{"id":2676,"date":"2012-11-30T10:31:41","date_gmt":"2012-11-30T10:31:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=2676"},"modified":"2012-11-30T13:43:16","modified_gmt":"2012-11-30T13:43:16","slug":"michelangelos-piet-rondanini-moves-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/michelangelos-piet-rondanini-moves-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini Moves Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few days ago, while browsing through the newspaper \u2018Corriere della Sera\u2019<\/strong>, I came across an interesting article about Michelangelo\u2019s last sculpture, la Piet\u00e0 Rondanini<\/strong>. Michelangel<\/strong>o is thought to have started working on this Piet\u00e0<\/strong> (piet\u00e0 is the name used for a representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the dead body of Christ) in 1552, but sometime around 1555 he changed the original design, traces of which are still visible in Jesus’ right arm, which is detached from the rest of the sculpture (see photo),<\/span> and his perfectly finished legs. The artist also changed the direction of the Virgin\u2019s face, as we can see from the outline of her eye and nose on the left side of her face. The new composition assumed an unusual standing position in which the two figures of Jesus and Mary seem to mould into one in a moving embrace. Michelangelo was still working on this last masterpiece a few days before his death in 1564.<\/p>\n

\"pieta-rondanini-unfinished-1564\"<\/a><\/p>\n

On the left you can see Christ\u2019s right arm detached from the body<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Throughout the centuries the sculpture changed hands several times, one of the owners being the Rondanini family<\/span>, which explains the name of the artwork. It was finally bought by the City of Milano in 1952. During the Fifties the layout of the City\u2019s museums, hosted within the Castello Sforzesco<\/strong>, was redesigned by a group of architects for the post-war reopening in 1956. The architects decided to isolate Michelangelo\u2019s sculpture in a special area at the end of the route through the Museum of Ancient Art, believing that it gave it more impact. The Piet\u00e0 was positioned at the bottom of a steep staircase, and surrounded on three sides by a screen. The problem is that this arrangement doesn\u2019t invite the visitor to walk around la<\/strong> Piet\u00e0<\/strong>, and makes it impossible for a person with mobility difficulties to access it. This fact was brought to the attention of the Museum and the City Council by, amongst others, Franco Bomprezzi<\/strong>, journalist of the Corriere della Sera, who is himself disabled.<\/p>\n

\"michelangelo-buonarroti-pieta-rondanini-detail\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A close up of the faces of Christ and the Virgin Mary<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

So, after a lot of discussion, it has finally been decided to move the statue to a new, more accessible, location. In order to respect the architects\u2019 original idea of creating a strong visual impact, la Piet\u00e0 Rondanini<\/strong> will be placed in a vast empty space known as l\u2019Ospedale Spagnolo<\/strong> (the Spanish Hospital), situated in another wing of the castle. L\u2019Ospedale Spagnolo dates back to the 16th century, contemporary with Michelangelo\u2019s sculpture, and was used as a lazaretto<\/strong> (a hospital used to isolate the infected) during la Peste<\/strong> (the Plague). Gli appestati<\/strong> (those infected by the plague) were isolated in this place as they awaited their death. <\/strong><\/p>\n

A few weeks ago Franco Bomprezzi was invited by Milan City Council to visit l\u2019Ospedale Spagnolo to give his approval. Here is his description of the setting: \u201cquesta enorme sala \u00e8 affascinante e dolorosa, si avverte quasi fisicamente la presenza antica del dolore e della morte. Una luce soffusa e dolce attutisce l\u2019angoscia, ma crea sacralit\u00e0 attorno al punto nel quale sar\u00e0 collocata la Piet\u00e0.\u201d <\/strong>(This enormous hall is fascinating and painful, you can almost physically feel the ancient presence of pain and death. A sweet suffused light softens the anguish, but creates a sense of the sacred at the point where the Piet\u00e0 will be placed).<\/p>\n

Whilst the Spanish Hospital is undergoing its restoration, Michelangelo\u2019s Piet\u00e0 will be temporarily moved to San Vittore<\/strong>, Milan\u2019s star shaped prison, and placed right in the centre, from where the six arms of the building radiate. It will become a symbol of suffering and the hope for redemption.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m looking forward to seeing Michelangelo\u2019s wonderful sculpture in its new surroundings, because unfortunately I don\u2019t have a pleasant memory of it from my last visit to the Castello Sforzesco many years ago. I didn\u2019t have any sense of strong visual impact when I saw la Piet\u00e0 Rondanini<\/strong>, but rather a feeling of coldness and distance created by that industrial looking cement screen that surrounds it.\u00a0 And this is a shame because I particularly love this work of art, as I do all of Michelangelo\u2019s so called \u201cunfinished\u201d sculptures. I have the sensation that they are struggling to free themselves from the inert stone that imprisons them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

A few days ago, while browsing through the newspaper \u2018Corriere della Sera\u2019, I came across an interesting article about Michelangelo\u2019s last sculpture, la Piet\u00e0 Rondanini. Michelangelo is thought to have started working on this Piet\u00e0 (piet\u00e0 is the name used for a representation of the Virgin Mary mourning over the dead body of Christ) in…<\/p>\n

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