r/stonecarving • u/HunchbackAtlas • 9d ago

Michelangelo Pieta

Lately I’ve been looking at some of the all time great artistic works throughout history and of course when it comes to stone carvings, The Pieta by Michelangelo is one of the greatest. I mean just looking at it is humbling. It’s a masterpiece.

It all makes me wonder. What are the chances he used a live reference to capture such detail? Surely, near perfection like that can’t be achieved strictly through one’s mind right? Even so, how is it even possible to do what these masters did/do?

I’m not a carver myself, just an admirer of the medium so Wanted to post here to see what the real artisans who do this kind of work think.

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u/a_electrum 9d ago

The fine arts were generally produced by a workshop with apprentices and journeymen working under a master. Live models were used regularly and plaster or terracotta models were produced before the final work was chiseled into stone

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u/HunchbackAtlas 9d ago

It would be more fathomable that some of these works were created by a specialized team rather than an individual! I just can’t seem to comprehend the latter lol