t rivaled ancientstatuary, the highest mark of admiration in Renaissance Rome. At about the same time,Michelangelo also did the marble Piet (1498-1500), still in its original place in SaintPeter's Basilica. One of the most famous works of art, the Piet was probably finishedbefore Michelangelo was 25 years old, and it is the only work he ever signed. The youthfulMary is shown seated majestically, holding the dead Christ across her lap, a themeborrowed from northern European art. Instead of revealing extreme grief, Mary isrestrained, and her expression is one of resignation. In this work, Michelangelosummarizes the sculptural innovations of his 15th-century predecessors such as Donatello,while ushering in the new monumentality of the High Renaissance style of the 16thcentury.Michelangelo was pessimistic in his response to Strazzi. I did not see Strazzi ascomplementing him. Michelangelo responds in a pessimistic tone to what should havebeen a complement. Michelangelo said, sleep is precious; more precious to be stone,when evil and shame are aboard; it is a blessing not to see, not to hear. Pray, do notdisturb me. Speak softly. During his long lifetime, Michelangelo was an intimate ofprinces and popes, from Lorenzo de' Medici to Leo X, Clement VIII, and Pius III, as wellas cardinals, painters, and poets. Neither easy to get along with nor easy to understand, heexpressed his view of himself and the world even more directly in his poetry than in theother arts. Much of his verse deals with art and the hardships he underwent, or withNeoplatonic philosophy and personal relationships. The great Renaissance poet LudovicoAriosto wrote succinctly of this famous artist: Michael more than mortal, divine angel.Indeed, Michelangelo was widely awarded the epithetdivine because of his extraordinaryaccomplishments. Two generations of Italian painters and sculptors were impressed by histreatment of the human figure: Raphael, Annibale Carracci, Pontormo, Ros...
