Madonna of Bruges

Sculpture by Michelangelo

Madonna and Child

Artist| Michelangelo
Year| 1503-1505
Type| Marble
Dimensions| 128 cm (50 in)
Location| Onze Lieve Vrouwekerk, Bruges
Coordinates| 51°12′17″N 3°13′28″E﻿ / ﻿51.20472°N 3.22444°E﻿ / 51.20472; 3.22444
Preceded by| David (Michelangelo)
Followed by| Pitti Tondo

The Madonna of Bruges is a marble sculpture by Michelangelo of the Virgin and Child.

Michelangelo's depiction of the Madonna and Child differs significantly from earlier representations of the same subject, which tended to feature a pious Virgin smiling down on an infant held in her arms. Instead, Jesus stands upright, almost unsupported, only loosely restrained by Mary's left hand, and appears to be about to step away from his mother. Meanwhile, Mary does not cling to her son or even look at him, but gazes down and away. It is believed the work was originally intended for an altar piece. If this is so, then it would have been displayed facing slightly to the right and looking down. The early 16th-century sculpture also displays the High Renaissance Pyramid style frequently seen in the works of Leonardo da Vinci during the late 1400s.

Madonna and Child shares certain similarities with Michelangelo's Pietà, which was completed shortly before – mainly, Mary's flowing robe, and the movement of the drapery. The long, oval face of Mary is also reminiscent of the Pietà.

The work is also notable in that it was the first sculpture by Michelangelo to leave Italy during his lifetime. In 1504, it was bought by Giovanni and Alessandro Moscheroni (Mouscron) for 100 ducats. The Mouscron brothers were wealthy cloth merchants in Bruges,[1] then one of the leading commercial cities in Europe.

The sculpture was removed twice from Belgium after its initial arrival. The first was in 1794 after French Revolutionaries had conquered the Austrian Netherlands during the French Revolutionary Wars; the citizens of Bruges were ordered to ship it and several other valuable works of art to Paris. It was returned after Napoleon's final defeat at Waterloo in 1815. The second removal was in 1944, during World War II, with the retreat of German soldiers, who smuggled the sculpture to Germany enveloped in mattresses in a Red Cross truck.[2] It was discovered a year later in Altaussee, Austria within a salt mine and again returned. It now sits in the Church of Our Lady in Bruges, Belgium. This is represented in the 2014 film The Monuments Men.

* The statue being recovered from the Altaussee salt mine

## See also

[edit]

* List of works by Michelangelo
* Roman Catholic Marian art
* The Monuments Men (2014 film)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Bruges and its beauties, Editions TILL, Bruxelles, 1986
2. ^ Kurtz, Michael J. (2006). America and the return of Nazi contraband. Cambridge University Press. p. 30.

## External links

[edit]

* Media related to Brugge Madonna by Michelangelo Buonarroti at Wikimedia Commons

* v
* t
* e

Michelangelo

* List of works
* ✻ attributed
* †lost

Sculptures

| Florence, c. 1488–1492|

* Head of a Faun†
* Madonna of the Stairs
* Battle of the Centaurs
* Crucifix

|

Bologna, 1494–1495|

* Additions to the Arca di San Domenico
* Saint Petronius
* Saint Proculus
* Angel

Rome, 1496–1500|

* Sleeping Cupid†
* Bacchus
* Standing Cupid†
* Pietà

Florence, 1501–1505|

* David
* Madonna of Bruges
* Additions to the Piccolomini Altarpiece
* Saints Peter, Paul, Pius and Gregory
* Pitti Tondo
* Taddei Tondo
* Saint Matthew
* Rothschild Bronzes

Tomb of Julius II, 1505–1545|

* Moses
* Rebellious Slave
* Dying Slave
* Young Slave
* Bearded Slave
* Atlas Slave
* Awakening Slave
* The Genius of Victory
* Rachel
* Leah

Florence, 1516–1534|

* Christ Carrying the Cross
* Medici Chapel
* Giuliano de' Medici, Duke of Nemours
* Night
* Day
* Dusk
* Dawn
* Medici Madonna
* Apollo
* Crouching Boy

Rome, 1534–1564|

* Brutus
* Florentine Pietà
* Palestrina Pietà ✻
* Rondanini Pietà

Paintings

| Panel paintings|

* The Torment of Saint Anthony
* Manchester Madonna
* The Entombment
* Doni Tondo
* Leda and the Swan†

|

Salone dei Cinquecento|

* Battle of Cascina†

Sistine Chapel
(ceiling gallery)|

* Ceiling
* Separation of Light from Darkness
* The Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Plants
* The Creation of Adam
* Prophet Daniel
* Prophet Isaiah
* Prophet Jeremiah
* Prophet Joel
* Prophet Jonah
* The Last Judgment

Pauline Chapel|

* The Crucifixion of Saint Peter
* The Conversion of Saul

Architecture

| Florence|

* New Sacristy and Laurentian Library in the Basilica of San Lorenzo

|

Rome|

* Capitoline Museums
* Piazza del Campidoglio
* Palazzo Farnese
* St. Peter's Basilica
* Tor San Michele ✻
* San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
* Porta Pia
* Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri

Works on paper, milieu, etc.

| Works on paper|

* Study of a Kneeling Nude Girl for The Entombment
* Male Back with a Flag
* Studies for the Libyan Sibyl
* The Punishment of Tityus
* The Fall of Phaeton
* Pietà for Vittoria Colonna
* Epifania

|

Milieu|

* Cecchino dei Bracci
* Tommaso dei Cavalieri
* Vittoria Colonna
* Ascanio Condivi
* Gherardo Perini
* Sebastiano del Piombo
* Febo di Poggio
* Luigi del Riccio

Related|

* Art patronage of Julius II
* Casa Buonarroti
* Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
* Michelangelo and the Medici
* Replicas of David
* Replicas of the Pietà
* Restoration of the Sistine Chapel frescoes
* The Titan: Story of Michelangelo (1950 documentary)
* The Agony and the Ecstasy (1961 novel, 1965 film)
* A Season of Giants (1990 TV film)
* Michelangelo (crater)
* Michelangelo quadrangle

Authority control databases

National|

* Germany

Other|

* Bildindex

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[c.]: circa