by-grace-of-god: La Pietà - Carved from a single block of white Carrara marble it took t
La Pietà - Carved from a single block of white Carrara marble it took the 24-year old Michelangelo less than two years to complete (1498-1499).
It is alleged that just days after its installation in St. Peter’s Basilica, Michelangelo inadvertently overheard some visitors’ stray comments that Michelangelo was too young to accomplish a sculpture of such beauty and that the work had been completed by another artist, Cristoforo Solari; outraged, that night, under the cover of darkness and out of pride, Michelangelo snuck back into the Basilica and etched an inscription by candlelight, in Latin, across the Virgin’s sash: “Michael. Agelus. Bonarotus Florent Faciebat” (Michelangelo Buonarroti the Florentine, made this). It is also alleged that, having regretted the outburst of pride, Michelangelo vowed never to sign another work again; the Pietà remained the only work by the artist to ever bear his signature. (source,photo gallery)
