Art AwarenessPieta by Michelangelo

Michelangelo – who was this guy?No, not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!

I mean this guy

Quick Biography

• Italian Renaissance Artist• Poet, sculptor, painter, engineer and architect• Born March 6, 1475 in Caprese, Italy– Does anyone else love caprese salads? Anyway….

• Family was bankers and dad sometimes held government positions

• Mother was very sick and died when he was 6 years old

Quick Biography - continued

• Entrusted his care to the wife of a stone cutter who lived where Michelangelo’s father owned a marble quarry

• Drawn to the arts, but dad thought Michelangelo was too good to be an artist– In other words, his father considered his pursuit

below the family’s social status and tried to discourage him.

– But, in the end, his father failed and world was all the better for it.

Quick Biography - continued

• Became apprentice to a couple of artists in Florence, the most famous and influential of which was Lorenzo dé Medici, the Magnificent– Michelangelo studied sculpture and anatomy– Influenced by scientists and poets

• Died on February 18, 1564• But, before he died he created some of the

most beautiful and influential art of the Renaissance, such as….

David

The Sistine Chapel

• Today, we are going to study another sculpture by Michelangelo: Pieta

Pieta Facts

• “Pieta” means PITY in Italian• Housed in St. Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City• Commissioned by a cardinal for his funeral

monument• Depicts the body of Jesus on the lap of his

mother Mary after the Crucifixion– Does anyone need to know the story?

Pieta Facts - continued

• Took less than 2 years to sculpt• As the story goes, after the installation of the

sculpture, Michelangelo overheard a visitor stating that Pieta was the work of another sculptor.

• He got wicked made and signed the sash running across Mary’s chest.

• Only work of art that Michelangelo signed• Regretted his outburst of pride and swore never to

sign another work of art

Pieta Facts - continued

• Sustained damage– 1736, four fingers on Mary’s left hand were broken

during a move– 1972 – mentally disturbed geologist walked into

the chapel and attacked the sculpture with a geologist hammer while screaming “I am Jesus Christ!” He took off Mary’s nose, which had to be restored.• Whoa, what a weirdo!

Where am I going with this?• Today, we are going to attempt to be great

sculptors• Michelangelo carved Pieta by the “subtractive

process” from large blocks of marble.• Whether you start with marble or a bar of

soap, the technique is the same – remove the stuff that’s not the thing you are sculpting.

Goldfish Soap Sculpture

Instructions

• Using plastic butter knives instead of chisels as tools– They are not toys, and it is not funny to act like

you are stabbing your neighbor!– Pay attention to the way you need to hold the

knife so it doesn’t break!• Draw goldfish on the side of your bar of soap.• Carefully cut away the soap until you reach

the lines you made to define your goldfish.

Instructions - continued

• Begin to shape your goldfish by rounding the top and bottom, and by flattening the tail.

• Finally, add the eyes.• When you get home after school, if you would

like to smooth our your sculpture a bit, wet your fingers with water and then rub them over the surface of the goldfish.

• Can carve a heart if you don’t want to do a goldfish.

Instructions - continued

• The knives must be returned to me before I leave.

• The soap is yours to keep.– Complete your sculpture, shower with it, or eat it

… I don’t care – it’s yours.• Be careful about getting the soap shavings

everywhere! Carve on your paper towel.• Have fun!