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Lot Essay
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was lionised in his own day as the 'universal genius', a man whose accomplishments in each of the fields of sculpture, painting, architecture, poetry and scientific experimentation would have given him a place in history. He is best known in the field of sculpture for his monumental marble figures - particularly the David (Accademia, Florence) and his Pietà (St. Peter's, Rome) - but he was also a prolific modeller in wax and terracotta.
Among the many themes which the artist took up, it is known from drawings that Michelangelo worked on a Crucifixion group of at least the three independent figures of Christ and the two thieves, but possibly also including figures of the three Maries and St. John the Evangelist (for a discussion of the drawings and models associated with this group see the entry by Schnell in Michelangelo - The Genius of the Sculptor, loc. cit.). In the Louvre there is a drawing thought to be after Michelangelo which includes a figure of Christ and the two thieves (illustrated in the entry cited above, no. 63). The two thieves are almost identical to the two thieves of the present lot, although the figure of Christ is quite different. A different 16th century drawing, of the thief Gestas (Harlem, Teylers Museum, inv. no. I 8), also appears to be based upon the same model and is interesting because it bears an inscription attributing it to Michelangelo, not long after the latter's death.
There are a number of bronze casts of the torso of the thief Gestas, including an example in Berlin (see Bode, loc. cit.). However most of these lack any real definition and probably represent late aftercasts of an original model by Michelangelo. More rare are examples where all three figures from the Crucifixion are present. At least three groups in bronze are known, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the Castello Sforzesco and the Museo Archeologico, both in Milan. The present terracotta group is the fourth 'complete' Crucifixion, and the only one known thus far in terracotta.
After even a cursory glance at the three figures here, it becomes obvious that the artist who modelled the two thieves was either different from the man responsible for the figure of Christ, or at a very different point in the development of his personal style. Whereas the thieves are monumental in feeling, with powerfully built torsos bursting with energy, the Christ is altogether more youthful in his proportions and more passive in his pose.
Interestingly, in each of the four complete crucifixion groups (and the 'lost' group represented by the drawing in the Louvre, mentioned above), the two thieves are based upon the same original conception, with minor variations of detail. However in each case the figure of Christ is different, sometimes radically so, as with the Christ in the present lot. It is perhaps the Christ in the New York group (illustrated in Michelangelo - The Genius of the Sculptor, op. cit., no. 69) which has the best claim to be based upon an original by Michelangelo, as it appears to be related to an accepted Michelangelo drawing of the torso of Christ in Harlem (ibid, no. 64). The present terracotta figure of Christ, while not unlike the torso of the wooden figure by Michelangelo in the convent of Santo Spirito, Florence (illustrated in Baldini, op. cit., pl. VI), would appear to be based upon a model by another artist working in Michelangelo's circle.
The number of extant examples of the two thieves - in all different media - is a testament to the high esteem in which they have always been held. It may be that, having been disseminated through casts of the original wax or terracotta models, different artists set themselves the task of 'completing' the group by creating their own central figure of the Saviour. The present example is particularly notable for the high level of detail which remains, and for the pathos of the figure of Christ.
Among the many themes which the artist took up, it is known from drawings that Michelangelo worked on a Crucifixion group of at least the three independent figures of Christ and the two thieves, but possibly also including figures of the three Maries and St. John the Evangelist (for a discussion of the drawings and models associated with this group see the entry by Schnell in Michelangelo - The Genius of the Sculptor, loc. cit.). In the Louvre there is a drawing thought to be after Michelangelo which includes a figure of Christ and the two thieves (illustrated in the entry cited above, no. 63). The two thieves are almost identical to the two thieves of the present lot, although the figure of Christ is quite different. A different 16th century drawing, of the thief Gestas (Harlem, Teylers Museum, inv. no. I 8), also appears to be based upon the same model and is interesting because it bears an inscription attributing it to Michelangelo, not long after the latter's death.
There are a number of bronze casts of the torso of the thief Gestas, including an example in Berlin (see Bode, loc. cit.). However most of these lack any real definition and probably represent late aftercasts of an original model by Michelangelo. More rare are examples where all three figures from the Crucifixion are present. At least three groups in bronze are known, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the Castello Sforzesco and the Museo Archeologico, both in Milan. The present terracotta group is the fourth 'complete' Crucifixion, and the only one known thus far in terracotta.
After even a cursory glance at the three figures here, it becomes obvious that the artist who modelled the two thieves was either different from the man responsible for the figure of Christ, or at a very different point in the development of his personal style. Whereas the thieves are monumental in feeling, with powerfully built torsos bursting with energy, the Christ is altogether more youthful in his proportions and more passive in his pose.
Interestingly, in each of the four complete crucifixion groups (and the 'lost' group represented by the drawing in the Louvre, mentioned above), the two thieves are based upon the same original conception, with minor variations of detail. However in each case the figure of Christ is different, sometimes radically so, as with the Christ in the present lot. It is perhaps the Christ in the New York group (illustrated in Michelangelo - The Genius of the Sculptor, op. cit., no. 69) which has the best claim to be based upon an original by Michelangelo, as it appears to be related to an accepted Michelangelo drawing of the torso of Christ in Harlem (ibid, no. 64). The present terracotta figure of Christ, while not unlike the torso of the wooden figure by Michelangelo in the convent of Santo Spirito, Florence (illustrated in Baldini, op. cit., pl. VI), would appear to be based upon a model by another artist working in Michelangelo's circle.
The number of extant examples of the two thieves - in all different media - is a testament to the high esteem in which they have always been held. It may be that, having been disseminated through casts of the original wax or terracotta models, different artists set themselves the task of 'completing' the group by creating their own central figure of the Saviour. The present example is particularly notable for the high level of detail which remains, and for the pathos of the figure of Christ.