Michelangelo Achieves Perfect Balance of Secular and Non-Secular as His Career Progresses: From David to Risen Christ

Indianapolis, IN

This paper analyzes the secular and non-secular influences upon Michaelangelo's art over the course of his career, using his sculptures David and Risen Christ as its main points of comparison. Through a close analysis of various artistic elements, such as the influences of classical antiquity and biblical narratives, naturalism, emotional intensity, contrapposto, nudity and prop usage, this paper reaches the conclusion that Michaelangelo achieved a perfect balance of secular and non-secular influences in his art from the start to the end of his legendary career as arguably the most important of the Old Renaissance Masters. Between the years 1504 and 1520, the respective completion dates of David and Risen Christ, Michaelangelo finds a way to balance adequate representation of the original biblical narrative with element of classical antiquity by using universal elements of Greek and Roman sculpture, such as nudity, contrapposto and naturalism in tandem with the authentic props, justifications and actions of the biblical narratives upon which his works were based.