Study for a Holy Family with the Infant St. John
c. 1504-1506
About this artwork
This monochrome charcoal study depicts a Madonna, the Christ Child, and the Infant Saint John in a dynamic and monumental composition, characteristic of Michelangelo's preparatory drawings for larger religious commissions. It showcases his profound understanding of human anatomy and his method of developing complex figural arrangements.
Did you know?
Michelangelo was renowned for his profound anatomical knowledge, which he meticulously applied even in his preliminary sketches. This study exemplifies his method of crafting figures with idealized, muscular forms, often treating all bodies, male or female, with a similar heroic sculptural quality, reflecting the influence of classical antiquity on his Renaissance and Mannerist work.
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Study for a Holy Family with the Infant St. John
Michelangelo Buonarroti, c. 1504-1506
