The Art of Taking Away
Michelangelo grew to become an influential sculptor and painter with the spark of the Renaissance, marking a time of new styles, techniques, and genres.1 Believing the figures he sculpted to have a life that merely needed to be extracted from the stone, Michelangelo presented art based upon realism and accuracy.2 He believed that “every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”3 Aiming to uncover the essence, he would only carve from large blocks of stone in order to not separate the original intension of the creature within.4 Michelangelo created masterpieces that displayed his beliefs in the art of taking away and new techniques observed from his patronages, where he learned the methods of other great artists.5
“Sculpture is made by taking away, while painting is made by adding,” Michelangelo wrote to Benedetto Varchi in 1546. 6 Hoping to spread his knowledge of the arts, Michelangelo wrote letters to his nephew offering advice on life and helpful techniques he had learned as an apprentice.7 At fifteen, Michelangelo became an apprentice to the Medici family and discovered his talent in sculpting evident in his first sculpture, a laughing faun. Impressed with the work of the young Michelangelo, the Medici accepted him into their circle and began to sponsor him. Surrounded by the Medici’s choice of art Michelangelo later reflected the methods present in the Medici’s garden of art paired with that of Donatello in his sculptures.8 Michelangelo, inspired by techniques both antique and new to the Renaissance as well as his theory of a spirit already existing in the stone, presented masterpieces of both sculptures and paintings.9
Although Michelangelo aimed for classical antiquity, he also strove to surpass it. Portrayed in David, one of his most well known sculptures, Michelangelo presented nudity and great detail of realism rarely observed prior to the Renaissance. 10 He contrasted the ancient idea of size representing importance and therefore sculpted David, a shepherd boy from the Bible, employing colossal size.11 Michelangelo placed David’s weight onto his right leg and his raised left arm pulling at the cloth strap to feign movement. Meanwhile, David’s furrowed eyebrows and tense neck enhance his emotional intensity. These precise facial features and posture, the aspects of classical antiquity shown in the surreal size, and his thoughts that David was merely extracted from the stone draw from Michelangelo’s interest in those preceding him and his vision that the figure already existed.12
Extracting the essence of his sculptures and creating pieces by following the elaborate designs of those preceding him, Michelangelo contributed to the spread of art in the Renaissance and the exploration of new artistic techniques. In the future other artists could look to Michelangelo as an example of exploring art and challenging previous beliefs such as only important figures being large. This drive to challenge previous techniques influenced future Renaissance artists as they attempted to continue exploring new ideas.13
Kailey Kirkwood
1 Peter Burke, Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy (Princeton, NJ:
2 “Michelangelo.” History.com, http://www.history.com/topics/michelangelo.com
8 Paul F. Grandler, The Encyclopedia of the Renaissance (New York: Scribner’s, 1999), 22.
12 William E. Wallace, Michelangelo: the Complete Sculpture Painting Architecture
