Fight of centaurs who painted the picture. The demigod is strong, bacchantes, centaurs

Italian Battaglia dei centauri marble Casa Buonarroti, Florence, Italy Images on Wikimedia Commons

According to Eric Scigliano, in this bas-relief the young sculptor “embodied the commandments of the Greeks and Romans.” Also this is the first famous work, which can be considered “non-finito”.

The plot and its interpretation

According to Vasari, the bas-relief depicts the battle of Hercules with the centaurs. Vasari also writes that this plot from Ovid’s Metamorphoses was suggested to the master by Angelo Poliziano. There is an interpretation that the scene depicts a battle between centaurs and lapiths. The latter took place at a wedding, so the presence of two becomes clear female figures, which are highlighted by researchers (top left and bottom center).

Scigliano draws a parallel with the idea of Sandro Botticelli’s painting “Pallas and the Centaur” - the victory of civilization (Lapiths) over the barbarians (centaurs), although much softer than in Michelangelo’s interpretation. On the other hand, the relief is dominated by naked male figures young soldiers (with the exception of the only elderly soldier with a stone on the left), which was quite consistent with the spirit of the Neoplatonic reading of the concept of love among the academicians, and the plot no longer becomes a battle for the future of civilization, but an orgy.

It is also important to note that in the title of the work itself one can find hidden meaning. The name of the tribe "Lapiths" (Greek. Λαπίθες ) sounds similar to "lapis" (Latin Lapis), which means "stone", as well as "lapide" (Italian lapide), which means "tombstone". The warriors depicted in the bas-relief are armed with stones, not swords or spears. Consequently, it can be argued that the victory of stone over flesh, and not just over barbarism, can also be one of the interpretations of this work.

Description of the work

Michelangelo carved this bas-relief on a piece of Carrara marble, which was donated by Lorenzo the Magnificent for the school in the gardens of San Marco).

The young sculptor presented a battle scene. In the crowd of young warriors, the figure of a young man with a stone in his hand, which he is trying to throw, catches the eye. Behind him is a bearded warrior, also with a stone in his hand, this is one of the few elderly figures on the relief. The battle is so fierce that the living do not notice either the wounded or the dead. At the bottom of the relief is the figure of a mighty centaur, already killed, who is being frantically trampled. Another centaur has been knocked to the ground on the lower right, but he is still trying to continue the fight with the warrior who has already straddled his back. In the corner on the left is the figure of a dying young man who received a head wound. He is the beginning of a whole series of youthful figures that the sculptor will begin to develop both in painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and in work on the tomb of Pope Julius II. The relief “Battle of the Centaurs” became evidence of the hot, anxious consciousness of a seventeen-year-old youth, who, in his youth, did not yet have military experience, but was able to show both the ferocity of the battle and the terrible sides of every military battle associated with the destruction of people.

Fritz Erpel writes that “the young sculptor deliberately ignored the naturalistic cruelty of what was happening.”


Old man with stone		Dying Warrior		Centaur saddled by a warrior

Restoration

In art

This early work Michelangelo is mentioned in biographical novel K. Schultz “Stone and Pain”:

(...) Bodies struggle, playing with many muscles, bodies in the most powerful manifestation of forms, hot, inflamed creatures, long lines of plexus, tied into knots of arms and legs. And nudity. The smooth nakedness of men's bodies - cover at least one form, and male body it will lose its will and its sorrow.
(...) The glorious nakedness of pain, destruction and battle - everything is inscribed in these furrows of foreheads, throats and bellies. Curvatures, arcs, three-dimensionality, contrast of depth and tension. The battle. Marble.

2.4.3 Bas-relief “Battle of the Centaurs” (c. 1492)

“At this very time, on the advice of Poliziano, a man of extraordinary learning, Michelangelo, on a piece of marble received from his lord, carved the battle of Hercules with the centaurs, so beautiful that sometimes, looking at it now, one can take it for the work not of a youth, but of a master highly valued and tested in the theory and practice of this art. Nowadays it is kept in memory of him in the house of his nephew Lionardo, as a rare thing, which is what it is” Vasari. The exact name of the sculptural group is “The Battle of the Centaurs with the Lapiths.”

Marble relief"Battle of the Centaurs" (Florence, Buonarroti Palace) has the appearance of a Roman sarcophagus and depicts a scene from Greek myth about the battle of the Lapith people with semi-animal centaurs who attacked them during a wedding feast.

The plot was suggested by Angelo Poliziano (1454-1494), the closest friend of Lorenzo the Magnificent. Its meaning is the victory of civilization over barbarism. According to the myth, the Lapiths were victorious, but in Michelangelo's interpretation the outcome of the battle is unclear. The sculptor created compact and tense masses of naked bodies, demonstrating virtuoso skill in conveying movement through the play of light and shadow. The chisel marks and jagged edges remind us of the stone from which the figures are made.

This relief gives the impression of truly explosive force; it amazes with its powerful dynamics, violent movement that permeates the entire composition, and the richness of its plasticity. In this high relief there is nothing of the graphic nature of the three-plane construction. It was solved by purely plastic means and anticipates the other side of Michelangelo’s subsequent creations - his ineradicable desire to reveal all the diversity and richness of plasticity and movements human body. It was with this relief that the young sculptor declared with all his might the innovation of his method. And if in the theme of “The Battle of the Centaurs” there is a connection between Michelangelo’s art and one of its origins - antique plastic and, in particular, with the reliefs of ancient Roman sarcophagi, then new aspirations are clearly expressed in the interpretation of the topic. Michelangelo is little interested in the moment of narration, the story that was so detailed among the Roman masters. The main thing for the sculptor is the opportunity to show the heroism of a person who reveals his spiritual power and physical strength in battle.

In a tangle of bodies intertwined in mortal combat, we find Michelangelo’s first, but already surprisingly widespread embodiment main topic his work is based on the theme of struggle, understood as one of the eternal manifestations of existence. The figures of the fighters filled the entire relief field, amazing in its plastic and dramatic integrity. Among the tangle of combatants, individual ideally beautiful nude figures stand out, modeled with precise knowledge of the human anatomical structure. Some of them are presented on foreground and are given in high relief, approaching a circular sculpture. This allows you to select multiple viewpoints. Others are relegated to the background, their relief is lower and emphasizes the overall spatiality of the solution. Deep shadows contrast with midtones and brightly lit protruding parts of the relief, which gives the image a lively and extremely dynamic character.

Some incompleteness individual parts The relief enhances by contrast the expressiveness of the fragments, finished with all care and subtlety. The manifested features of monumentality in this relatively small-sized work anticipate Michelangelo’s further conquests in this area.

Researchers are still arguing about which episode exactly. ancient mythology reproduced young master, and this plot ambiguity itself confirms that the goal he set for himself was not to strictly follow a specific narrative, but to create an image of a broader plan. Many figures in relief, their dramatic meaning and sculptural interpretation, as if in a sudden revelation, foreshadow the motives of Michelangelo’s future works; the plastic language of the relief, with its freedom and energy, giving rise to an association with violently shimmering lava, reveals similarities with Michelangelo’s sculptural style much more later years.

The freshness and completeness of the worldview, the swiftness of the rhythm give the relief an irresistible charm and uniqueness. It is not for nothing that Condivi testifies that Michelangelo in his old age, looking at this relief, said that he “realized the mistake he made in not giving himself entirely to sculpture” (Correspondence of Michelangelo Buonarroti and the life of the master, written by his student Ascanio Condivi).

But ahead of his time in The Battle of the Centaurs, Michelangelo got too far ahead. 3and with this bold breakthrough into the future, years of slower and more consistent creative development, deepened interest in the great heritage of ancient and Renaissance art, accumulation of experience in line with various, sometimes very contradictory traditions.

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Battle of the Lapiths with the Centaurs Centaurs attacked the ancient Greek tribe of the Lapiths during a wedding feast in order to kidnap the bride. The Lapiths naturally entered the battle. Despite the physical superiority of the centaurs, victory in the centauromachy went to the Lapiths. It is difficult to see the centaurs in the relief of the young Michelangelo. It is filled with a mass of beautiful, athletic lapiths. Through the perfection of bodies, Michelangelo shows how strong they are in spirit. The ancient principle of kalokagathia is the expression of inner virtues through external beauty- forever included in Michelangelo’s work.

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Bas-relief "Battle of the Centaurs" (c. 1492)

The marble relief “Battle of the Centaurs” (Florence, Palazzo Buonarroti) has the appearance of a Roman sarcophagus and depicts a scene from the Greek myth about the battle of the Lapith people with semi-animal centaurs who attacked them during a wedding feast.

This relief gives the impression of truly explosive force; it amazes with its powerful dynamics, violent movement that permeates the entire composition, and the richness of its plasticity. In this high relief there is nothing of the graphic nature of the three-plane construction. It was solved by purely plastic means and anticipates the other side of Michelangelo's subsequent creations - his ineradicable desire to reveal all the diversity and richness of plasticity, movements of the human body. It was with this relief that the young sculptor declared with all his might the innovation of his method. And if in the theme “Battle of the Centaurs” there is a connection between Michelangelo’s art and one of its sources - ancient sculpture and, in particular, with the reliefs of ancient Roman sarcophagi, then new aspirations are clearly expressed in the interpretation of the theme. Michelangelo is little interested in the moment of narration, the story that was so detailed among the Roman masters. The main thing for the sculptor is the opportunity to show the heroism of a person who reveals his spiritual power and physical strength in battle.

In a tangle of bodies intertwined in mortal combat, we find Michelangelo’s first, but already surprisingly broad, embodiment of the main theme of his work - the theme of struggle, understood as one of the eternal manifestations of existence. The figures of the fighters filled the entire relief field, amazing in its plastic and dramatic integrity. Among the tangle of combatants, individual ideally beautiful nude figures stand out, modeled with precise knowledge of the human anatomical structure. Some of them are brought to the foreground and presented in high relief, approaching a round sculpture. This allows you to select multiple viewpoints. Others are relegated to the background, their relief is lower and emphasizes the overall spatiality of the solution. Deep shadows contrast with midtones and brightly lit protruding parts of the relief, which gives the image a lively and extremely dynamic character.

Some incompleteness of individual parts of the relief enhances by contrast the expressiveness of the fragments, finished with all care and subtlety. The manifested features of monumentality in this relatively small-sized work anticipate Michelangelo’s further conquests in this area.

Researchers are still arguing about exactly which episode of ancient mythology was reproduced by the young master, and this plot ambiguity itself confirms that the goal he set for himself was not to strictly follow a specific narrative, but to create an image of a broader plan. Many figures in relief, their dramatic meaning and sculptural interpretation, as if in a sudden revelation, foreshadow the motives of Michelangelo’s future works; the plastic language of the relief, with its freedom and energy, giving rise to an association with violently shimmering lava, reveals similarities with Michelangelo’s sculptural style of much later years.

But ahead of his time in The Battle of the Centaurs, Michelangelo got too far ahead. 3and with this bold breakthrough into the future, years of slower and more consistent creative development, deepened interest in the great heritage of ancient and Renaissance art, and accumulation of experience in line with various, sometimes very contradictory traditions would inevitably come.

The first sculptural works of Michelangelo that have come down to us were created in the early 90s. 15th century the reliefs “Madonna at the Staircase” and “Battle of the Centaurs”, like the first paintings by Raphael, are already works of art High Renaissance. In the small relief “Madonna at the Staircase” from Quattrocentist sculpture, the technique of low, subtly nuanced plastically relief. But in contrast to the masters of the 15th century, who usually introduced a touch of genre into the image of the Madonna and Child, emphasizing the charm of the young mother and the playfulness of the child, Michelangelo creates a majestic image of the Madonna, full of restrained inner power; he boldly gives the baby an almost athletic build. Already this work is characterized by the heroic spirit that distinguishes the images of Michelangelo.

ill.156 Michelangelo. Battle of the Centaurs. Fragment. Marble. Early 1490s Florence, Casa Buonarroti.

The relief "Battle of the Centaurs", depicting the battle between the Lapiths and the centaurs, testifies to the exceptional speed with which this happened. creative formation Michelangelo. It is difficult to imagine that this work was made by a seventeen-year-old boy - his decision was so bold and unusual, the talent of a brilliant sculptor was so clearly revealed here. The first impression of the relief is the intense drama of the fight and the unprecedented plastic activity of the sculptural forms. The tangle of bodies intertwined in a mortal struggle can be likened to iridescent lava; everyone here is in extreme tension; the complex multi-figure composition is permeated with a single, seemingly pulsating rhythm. In this work, for the first time, the main theme of Michelangelo’s art is put forward - the theme of struggle, and for the characterization of the period under consideration it is significant that, despite the drama of the situation, figurative solution The relief is devoid of a tragic sound - on the contrary, the intense struggle is perceived here as the apotheosis of a heroic person, his strength and beauty. It is not without reason that, with the great dramatic expressiveness of each individual figure, the relief as a whole gives the impression of great internal harmony.

The amazing plastic energy of the relief, the abundance and variety of motives for the movements of naked bodies, the complex and free placement of seemingly rounded figures - in all this Michelangelo anticipates not only the techniques, but also the plot and compositional motives of his future works. To paraphrase famous saying, we can say that just as the entire oak tree is contained in an acorn, so the entire subsequent Michelangelo is contained in this youthful relief - it is not without reason that the sculptor himself had a special affection for this work throughout his long life.

90s The 15th century in the history of Florence was marked by the expulsion of the Medici and the establishment of a republican system. -This is the time of formation public consciousness Michelangelo. His political sympathies were entirely on the side of Savonarola, “for whom,” writes biographer Michelangelo Condivi, “he always had great love and whose fiery voice remained in his memory forever.”

ill.157 Michelangelo. Pieta. Marble. 1498-1501 Rome, St. Petra.

In 1495-1496 Michelangelo traveled to Bologna, where he studied the works of Jacopo della Quercia, which turned out to be especially close to him for the heroic nature of his images. In 1496, he left for Rome, where he remained until 1501. By this time, many famous ancient sculptures had already been discovered in Rome, including the Laocoon and the Belvedere Torso, and Michelangelo was captivated by the images ancient art. He paid tribute to them in his “Bacchus” - a work, however, not yet deep and not possessing true originality. The largest work of these years, which put forward young sculptor Among the first masters of Italy was the Pietà marble group (1498-1501). Executed at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Pieta opens a period in Michelangelo’s work marked by an unshakable belief in the triumph of the humanistic ideals of the Renaissance, the integrity of heroic images, and the classical clarity of the monumental artistic language. For creative quests of the young master, the very choice of a significant and responsible topic is indicative - the sorrow of the Mother of God mourning her dead son. This theme is interpreted with a depth inaccessible to the masters of the 15th century. Always gravitating towards images of a pathetic nature, Michelangelo in this group gave an example of a deeply psychological disclosure of a dramatic conflict. Boldly breaking tradition, he depicted the Mother of God as young, thereby highlighting her special spiritual purity. The high spirituality of the image of Mary, the noble restraint of her feelings deprive tragic theme a shade of hopelessness, imparting an enlightened character to the grief of the young mother. In this group, Michelangelo showed himself to be a master, free to cope with difficulties compositional construction, feeling the emotional content of the gesture. There is so much expressiveness, for example, in Mary’s bowed head, in the movement of her left hand drawn to the side, in which we guess meditation, mournful bewilderment, a question. But in its plastic processing this group represents famous step ago in comparison with “Battle of the Centaurs”, the lively free movement of which was far ahead of its time. The modeling of volumes in the Roman Pietà is quite detailed - this applies, in particular, to the folds of clothing; The surface of the marble is smoothly polished in the spirit of the then generally accepted traditions.

ill.158 Michelangelo. David. Marble. 1501-1504 Florence, Academy of Fine Arts.

ill.159 Michelangelo. David. Fragment. See fig. 158.

Accompanied by fame, Michelangelo returned to Florence in 1501. Here he boldly takes on the task of creating a colossal statue of David from a huge block of marble, which an unlucky sculptor had already worked on and, as everyone believed, had hopelessly ruined it. Despite the unusual scale of the sculpture and the difficulties posed by the shape of the stone block, Michelangelo coped with the task brilliantly. The development of the terms of order for this statue and the discussion of issues related to its installation were carried out with the participation of officials of the Florentine Republic, representatives of guilds and outstanding artists, and the opening of the monument in 1504 turned into a popular celebration. This fact indicates that contemporaries were already aware of the great public importance this work, it is not without reason that the architect Giuliano da Sangallo directly called the statue of David a public monument.

It is enough to recall the famous statues of young David by Donatello and Verrocchio to see how far 15th-century sculpture has come. monumental sculpture of the High Renaissance. Unlike his predecessors, Michelangelo depicted David before performing the feat. The handsome face of the young man is full of anger, his gaze is menacingly fixed on the enemy, his hand clutches a sling. The gigantic dimensions of the statue (its height is about 5.5 m), unprecedented in Renaissance sculpture, are inextricably linked with one of the main qualities heroic image in the art of the High Renaissance, for the first time expressed with such clarity in this work, the image of man here acquires a truly titanic character. In accordance with this, the predominant aspect in the content of “David” is the pathos of heroic action. The image of the victorious Goliath becomes more broad meaning- this is the personification of limitless power free man; David's youthful courage develops into an unshakable confidence in man's ability to overcome any obstacles. In "David" for the first time Michelangelo appears new feature internal characteristics - a hitherto unprecedented concentration of volitional tension, imparting to the image of the hero a formidable, terrifying force, which contemporaries denoted with the word terribilita. The Florentines themselves, according to Vasari, were aware of the civic meaning of the “David” installed in front of the Palazzo Vecchio - the building of city government - as a call for the courageous defense of the city and its fair administration.