal the friendship and collaboration already existing for some time.

The Busts of Michelangelo in the world

Through the donation of busts made of White Carrara Marble, the Romualdo Del Bianco Foundation has strengthened the ties of friendship and collaboration with numerous Italian and international institutions and narrated the value of fine Italian art by identifying some representative figures of World Heritage. The bust depicting Michelangelo Buonarroti is exhibited in various venues around the world: Palazzo Coppini (Florence, Italy), University of Technology (Warsaw, Poland), Tadeusz Kościuszko Polytechnic University (Krakow, Poland), Ministry of Culture and Antiquities of Bahrain (Manama, Bahrain), State Library of the Republic of Moldova (Chisinau, Moldova).

WORK

The bust and the author

"Michelangelo and the Arts of Drawing" is a splendid bust by sculptor Dino De Ranieri from Pietrasanta, carved from the exquisite white Carrara marble extracted from the Michelangelo Quarry in the Apuan Alps of Tuscany. This piece, weighing approximately 250 kg and measuring around 85x55x40 cm, pays tribute to the exceptional artistic genius of Michelangelo Buonarroti. Reflecting on the work, De Ranieri emphasizes how figurative portraiture is often underestimated as a form of art of lesser creative value, but he firmly believes in the opposite. He states that only an artist capable of mastering artistic techniques can infuse true "life" into the portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti, recognizing him as the one who has brought art closer to God.