Michelangelo Pietà Bandini – Florentine Pietà

The michelangelo pietà bandini (florentine pietà) represents the Virgin Mary holding the lifeless body of Jesus after the crucifixion. The scene is full of pathos and drama, made even more intense by Michelangelo’s extraordinary mastery in sculpting marble.

Every detail of the sculpture is treated with meticulous attention. The figures are sculpted with an expressive power that leaves you breathless, and the drapery is rendered with a delicacy and fluidity that seems to challenge the hardness of the material.

But the Bandini Pietà is not just a masterpiece of sculptural technique. It is also a deeply spiritual work, reflecting Michelangelo’s meditations on death, pain and redemption.

In the figure of the Virgin Mary, afflicted and resigned, Michelangelo saw his own pain and suffering again. And in the lifeless body of Jesus lay his own disillusionment with the world and with men.

A challenge for the master

As often happens in Michelangelo’s works, the choice of marble was not random. He used to select the materials with which to work with extreme care, looking for stones that were not only aesthetically valuable, but which also had technical characteristics that allowed him to realize his artistic vision.

In this case, his choice fell on Seravezza marble. It is a white marble extracted from the Apuan Alps, in Tuscany, known for its compactness and hardness. Precisely these characteristics made it ideal for the creation of a monumental work such as the Bandini Pietà.

However, the hardness of Seravezza marble also represented a challenge for Michelangelo. Working with this material required considerable physical strength and impeccable technical mastery. Michelangelo, already advanced in age, had to face many difficulties to domesticate this stubborn stone.

But his tenacity and skill won over the hardness of the marble. With patience and mastery, Michelangelo managed to sculpt the Bandini Pietà, creating a masterpiece that still amazes us today with its beauty and perfection.

The choice of Seravezza marble not only gives the Bandini Pietà an austere and solemn beauty, but also helps to convey a sense of strength and resistance. Just like the marble that composes it, Michelangelo’s sculpture seems to defy time and wear, destined to remain intact for centuries to come.

The use of this hard and compact marble also symbolizes the harshness of the pain that Michelangelo felt for the death of his brother Buonarroto. A pain that, like marble, was deep and penetrating, but which never broke his spirit.

Indeed, it was precisely from suffering and pain that Michelangelo drew the strength to create an immortal work of art.

The Bandini Pietà is an indelible testimony to his ability to transform tragedy into beauty, suffering into art.

The choice of Seravezza marble, therefore, was not only an aesthetic decision, but also a symbolic choice that contributes to making it even richer in meaning and value.

A veiled self-portrait – Michelangelo Pietà Bandini

In addition to its extraordinary beauty and its profound religious meaning, the sculpture hides a fascinating secret: the presence of a self-portrait of Michelangelo himself.

In the folds of Nicodemus’ cloak, the figure holding the body of Christ on the left side, we can see a face that bears a surprising resemblance to that of Michelangelo.

It is a veiled self-portrait, an artistic device that the master often used in his works. In this case, the choice to portray himself as Nicodemus, a biblical character associated with death and burial, is not accidental.

Michelangelo, now advanced in age and aware of his own mortality, was reflecting on his own end. The Pietà thus became not only a tribute to his deceased brother, but also a meditation on death and the fragility of life.

Portraying himself as Nicodemus was a way for Michelangelo to confront his own mortality and accept his inevitable end. But at the same time, this veiled self-portrait also represents his desire to leave an indelible mark on the world through his art.

The presence of this secret self-portrait gives the work an additional level of depth and meaning. It is not only a sacred work of art, but also an intimate and personal reflection by Michelangelo on life, death and the meaning of existence.

Michelangelo pietà bandini A work destined for eternity

Michelangelo began sculpting the Bandini Pietà with the intention of using it for his tomb. He wanted this monumental sculpture, full of pathos and spirituality, to be his final masterpiece and his artistic heritage to the world.

Michelangelo imagined her placed in the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, where he had already purchased land for his burial. The sculpture should have been included in a grandiose architectural complex, designed by the artist himself, which should have celebrated his memory and his greatness.

Even though Michelangelo’s tomb in Santa Maria Maggiore was never built, the purchase of this land and the development of the project demonstrate the importance he attributed to his tomb. He wanted to leave a lasting legacy not only through his art, but also through his grave.

Michelangelo’s anger and the mutilation of the Bandini Pietà

A dramatic episode marked the creation of the statue: the partial destruction of the sculpture by Michelangelo himself.

Vasari, in his “Lives of the most excellent painters, sculptors and architects“, recounts that one day, in a moment of despair and anger, Michelangelo attacked the Pietà 

with a hammer, damaging the arms of Christ and the Virgin.

The reasons for this extreme gesture are not entirely clear. According to some hypotheses, Michelangelo was seized by a fit of fury due to dissatisfaction with his work. The Seravezza marble, notoriously hard and compact, may have created considerable difficulties for him, fueling his frustration.

Other scholars however hypothesize that Michelangelo’s anger was due to deeper reasons. The death of his brother Buonarroto, which occurred in 1556, had deeply saddened him, and the sculpture, destined for his tomb, may have reawakened painful memories.

Whatever the cause, the mutilation represents a dramatic event in Michelangelo’s life. It was an act of self-destruction, reflecting his inner torment and his struggle with his own mortality.

However, even from this tragic event, Michelangelo’s greatness emerged. He did not give up when faced with his damaged work, but decided to take it back and give it a new shape.

With patience and mastery, Michelangelo modified the sculpture, adapting it to the new situation. The arms of Christ and the Virgin were remodeled into a more collected and intimate pose, giving the work an even more touching and poignant atmosphere.

Despite the mutilations, it remains an absolute masterpiece by Michelangelo. It represents an indelible testimony of his creative genius, his profound sensitivity and his ability to transform pain into art.

The episode of the destruction and subsequent reworking offers us a further key to understanding this extraordinary work. It allows us to better understand the complex personality of Michelangelo, tormented by doubt and the search for perfection, but also capable of rising from his ashes and creating immortal works of art.

Retracing the history of the placement of the Michelangelo pietà bandini:

On February 18, 1564, the day of Michelangelo’s death, the Bandini Pietà was still in his Roman home, in the artist’s studio. It had not yet been completed, and Michelangelo had continued to work on it until a few days before his death.

1545-1564: Michelangelo created the Bandini Pietà in his studio in Rome, but left it unfinished.

1566: Michelangelo’s nephew, Leonardo Buonarroti, moved the sculpture to Florence.

1566-1722: The Bandini Pietà remains in Michelangelo’s studio in Florence.

1722: The sculpture is moved from its temporary home in Michelangelo’s studio and placed in the Βασιλική Santa Maria del Fiore, where he remained until 1933.

1933: The Bandini Pietà finds its definitive location within the Μουσείο Opera del Duomo, also located in Florence, in Michelangelo’s Tribune.