Verschiedene Aspekte der Vielansichtigkeit: eine Fallstudie über die Ansichtigkeit bei Michelangelos Skulpturen (original) (raw)

2020, Keio University Art Center Annual Report/ Bulletin 27

Unlike relief, perspective plays an important role in freestanding statues that stand on their own in space. This is because the sculptor must consider where the viewers will stand and from which direction they will look at the statue when the sculptor decides on the form of the work. During the Renaissance, statues with multiple points of view were favored. However, careful consideration must be given to what statues were perceived to be with „multiple viewpoint“s at the time. In today’s sense, it is natural to think that the viewers can look at something to be seen from any viewpoint, whether it is the content of the subject or the body of the figure itself. In the Renaissance, on the other hand, as Vasari notes, a freestanding figure with anatomical accuracy could be rated as having“multiple viewpoints”. Michelangelo, a contemporary of Vasari’s, probably had a similar perception of the statue’s perspective, but if we observe it from the modern notion of multiple viewpoints, we can see that his works are shaped beyond the framework of such an understanding. With this in mind, this paper will show how multiple viewpoints are ensured and developed in Michelangelo’s work. Already in Bacchus, Michelangelo has set up multiple view- points on the statue. Nevertheless, it is clear that the main viewpoint is that, from which the action of Bacchus and the satyr are instantly recognizable, and when the viewer stands in front of each statue, the other statue turns away from the eyes of the beholder. Furthermore, since only the back of both statues can be seen from the opposite side of the main view, it can be judged that the image has surely multiple viewpoints, but they divide into a main view and secondary views. In Hercules and Cacus, which, scholars think, have been conceived as a counterpart to David, Michelangelo’s consideration of multiple viewpoints is further deepened. In this work, the backs of both figures are placed against the wall, so that the dynamism of the struggle and the muscularity of their bodies are clearly presented in three directions. Therefore, it can be said that this work is a sculpture with several main viewpoints. The most notable of Michelangelo’s works on the subject of multiple viewpoints is the small bronze statue of Samson and the Philistines, based on his model. What is important to note in this work is that the multiple main viewpoints created by the complex intertwining of figures are connected each other by the movement of the body and figurative motifs, so that the statue get to have a continuous viewpoints. Although this form is based on the same principle as Giambologna’s the Rape of the Sabine Woman, Michelangelo’s concetto predates Giambologna’s work by half a century, demonstrating how far-sighted Michelangelo was in his perception of the point of view. Thus, Michelangelo’s statues had multiple viewpoints not only in the cognition of their time, but also in the modern sense. Furthermore, it became clear that he had used several sorts of multiple viewpoints, although it had received little attention until now.