"I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free"

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“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
– Michelangelo Buonarroti

Michelangelo was just 26 years old when David was completed in 1504. The sculpture was installed in the heart of Florence – a symbol of human strength, courage, and freedom. Crowds gathered to witness how a young artist had transformed a massive block of marble into something that felt almost alive.

It marked the beginning of an 88-year career that would forever change the course of art history.

(Spoiler:🎥 We’re showing a film about Michelangelo Michelangelo: Love and Death as part of my Art on Screen/ Kunst på film project at Cinemateket in Oslo.

Photo: Wikipedia © CC BY-SA 3.0 / Cover photo: By Korido, WIkipedia CC BY-SA 4.0

For nearly 400 years, David stood in this public square before being moved indoors in 1873 and replaced by a replica outside Palazzo Vecchio – but the power in his gaze remains the same.

In his art, Michelangelo elevated the human body to something greater. To him, the body wasn’t merely a subject – it was a place where the human and the divine met.

Muscle by muscle, bent knees, outstretched hands – everything he shaped carried a deeper meaning.

In Pietà, he lets Christ’s lifeless body rest in Mary’s lap with an almost unbearable stillness.

And in the Sistine Chapel, he painted more than 300 figures – each a study in anatomy, movement, and human emotion. The entire ceiling is a tribute to the body as a vessel for life’s biggest questions:

Who are we? Where do we come from? What happens when we die?

🎬 In Michelangelo: Love and Death, you’ll gain insight into Michelangelo’s life and work, from his childhood in Florence to his final years in Rome. You’ll hear his story, see his masterpieces, and learn from experts who are still deeply moved by his legacy.

Art on Screen / Kunst på film is a collaboration between The Art Trotter and Cinemateket, part of the Norwegian Film Institute, dedicated to bringing great and meaningful art stories to the big screen — with a new movie every month!

And if you can't see the move, I’d love to inspire you with my favourite poem written by Michelangelo himself. Read it below 🖋️

Celestial Love

by Michelangelo Buonarroti
Translated by John Addington Symonds

No mortal thing enthralled these longing eyes
When perfect peace in thy fair face I found;
But far within, where all is holy ground,
My soul felt Love, her comrade of the skies:
For she was born with God in Paradise;
Nor all the shows of beauty shed around
This fair false world her wings to earth have bound:
Unto the Love of Loves aloft she flies.
Nay, things that suffer death, quench not the fire
Of deathless spirits; nor eternity
Serves sordid Time, that withers all things rare.
Not love but lawless impulse is desire:
That slays the soul; our love makes still more fair
Our friends on earth, fairer in death on high.

💫 For daily art inspirations, behind-the-scenes stories, and my personal recommendations – come follow along on Instagram @the_art_trotter

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"I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free"

Celestial Love

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