Masterpieces of Sculpture: Winged Victory and Michelangelo’s David
Winged Victory of Samothrace
Rhodes, Pithokritos’ Work? Hellenistic Sculpture, Circa 190 BC, 2.45 m, Louvre Museum, Paris
It is an original work from the Sanctuary of the Cabiri in Samothrace, made of marble in the round. High on the prow of a stone ship, it made a spectacular sculpture erected on the summit of a rock shrine, probably with a fountain at its feet in whose waters it is reflected.
Subject
It’s a Nike or Victory, represented as a winged woman who has just alighted briskly on the prow of a ship. She still bears her wings, and her clothes swirl in the wind. The statue has lost its head and arms. She wears a thin, transparent chiton tied with a knot under her chest, pressing the fabric. The endless folds of the light dress flow around the body, stuck to her chest and belly, suggesting and enhancing the beautiful, rounded shape. She rests her weight on her right leg while the left moves backward in a smooth and long undulation.
Composition
The composition is open; the axis lines of the piece are diagonals and curves, which produce imbalance. Up front, the figure twists and opens into the two long curves of the wings. The side view shows a diagonal line that would link from the leg to the lost head. The dynamism of the composition is completed with the multiple and delicate curves of her dress. The impetuous movement of the Nike is expressed in the cloth that flutters and flies and its wings spread to the sides and back. The sculptor wanted to capture the moment in which it lies.
Modeling
The modeling of the forms is achieved with great expressivity. The artist has been able to express perfectly the effects of the scourge of wind on the body of the goddess, with an anatomical study of great technical skill. He expertly delineates the breasts, belly, and differences in thickness of the legs. The lightweight clothing, from “wet cloths” strapped to her body, creates shapes and loads of sensuality and mystery, becoming more of the beautiful body of Nike. The play of light is enhanced in folds, creating violent contrasts of light and shadow. The craftsmanship is refined, virtuous, and the different textures (fabrics, feathers of the wings, etc.) are well-worked.
Style
The work presents the characteristics of Hellenistic art, the latest period of Greek sculpture: compositional complexity, theatrical illusion, grandiosity, and the breakdown of classical realism, imbalance, love of movement, dramatic tension, sensuality and beauty, and technical skill. The author relies on earlier classical models, perceived influence of Phidias in the technique of wet cloths, but is more realistic.
Function
To commemorate a naval battle in which the Rhodians defeated Antiochus III of Syria. It symbolizes the triumph.
The Sculptor and His Time
The work, one of the most beautiful of the ancient world, is attributed to Pithokritos, a little-known sculptor of the School of Rhodes, one of the top of the Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd-1st centuries BC). This school created such famous works as the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of antiquity, and groups of Laocoön and His Sons and the Farnese Bull.
After the conquests of Alexander the Great, Greek culture spread and merged with the East, an emerging culture of luxury and aesthetic refinement. It is the baroque stage of Hellenism. Of enormous variety of taste, we will find both idealism and realism, beauty and deformity, the dramatic and the everyday items, representing all stages of humans (from children to the elderly). The customers were the wealthy and powerful at the time.
Analysis: Michelangelo’s David
1. Material Analysis
This sculpture is made of marble, in one piece and of large dimensions, so its sculptural difficulty is greater. The work lacks false additions or other materials.
2. Formal Analysis
It follows the principles of classical sculpture, as evidenced in the synovial joints, the contrapposto, and even the curvature known as the Praxitelean S. However, the formal idealism comes with a very deep study of the hair, looking for the contrasts of light and shadow, and some expression in the face’s concentration, which would detract from the Classical Greek.
3. Meaningful Analysis
What distinguishes the work of Greco-Roman Classicism is the issue since it represents a character in the Old Testament, David. The story of David, a young man who demonstrated divine protection to overcome the giant Goliath by intelligence—with a highly accurate stone with a sling—becomes a symbol later, as courage and wisdom may be greater than force. This symbology is exploited later to exemplify the values of political power.
Conclusion
The trend of inspiration in the classic models, but with Christian themes, makes us think that this is a work of the Italian Renaissance. The formal perfection and expressive force make us think that this is a work of Michelangelo’s, David, in particular, preserved in the Gallery of the Academy of Florence.
Commentary
Michelangelo was a Florentine artist, born in the late 15th century (1475) and died in the second half of the 16th century (1564). He trained in Florence, copying works of antiquity. Later, he went to Rome, where he attended the recovery of the Laocoön, a work that will impress you with its expressiveness, movement, and muscle development.
In Rome, he was appointed architect of the works of the church of St. Peter’s in the Vatican, following Bramante. Its main contribution is the construction of the dome and amending the plan of the church. Bramante designed it with both arms equal, a Greek cross; Michelangelo instead lengthens the longitudinal arm, losing the character of a plant-centered plan. Also, in Rome, he amended the planning of one of the most characteristic areas, the Campidoglio, creating a large staircase and a square. It will also be in Rome, where Pope Julius II entrusted his tomb and the pictorial decoration of the Sistine Chapel. The vaults are decorated with themes from the Old Testament, or the creation, and the classical world, as the Sibyls heralding the birth of Christ. On the wall, he painted the Doomsday theme.
In Florence, the Medici commissioned him to build the New Sacristy of the Church of San Lorenzo to serve as a pantheon to the members of this family. The sculptural decoration of this tomb has become emblematic for creating conflicting models that have great influence later: The Aurora, Day, Twilight, and Night. In these works, one of Michelangelo’s greatest contributions to sculpture is clearly seen: the art of “non-finite,” or unfinished. It is to leave areas where forms are insinuated, working just marble, with highly polished areas. It seeks to increase the depth and expressiveness of the representation. Also, in Florence, he built the Laurentian Library.
Among the most representative works of sculpture by Michelangelo are the following:
- The Madonna of the Stairs, which is preserved in Florence. It is a work of youth, but in which some of the characteristics of Michelangelo are present: the tendency to represent figures of great muscle development and the technique to represent the depth, using flat, low, medium, and high relief.
- David. Sculpted from a single block of marble to commemorate and signify victory for the city of Florence against the neighboring cities.
- La Pietà. It is a very recurrent theme in Michelangelo. The best-known Pietà is the Vatican, with great formal balance. Others are the Pietà of Florence Cathedral and the Rondanini Pietà and Palestrina Pietà.
- The sculptures of the funerary monument of Julius II, such as Slaves and Moses, who possesses this peculiarity of Michelangelo’s sculpture called the “terribilità,” an expression that conveys the inner strength of the characters portrayed.
In sum, Michelangelo is one of the greatest representatives of the Renaissance, an Italian art movement that developed in the 15th and 16th centuries and has as fundamental principles the return to classical models, anthropocentrism, and an individualism that allows the creation of original models. Artists like Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo were able to create works that have later inspired other artists.