The ''Pitti Tondo'' ( Tondo Pitti) is a marble

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

of the

Virgin and Child In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent ...

by Michelangelo in round or tondo form. It was made between 1503 and 1504 and is now in the

Museo nazionale del Bargello The Bargello, also known as the Palazzo del Bargello, Museo Nazionale del Bargello, or Palazzo del Popolo (Palace of the People), was a former barracks and prison, now an art museum, in Florence, Italy. Terminology The word ''bargello'' appears ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

History

The tondo was made in the year in which Michelangelo sculpted his ''

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

'', having found the time to dedicate to some other paid private commissions. This work was made for Bartolomeo Pitti. His son Miniato, a monk at Monte Oliveto, donated it to Luigi Guicciardini (1487–1551). Benedetto Varchi saw the work in 1564, in the house of his nephew Piero. In 1823, the tondo was bought by the Florentine authorities for 200

scudi The ''scudo'' (pl. ''scudi'') was the name for a number of coins used in various states in the Italian peninsula until the 19th century. The name, like that of the French écu and the Spanish and Portuguese escudo, was derived from the Latin ''s ...

, from the shop of the dealer Fedele Acciai. Placed in the Galleria degli Uffizi, it finally came to the

in 1873.

Description and style

In the tondo, Mary is visible, with an open book on her knees. With a distracted gaze, she looks into the distance as if meditating on the fate of her son in the scriptures. The cherub upon Mary's forehead symbolizes her knowledge of the prophecies, as is found in the of

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi ( – 13 December 1466), better known as Donatello ( ), was a Florentine sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance s ...

of Padua. The baby Jesus leans on her in a lively

contrapposto ''Contrapposto'' () is an Italian term that means "counterpoise". It is used in the visual arts to describe a human figure standing with most of its weight on one foot, so that its shoulders and arms twist off-axis from the hips and legs in the ...

, and in the background is just visible a young

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

. Surely Michelangelo was influenced by the lost cartoon of '' Saint Anne'' by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially res ...

, which was exhibited at the Santissima Annunziata in those years, based on the interaction between the figures and the bound atmosphere created with the stiacciato technique. The sides of the work are not polished, giving an unfinished character to the work, and accentuating this effect. The center of the entire composition is Mary, sitting on a cube block (like '' Madonna of the Stairs'') and seeming to bend over to better enter the space of the tondo. It almost gives the impression that she wants to leave forcefully leave the field of the relief. Her head, in

high relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the ...

, projects both outwards and upwards beyond the border of the tondo and turns left to break the rigidity of the vertical axis of her body. The contrast between the figure of John the Baptist and the relief of the Virgin also gives the work depth.

References

Bibliography

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External links

http://www.polomuseale.firenze.it/catalogo/scheda.asp?nctn=00286603&value=
{{Michelangelo, sculpture, Pitti Tondo Sculptures by Michelangelo 1504 works 1503 works 16th-century sculptures Marble sculptures in Italy Virgin Mary in art Sculptures of the Bargello

History

Description and style

See also

References

Bibliography

External links