"What shall I say of Dawn, a nude woman who is such as to arouse melancholy in one's soul and throw sculpture into confusion? In her attitude may be seen the anxiety with which, drowsy with sleep, she rises up from her downy bed; for on awakening she has found the eyes of the great duke closed in death, and her eternal beauty is contorted with bitter sorrow as she weeps in token of her desperate grief." -Giorgio Vasari
Before Michelangelo, artists had always designed Christian symbols on tombs: angels, the Virgin Mary, Christ, the Apostles and the Virtues. But he renounced Christian traditions in order to portray Humanity to our eyes. He gave names to the statues of the sarcophagi: Dawn, Dusk, Day and Night. In reality, these were just words, for these statues represented nothing but human beings. They are the symbol of suffering mankind. It is because they are crying that they are alive; their suffering gives them all their beauty. Only Michelangelo could find words worthy of being pronounced regarding his work, and in a famous verse, he himself tells us of the dark despair of his soul:
"It is my pleasure to sleep and even more to be stone:
As long as shame and dishonor may last,
My sole desire is to see and to feel no more.
Speak softly, I beg you, do not awaken me."
24th July 2008.
Inspired by, Michelangelo Buonarroti.
He's my star artist in the group project in the History of Arts class.
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