In cities as ancient and untouched by time as Bruges, life is like a dream. Therefore, being in Bruges and dreaming about it are almost the same thing. However, only after getting to know this amazing city in person do you begin to understand why the great aesthetes of the early twentieth century were able to endure life exclusively in Bruges. One of the main attractions of the city, which in itself is one big attraction, is the Cathedral Church of Our Lady. The massive structure, piercing its long spire into the postcard Flemish sky, amazes with its diversity architectural styles, which it has absorbed over the 200-year history of construction.
The history of the Church of Our Lady begins no less than in the 9th century, when a small chapel was built outside the city rampart. Then it was replaced Romanesque basilica, and construction of the modern Gothic Church of Our Lady began in 1220. However, its 122-meter tower remains to this day the tallest brick building in Belgium. An eclectic mixture of styles is characteristic of all Flemish churches that were built before the second half XVI century. The soaring Gothic exterior of the cathedral blends harmoniously with the interior, designed in Baroque style interspersed with Rococo or Romanesque style. The reasons for this should be sought in the history of iconoclasm, as a result of which it was destroyed interior decoration almost all the churches in those places. They were restored much later, when the world was ruled by Baroque.
Behind the powerful walls of the Church of Our Lady is one of the most beautiful sculptures on earth - the famous “Madonna and Child,” which was created by the great Michelangelo in 1505 and became the only work of the author that left Italy during the creator’s lifetime.
1501-1503. Gallery Vrouwekerk, Bruges. Michelangelo Buonarroti
The height of the sculpture is 128 cm, marble. Michelangelo Buonarroti depicted classic version Our Lady with the Child Christ. This type of idealization has been used by many other artists. In addition, Michelangelo was an ardent admirer of Dante. At the beginning of Saint Bernard's prayer in the last canzone Divine Comedy It says: “Vergine Madre, figlia del tuo figlio” - “Our Lady, daughter of her Son.” The sculptor found perfect way to express this medieval theological thought in stone.
Extraordinary beautiful woman, on whose face one can read the mother’s pain. A mother who knows that in a few years her beloved son will have to atone for the sins of humanity in terrible agony. Truly, only a genius can create so many emotions on a block of icy marble. Michelangelo's sculpture alone deserves to call the Church of Our Lady in Bruges a major Belgian landmark. But the wealth of the Flemish merchants knew no bounds, so here you can also see the magnificent paintings of Peter Paul Rubens decorating the choir. In addition, in the Church of Our Lady there are two of the most luxurious sarcophagi in Europe in the flaming Gothic style, which belong to the last Burgundian rulers of the Valois family - Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary, during whose reign Bruges reached the peak of its greatness.
Madonna
Brugge
The Madonna and Child was originally one of the sculptures commissioned by Cardinal Francesco Piccolomini for his chapel in Siena. It was supposed to be located in a large niche at a height of nine meters, above the main altar in the Piccolomini family chapel. Thus, the audience had to look at her from bottom to top. This explains some of the disproportion of the sculpture and the downward gaze of the Mother of God and the baby.
But during the work, disagreements arose between the sculptor and the customer. The very principled cardinal wanted to first receive a sketch of the work in order to be sure that the sculpture would not show any liberties in composition and nudity. Michelangelo, however, chose to follow his inner vision and sculpted little Jesus naked.
The sculptor's friend, the banker Giovani Balducci, introduced Michelangelo to his client, an influential merchant from Jan de Mouscron, whose family traded in Flemish cloth in Italy. The latter made a generous offer to pay one hundred ducats for the sculpture.
Since the 13th century, the Flemish city of Bruges had close trade relations with Venice, Florence, Genoa and other Italian cities. One of the main branches of the Medici family bank was located in Bruges.
In a letter dated January 13, 1506, Michelangelo asks his father to leave the sculpture in a box, in family home and don't show it to anyone.
On August 14, 1506, Giovanni Balducci writes from Rome to Florence: “I have heard that Francesco del Puglise can send the sculpture to Viareggio, and from there to Flanders. If you agree with the shipping price, I ask you to send it to the rightful owners Jan and Alexandre Mouscron in Bruges.”
In October 1506, the sculpture was transported to Italian city Lucca and then Bruges. “Madonna and Child” was the only work of the master that left Italy during his lifetime.
Thanks to an agreement dated November 23, 1514 and preserved in the city archives of Bruges, it is known that the rector and churchwardens of the Church of Our Lady accepted a luxurious altar and a statue of Our Lady and Child as a gift. In return, donors were given several privileges.
The sculpture was placed in a niche of black marble in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the brightest and most pleasant part in Bruges.
Columns made of red stone contrast with black marble niches, and in 1768 two side sculptures, allegories: Faith and Hope, by sculptor Peter Peters, were added to the composition.
In front of the altar lies a tombstone restored in 1829, decorated with the family coat of arms of Pieter de Mouscron, son of Jan de Mouscron. According to the inscription on the slab, the altar standing in front of the sculpture was also his gift.
After the attack on the Pieta in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, during which the maniac damaged the sculpture with a hammer, church authorities decided to protect the sculptural group with bulletproof glass.
, who modestly called himself “a sculptor from Florence,” was an artist, an architect, a poet, and a thinker. Each of his works is a synthesis of all his talents, ideal in form and philosophical in content.Tondo Doni from the Uffizi Gallery is the same masterpiece of Michelangelo, where painting becomes almost a sculpture, filled with the deepest meaning.
Tondo Doni (or Madonna Doni) is the only non-monumental painting Michelangelo, which is considered completed, and whose authorship is beyond doubt.
A tondo is a piece of painting or sculpture in a round format, about a meter in diameter. Paintings and reliefs in the shape of a circle were extremely common in Florence during the early Renaissance. Throughout the 15th century, the most noticeable and bright artists worked with tondo, traditionally depicting religious subjects on them. Rich Florentines ordered tondos both for their palazzos and as expensive gifts for weddings and holidays.
In 1504, Michelangelo Buonarroti lives and works in Florence. Hishas just been installed in Piazza della Signoria, in the heart of the young republic. The news of the giant statue of a perfectly beautiful naked man spread throughout Europe. And there was no star brighter than Michelangelo!
A young sculptor, originally from Florence, who glorified his city... he became a real celebrity and the most sought-after master. Soon rumors of his genius will reach Pope Julius II himself, who will invite him to Rome with great respect. But for now Michelangelo is inundated with orders from wealthy Florentines: everyone wanted to get his work.
Agnolo Doni couldn’t stay away either. A merchant, a wealthy textile merchant, a philanthropist, a collector of ancient and “modern” art, he was one of the most enlightened, famous and respected people in the city.
In 1504, a magnificent wedding takes place in Florence: Agnolo Doni marries Maddalena Strozzi, a representative of a wealthy family of Florentine bankers.
It is quite possible that it was in honor of this celebration that Doni turned to Michelangelo and ordered from him an image of the Virgin Mary in tondo format, the creation of which is connected with a fascinating story that has come down to us in the “Biographies...” of Giorgio Vasari.
When Michelangelo finished the tondo, he sent him with a messenger to Agnolo's house with a message to receive 70 ducats for it. Doni, a philanthropist and art connoisseur, immediately realized that Michelangelo’s work was so good that it was worth much more. But, being a prudent merchant, he decided that 40 ducats would be enough for the artist, which he handed to the messenger. Agnolo was fully confident that the artist would not dare to argue and bargain with such a powerful and respected person. But Michelangelo, known for his difficult character, became truly furious and sent back 40 ducats, ordering the messenger to return either with the painting or with double the price. Agnolo, already ready for 70, as in the saying about the stingy, was forced to send Michelangelo 140 ducats.
A year later, Agnolo Doni will turn to and will order a double portrait from him with his young wife. And you must agree, Raphael perfectly conveyed the character of Agnolo Doni, this smart but calculating Florentine.
What amazed Agnolo Doni so much, who was ready even for double the price?
Michelangelo places an intimate family scene in the center of the composition: the Virgin Mary hands over her son, the baby Jesus Christ, to Joseph.
A description by Giorgio Vasari has been preserved: “Here Michelangelo expresses in the turn of the head of the mother of Christ and in her eyes, fixed on the highest beauty of her son, his wonderful satisfaction and excitement<…>But since this was not enough for Michelangelo to show in yet to a greater extent the greatness of his art, he painted many naked bodies against the background of this work - leaning, standing upright and sitting, and he finished this whole thing so carefully and so cleanly that of all his paintings on the tree, and there are few of them, it is rightly considered the most complete and the most beautiful.”
The Holy Family is separated by a small wall, in the background there are naked young men resembling antique statues, so beloved by Michelangelo. And the figurine of the baby John the Baptist is placed in such a way that it seems to connect these scenes.
There are several ways to read this work.
According to one, Tondo Doni is a contrast between the old, pagan world and the new time of Christianity and the coming of the Savior. Perhaps this group of naked people, gathered in a semicircle in the manner of antiquity, are pagans awaiting baptism, the sacrament of which is traditionally associated with the figure of John the Baptist.
And according to another version, naked men symbolize homosexual relationships, which were often attributed to Michelangelo, and which were condemned by the Christian church.
The technique with which Michelangelo completed the work amazed and continues to amaze everyone without exception. An unusually solid composition and rich color scheme make the tondo expressive, bright and unforgettable. It is impossible to believe that its creator did not consider himself an artist at all. On the contrary, Michelangelo did not like painting, considering the chisel and hammer to be his tools.
At the same time, he amazingly managed to work with these very instruments, like a brush (just remember the Pieta). And to paint pictures as if he were carving them out of marble: after all, the naked hands of the Virgin Mary seem completely alive!
The lively plasticity of figures is another unconditional advantage of Tondo Doni. Michelangelo was an artist and sculptor who was extremely attracted to the human body. He was not at all interested in portraying ethereal images. Of course, nude male body in movement is the main thing in Michelangelo’s art. But even when depicting clothed characters, Mary and Joseph, Michelangelo achieves maximum authenticity of movements and poses. After all, he, passionate about anatomy, like no other artist, knows all the secrets and positions of the human body.
The Virgin Mary handing over the baby Jesus Christ to Joseph is depicted in an unusual movement. This turn seems to twist the entire composition in a spiral, making it integral and expressive.
Pose of the Virgin, found by Michelangelo, certainly during preparatory work. After all, for each of his projects, Michelangelo made dozens of drawings from life. It was this situation that unusually inspired Raphael Santi, a young and impetuous artist who arrived in Florence at that time, wanting to study with Michelangelo and Leonardo.
Tondo Doni will be an endless source of inspiration for Rafael. He uses this twisting movement in the painting “Entombment”: a girl in this position supports the Virgin Mary, who has fainted from grief.
And years later, in Rome, where Raphael would achieve extraordinary fame, become a leading artist, chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica and keeper of antiquities, he would not forget Tondo Doni. In 1512, he will create the altarpiece “Madonna di Foligno”, and his Jesus Christ will be so similar to the baby from the Tondo Doni. This is exactly how, inspired and entering into dialogue, Raphael expressed his deep admiration for the genius of Michelangelo Buonarroti, “a simple sculptor from Florence.”
Since Bruges is now an absolute tourist destination, the city is trying in every possible way to maintain this image. Sights are everywhere!
But there is also a real relic here, which the city was lucky enough to receive back in 1506. Many people come here to see it!
Madonna of Bruges, Michelangelo
...At that time Bruges was flourishing. Very rich people lived here. One of them, the merchant Mouscron (Italian Moscheroni), once visited Michelangelo in his workshop.
Moscheroni had a clear idea of what the Virgin should look like. I repeat, the city was rich and at every step it was decorated with statues, luxurious temples (which local residents were considered small, regional churches), many painters lived and worked in the city. Therefore, Moscheroni was a fairly art-savvy person.
But when he saw this marble statue, he was shocked and immediately decided to buy it from Michelangelo.
Features of the sculpture of the Madonna in Bruges
...Here it is necessary to make a digression.
The composition was commissioned from Michelangelo by Cardinal Piccolomini. But during the work, disagreements arose. Michelangelo fundamentally wanted to sculpt the baby Jesus naked, while the cardinal considered this unacceptable.
Disagreements led to the cardinal apparently abandoning the sculpture...
What shocked the Brugger merchant so much and disgusted the cardinal?
Those sculptures of the Mother of God that Moscheroni saw in his life met all religious canons. They were modest, draped with many folds, under which the outlines of the bodies could not even be discerned, sad. The Madonna who amazed the merchant in Michelangelo's workshop was alive! Yes, her face expressed sadness, but it was living sadness! The sculpture seemed to be breathing. There was strength in her!
Madonna deviated from the generally accepted church canons of that time: pensive, as if immersed in her thoughts, the Mother of God does not hug her son to her, her gaze is directed to the side. The classical beauty of her young face is marked by subtle poetry, lyricism and deep sorrow.
Madonna of Bruges, close up
“That’s why she resisted, did not want to let go of this beautiful, strong and agile boy, who grabbed her protecting hand with his little hand. And that’s why she covered her son with the edge of her cloak. The boy, sensing his mother’s mood, also had sadness hidden in his eyes. He was full of strength and courage, soon he would jump off his mother’s lap and leave this safe refuge, but now, at this moment, he grabbed his mother’s hand with one hand and pressed the other to her thigh. Perhaps he is thinking now about her, about his mother, saddened by the inevitable separation: her son, so trustingly clinging to his knees, will soon wander alone in the world.”(Irving Stone, "Torment and Joy")
The first thing that catches the eye of a person who sees this work for the first time and does not know its history is its disproportion. Look how big the baby is standing next to his mother. Why did it happen?
Was the sculptor mistaken?
The fact is that the statue was intended for a niche above the main altar in the chapel of the same cardinal who argued with the master over the nudity of Jesus. The niche was located at a height of 6 meters. Taking this feature into account, Michelangelo changed the proportions of the composition. By the way, for the same reason, Madonna and Child look down.
How did the Madonna sculpture end up in Bruges?
None of this bothered the Brugger merchant. And he persistently asked to sell him this work. Michelangelo had his own little quirk: he did not want his works to be outside of Italy.
Therefore, he set a price that was crazy for those times, hoping that the merchant would lag behind him - 100 ducats.
And Moscheroni paid!
But the sculptor did not retreat!
In a letter dated January 13, 1506, Michelangelo asks his father to leave the sculpture in a box in the family home and not show it to anyone.
Six months later, on August 14, 1506, Giovani Balducci writes from Rome to Florence: “I heard that Francesco del Puglise can send the sculpture to Viareggio and from there to Flanders. If you agree with the shipping price, I ask you to send it to the rightful owners Jan and Alexandre Mouscron in Bruges.”
At the end of 1506 the sculpture was transported to Bruges.
“Madonna and Child” became the only work of the master that left Italy during his lifetime.
And today this is its marketing “trick”, which is exploited with all its might by enterprising Bruggers!
...The sculpture is located on the right side of the church, and is separated from the entire room by a partition. There is a ticket office at the entrance and for just 3 euros you can enter separate room and enjoy this work of art!
The ticket, of course, is not to the church. Ticket to the museum!
In general, its value, of course, lies elsewhere. “Madonna of Bruges” is one of the most believable, inspired, “living” works of the great Michelangelo.
Sources: personal impressions, guide’s story, specialized literature