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A Case Study on Hidden Motivations in Italian

Renaissance Sculpture, Using Modern Technology

Michael Starovoytov

U1262343

Supervisor: Daryl Marples

Examiner: Carlo Fabricatore

Final Year Computer Games Design

CHP 2524

Individual Project

00/00/2017

This report is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts

with Honours in Computer Games Design

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Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 4

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 4

Literature review ..................................................................................................................................... 5

Young Sculpture .................................................................................................................................. 6

The Venus of Willendorf, 28,000 – 25,000 BC ................................................................................ 6

The Renaissance .................................................................................................................................. 8

Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni) .......................................................... 10

The Medici Chapel......................................................................................................................... 13

The Statue of David ....................................................................................................................... 16

The bust of Brutus ......................................................................................................................... 20

Techniques ........................................................................................................................................ 21

Expression, gesture, and the line of action ................................................................................... 22

Static art ........................................................................................................................................ 24

Proportions ................................................................................................................................... 26

Product Specification / Design plan ...................................................................................................... 27

Product list ........................................................................................................................................ 28

Products left on the cutting room floor ............................................................................................ 29

Methodology ......................................................................................................................................... 30

Creating the Venus of Willendorf ..................................................................................................... 30

Creating the bust of Brutus ............................................................................................................... 33

Creating the David ............................................................................................................................ 35

Final products – Evaluation and thoughts ............................................................................................ 39

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 42

Deliverables........................................................................................................................................... 43

References ............................................................................................................................................ 43

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Abstract

As a case study, the core focus of this project was to study and research the hidden meanings and

motivations behind some of the world’s most famous sculptures, focusing mostly on the Italian

renaissance, and the work of Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni). The aim

was to find multiple ways in which a piece of beautiful art can represent something other than its

intended purpose, accompanied by the product which helped to place myself in the mindset of the

famous sculptor, to study his methods and thought processes, not just with written research, but

also with the creation of the product and the outcome, giving an insight into how Michelangelo

would hide deeper messages and meanings within his work.

The history of sculpture intrigued me as much as the Italian renaissance, this led to some research

on the oldest known sculpture known to man, the most famous of which being the Venus of

Willendorf. At first glance appears to be an ancient ornament, however, after much observation,

becomes clear as a symbol of fertility, especially with the enhanced features required for

motherhood.

The products became a way to gain some insight into the mind of the great sculptor Michelangelo,

as well as being a great way to personally discover the pros and cons of digital sculpting against the

more traditional processes. Although I did not create a traditional sculpture for the product of this

paper, I have previously worked with the traditional clay processes before moving over to digital clay

work using tools such as Mudbox™ and Zbrush™. I chose to use Zbrush™ because I was comfortable

using this software, however the software was not the focus, the process and final products were

the key parts to the paper.

The final products, along with the research has enhanced my understanding of the meaning behind

the art, pushing me to make the use of story within my own personal work. And, although the

sculptures were not finished to a polish, this was not the goal. The goal was to study the thought

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process and the rationale of the final products, not the polish on details which wouldn’t make any

difference to the process.

Renaissance sculpture is not entirely relevant to 2D/3D game art from a sculpting standpoint (unless

its involves statues for the environment), however, it is extremely relevant with paving the way of

storytelling through the art work, especially character art, telling a story through their clothing or

marks on their skin, this process remains and can be a critical part of 3D art.

Discovering the subtle story details within the most famous sculptures has been eye opening.

Michelangelo was a true artist, with a conventional bust, he was able to hide personal meanings and

motivations within his work, often right underneath the noses of the very people he was in essence,

insulting through his work.

I aim to make use of my findings in the hopes that it will enhance my future work, finding clever new

ways of telling a character’s story through just their main body, as well as finding a method of hiding

my own personal motivations within the work within reason.

Acknowledgements

Many thanks go to Carlo Fabricatore for keeping me sane and on track and helping to focus my

project into something that means a lot to me and the outcome of which will evolve into my work

over time. And thanks to Simon Iwaniszak, Daryl Marples, and Graham Watts for their support.

Introduction

Throughout history, sculpture and 2D art at a glance have often, been beautiful, inspirational works

of art. However, in recent times, a great deal of artists found ways of creating these masterpieces

(usually on commission) to appear beautiful to the viewer, however to the more observant, these

incredible pieces would be hiding deeper, somewhat darker messages within them.

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These works of art often became known during political and financial conflicts between the

country’s rulers and the artist.

This project aims to delve into the mind of the famous artist, Michelangelo. To discover and bring

the reasons and uses of these hidden messages to the surface, to uncover the processes and to find

a personal way in which these methods can be applied and translated to the 21st century using

modern technology.

Literature review

The following research explores the key motivations within the history of Italian renaissance

sculpture, focusing on the work of the celebrated sculptor, Michelangelo, whilst also touching on the

early history of sculpture.

Research has also been carried out on ancient techniques which are still extremely relevant today.

For example, proportions and gesture, techniques which were pioneered by the likes of Leonardo da

Vinci and Michelangelo during the Italian renaissance. These skills paved the way for modern art and

have become key principles in an artist’s arsenal. Also, the use of storytelling through art, crafting a

beautiful piece with dark hidden messages and meanings can be the difference between a good

piece of work, and a great one.

The renaissance happened across Europe, prominently in Germany, England, France, Italy, and

Spain. Choosing to focus on the Italian renaissance was an easy decision, with Italy being a topic

which is extremely close to home, and sculpture and art in general being personal passions.

In this journey, I hope to discover a variety of hidden motivations within the artist’s work, their

reasoning for hiding the personal beliefs, and how this was achieved. Perhaps these findings could

become useful within my own work and have a potential benefit on the final product that I produce

in the future.

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Young Sculpture

Art, even in its simplest form, has been around for roughly forty thousand years. Meaning and

reasoning were used in sculpture even from early humans as a way of expression with limited

language capabilities. For example, it is thought that some of the first sculptures which mostly

depicted the female form, had exaggerated sexual characteristics, and were probably used as a

symbol of fertility. Being one of the oldest pieces of figurative art, is an important proxy for

advanced symbolic communication. (Conard, N. J. 2009).

The Venus of Willendorf, 28,000 – 25,000 BC

Figure 1. The Venus of Willendorf. (http://surachada.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/1-prehistoric-venus-of-willendorf.html, 2013)

This tiny figurine measures just over four inches in height, and was discovered in Austria in 1908.

Nobody is certain of its function or purpose, but some scholars believe it to be the Goddess of

fertility. Others suggest it may have been a self-portrait made by a woman. It is the most famous of

such objects dating from the Stone Age. (Halle, H. 2016, May 13).

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What is certain is that it is made from limestone. When it was discovered, scholars mistakenly

assumed that the figure was the Goddess of love and beauty, hence the name The Venus of

Willendorf.

With an absence of historical writing from the conception of the Venus, historians have no choice

but to rely on the object itself to learn about the ancient peoples and to create a reasoning behind

the piece. The most conspicuous elements of her anatomy are those that deal with the process of

reproduction and child rearing. The artist took care to place emphasis on her breasts, which some

scholars suggest indicates that she is more than able to nurse a child. The artist also brought

deliberate attention to her pubic region with there being traces of a pigment, most likely red ochre,

which can still be seen on parts of the figurine.

It is clear, that the sculptor placed less attention on the non-reproductive parts of her body. This is

extremely noticeable in the figurines limbs, where there is little emphasis placed on musculature

and anatomical accuracy. The artist carved the figure’s upper arms along her upper torso, and her

lower arms are barely visible resting upon the top of her breasts, however, the lack of care into the

non-reproductive anatomy is not as striking as the lack of detail in the face. The non-existent facial

features instead draw our eye to the several horizontal bands that wrap in concentric circles from

the crown of her head. Some scholars have suggested that her head is obscured by a knit cap, where

others have suggested that these forms may represent braided or beaded hair.

If the face was purposefully obscured, the Palaeolithic sculptor may have not created a portrait of a

specific person, but instead a representation of the reproductive and child rearing aspects of a

woman. In combination with the emphasis on the breasts and pubic region, it seems likely that the

Venus of Willendorf had a function that related to fertility.

“The Venus of Willendorf is only one example dozens of Palaeolithic figures we believe may have

been associated with fertility. Nevertheless, it retains a place of prominence within the history of

human art” (Zygmont, B.).

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The Renaissance

Toward the end of the 14th century AD, a handful of Italian thinkers declared that they were living in

a new age. The barbarous, unenlightened Middle Ages were over, they said; the new age would be a

“rinascità” (“rebirth”) of learning and literature, art, and culture. This was the birth of the period

now known as the Renaissance. For centuries, scholars have believed that between the 14th and the

17th century, a new, modern way of thinking about the world and man’s place in it replaced an old,

backward one. In fact, the Renaissance (in Italy and in other parts of Europe) was considerably more

complicated than that: For one thing, in many ways the period we call the Renaissance was not so

different from the era that preceded it. However, many of the scientific, artistic, and cultural

achievements of the so-called Renaissance do share common themes, most notably the humanistic

belief that man was the centre of his own universe.

“Fifteenth-century Italy was unlike any other place in Europe. It was divided into independent city-

states, each with a different form of government. Florence, where the Italian Renaissance began,

was an independent republic. It was also a banking and commercial capital and, after London and

Constantinople, the third-largest city in Europe. Wealthy Florentines flaunted their money and

power by becoming patrons, or supporters, of artists and intellectuals. In this way, the city became

the cultural centre of Europe, and of the Renaissance.”

Humanism encouraged people to be curious and to question received wisdom (particularly that of

the medieval Church). It also encouraged people to use experimentation and observation to solve

earthly problems. As a result, many Renaissance intellectuals focused on trying to define and

understand the laws of nature and the physical world. For example, Renaissance artist Leonardo da

Vinci created detailed scientific studies of objects ranging from flying machines to submarines. He

also created pioneering studies of human anatomy.

“During the Italian Renaissance, art was everywhere. Patrons such as Florence’s Medici family

sponsored projects large and small, and successful artists became celebrities during the Renaissance.

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Italian Renaissance artists and architects applied many humanist principles to their work. For

example, the architect Filippo Brunelleschi applied the elements of classical Roman architecture–

shapes, columns and especially proportion–to his own buildings. The magnificent eight-sided dome

he built at the Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence was an engineering triumph–it was 144

feet across, weighed 37,000 tons and had no buttresses to hold it up–as well as an aesthetic one.”

By the end of the 15th century, Italy was being torn apart, by one war after another. The rulers of

England, France, and Spain, along with the Pope and the Roman Emperor, battled for control of the

wealthy peninsula. At the same time, the Catholic Church, which was itself wracked with scandal and

corruption, had begun a violent crackdown on dissenters. In 1545, the Council of Trent officially

established the Roman Inquisition. In this climate, humanism was parallel to heresy. The Italian

Renaissance was over. (Italian Renaissance, 2010).

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Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni)

Figure 2. Michelangelo. (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michelangelo, 2011)

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Figure 3. Pieta. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet%C3%A0_(Michelangelo), 2017)

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Figure 4. Sistine Chapel. (http://www.michelangelo.org/sistine-chapel-ceiling.jsp, 2011)

Michelangelo was born on the 6th March 1475 in Caprese near Florence (Italy), where his father was

the local magistrate. A few weeks after his birth, the family moved to Florence, and in 1488,

Michelangelo made the apprentice of painter Domenico Ghirlandaio. Michelangelo then lived in the

house of Lorenzo de Medici, the leading patron of the arts in Florence.

“After the Medici were expelled from Florence, Michelangelo travelled to Bologna and then, in 1496,

to Rome. His primary works were sculpture in these early years. His 'Pietà' (1497) made his name

and he returned to Florence a famous sculptor. Here he produced his 'David' (1501-1504).”

Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to design Julius’ own tomb, however, due to the

quarrels between Julius and Michelangelo, the commissioned project was never completed,

although Michelangelo did produce a sculpture of Moses for the tomb.

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His next major commission was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican (1508 - 1512).

Michelangelo’s work on the Sistine Chapel was instantly recognised as a great work of art, and from

that moment onwards, Michelangelo was regarded as Italy’s greatest living artist.

“The new pope, Leo X, then commissioned Michelangelo to rebuild the façade of the church of San

Lorenzo in Florence. The scheme was eventually abandoned, but it marks the beginning of

Michelangelo's activity as an architect. Michelangelo also designed monuments to Giuliano and

Lorenzo de' Medici in the Medici Chapel in San Lorenzo.”

In 1534, Michelangelo returned to Rome where he was commissioned to paint 'The Last Judgement'

on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel (1537-1541). From 1546, he was increasingly active as an

architect, on the great church of St Peter's. He died in Rome on 18 February 1564. (BBC. 2014).

The Medici Chapel

Figure 5. Medici Madonna. (http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Medici_chapels.html, n.d.)

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Figure 6. Night and Day. (http://www.florencewebguide.com/medici-chapel.html, 2015)

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Figure 7. Dusk and Dawn. (http://www.florencewebguide.com/medici-chapel.html, 2015)

The Medici chapels form part of a monumental complex developed over nearly two centuries,

connecting with the adjoining church of San Lorenzo, which is considered the “official” church of the

Medici family. The decision to build their family mausoleum in the church of San Lorenzo dates to

the 14th century, where Giovanni de Bicci and his wife Piccarda were buried in the Old Sacristy, a

project designed by Filippo Brunelleschi.

Pope Leo X had known Michelangelo from their childhoods, and would later employ Michelangelo in

Florence on projects linked to the reputation and glory of the Medici family rather than of the

Papacy. (Gilbert, E. C. 2011, October 26).

In 1520, Cardinal Giulio de Medici – who would become Pope Clemens VIII from 1523 - 1534 –

requested for Michelangelo to begin work on the marble interior of the New Sacristy, to erect the

mausoleum for some deceased members of his family, Lorenzo the Magnificent and his brother

Giuliano (Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici) in 1516 and 1519.

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After completing the architectural works in 1524, Michelangelo worked until 1533 on the sculptures

and the sarcophagi (stone coffin) that were to be featured on the chapel walls. The only completed

features were the statues of Lorenzo, the Duke of Urbino; Giuliano, the Duke of Nemours; the four

statues of the allegories of Day and Night, and Dusk and Dawn; and the representation of the

Madonna and Child, surrounded by the statues of Saints Cosma and Damian (protectors of the

Medici), created respectively by Montorsoli (Giovanni Angelo Montorsoli) and Baccio da Montelupo

(Bartolomeo di Giovanni d'Astore dei Sinibaldi), both being pupils of Michelangelo.

The strength of Michelangelo’s sculptures reflects a complex symbolism of human life, where “active

life” and “contemplative life” interact to free the soul after death, a philosophical concept closely

linked to Michelangelo’s personal spiritual beliefs. (Rohrig, B.).

The Statue of David

Figure 8-9. David. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_(Michelangelo), n.d.)

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The statue of David is one of the most iconic works in all of art history. A handful of sculptors worked

on David from its conception in 1464, however, it was left untouched for 25 years, until

Michelangelo resumed carving it in 1501 through to 1504. When finished, David weighed six tons.

“The figure, one of the purest distillations of the High Renaissance style, was immediately embraced

by the Florentine public as a symbol of the city-state’s own resistance against the powers arrayed

against it.” (Halle, H. 2016, May 13).

It is without a doubt that Michelangelo’s David is as much of a triumph of human endeavour as it is

an anatomical phenomenon. However, the size of David’s penis has been something that has been

somewhat of a joke for the past 500 years due to its extremely short stature. A group of researchers

have recently come in defence of the statues tiny member, stating that David isn’t just striking a

pose; he is facing his opponent Goliath. These researchers made a computerized scan of the

sculpture as part of a study, and found that every small, anatomical detail shows a man scared out of

his mind, which is something Michelangelo captured extremely well. This is also understandable as

he is about to fight a giant. (Quercia, J.D. 2010, January 25).

Few statues are as enduring and iconic as Michelangelo's David. But while much of the world could

sketch this majestic masterpiece from memory, few know the quirks and curiosities that went into

its creation.

David stands at 17 feet tall, nearly three times the height of the average man. At first glance,

Michelangelo’s David may not scream “biblical hero.” But if you look closely, David is cradling a sling

over his left shoulder and is clutching a rock in his right hand. These items and the statue’s name

identify the subject as the David who faced down the vicious giant Goliath. “Michelangelo broke

from convention by not including the future king’s fearsome foe in his sculpture. In a further

departure from tradition, art historians believe David depicts the legendary underdog before the

great battle, in part because of the anxiety that’s clearly etched on his face.”

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David’s right hand is too long and disproportionate to fit with the rest of his body. This use of

asymmetry is believed to be Michelangelo’s clever subtle nod to David’s nickname, manu

fortis/mano forte, which from Italian to English, translates to ‘strong of hand’. Due to the position of

the sling and the shape of the left hand, it appears that David was left-handed. But strangely, the

position and stance that David is sculpted in could suggest that he was right-handed.

Michelangelo’s rendition of David is one of history’s most famous masterpieces, and just so happens

to prove the old cliché about one man’s trash being another man’s treasure. David was created from

a single piece of marble that had been twice discarded by other sculptors. Agostino di Duccio gave

up on a project using the block, after which it sat untouched for 10 years. At that point, Antonio

Rossellino tried to use the block, but decided it was too much of a pain to work with. When

Michelangelo finally got his hands on it, the marble had been waiting for 40 years for someone who

was up to its challenge.

“In 1501, the city government of Florence commissioned Michelangelo to create the piece as part of

a series of statues meant to adorn the roofline of Florence's cathedral dome. But upon its

completion, Michelangelo's patrons were so overwhelmed by David's beauty that they decided to

scrap that plan and place it where it could be appreciated up close. In 2010, a Florence art project

showed David as it was intended, perching a replica high on the Cathedral's exterior, as well as in

every other spot that had been suggested upon its completion in 1504.”

Giorgio Vasari – a sixteenth century painter and architect – wrote of David, “Whoever has seen this

work need not trouble to see any other work executed in sculpture, either in our own or in other

times." With that level of praise, it is difficult to see how the people of Florence wanted to hide the

statue of David high up on a rooftop. “Five years before David's debut, Michelangelo's Pieta made

him famous. But it was his David that defined the 29-year-old High Renaissance artist as a master

sculptor. Four years later, in 1508, he would begin work on his greatest painting achievement in the

Sistine Chapel. “

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It is believed that Michelangelo based David’s pose on depictions of Hercules, a hero with deep ties

to the city of Florence, who had appeared on the Florence seal for centuries. “By creating such a

glorious statue in the Roman tradition, Michelangelo helped ensure the work was instantly

embraced by the people of Florence.” However, although the people of Florence accepted the

statue of David, the statue came under attack on multiple occasions. After the Medici family were

exiled from Florence, and the new republic were under constant threat from both the returning

Medici’s and the surrounding states, this made Florence feel like the biblical David. These political

overtones eventually led to the statue being attacked twice in its early days. “Protesters pelted it

with stones the year it debuted, and, in 1527, an anti-Medici riot resulted in its left arm being broken

into three pieces.”

Modern attacks have also been carried out on David. On September 14, 1991, Italian artist Piero

Cannata snuck a small hammer into the statue's home at the Galleria dell'Accademia in Florence. He

approached the towering statue and smashed off the second toe on his left foot. The museum's

visitors acted, converging on David's attacker, preventing him from doing any further damage and

subduing him until the police arrived. When asked why he'd do such a thing, Cannata claimed that a

model for the Renaissance artist Paolo Veronese, who was a rough contemporary of Michelangelo,

had asked him to do it. Fortunately, there are a handful of replicas to help to preserve this wonderful

work of art. Although tourists aren’t intentionally harming the sculpture, they are causing damage.

With over 8 million visitors a year, studies show that all this foot traffic creates small vibrations, and

although these vibrations are small, they are essentially near-constant miniature earthquakes. These

quakes are tearing at the marble and have called for recent restoration work on the centuries old

piece. (Puchko, K. 2015, December 3).

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The bust of Brutus

Figure 10. Bust of Brutus. (http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Medici_chapels.html, n.d.)

Michelangelo is known for his exceptional works of art, and his bust of Brutus is no exception to this

and displays the artist’s skill with capturing the details of human expression. Although the bust of

Brutus is a work of beauty and evokes strong emotion, it is also a powerful political statement.

The Medici’s took over Florence, the place that Michelangelo called home. Although, Michelangelo

worked for the Medici family, he did not support their ways, and while he was against them and

their rule of the city, he could not openly oppose them due to his ties with them. Instead, he chose

to make his views on the political situation known in a subtler way through his art.

Brutus was created in 1538 and is known to be Michelangelo’s last piece of work. The bust is

Michelangelo’s interpretation of the slippery Roman statesman that planned the destruction of

Julius Caesar. Just like the Medici, Caesar was not looked upon kindly by those in his ruling class and

his policies ran contrary to what some believed was best for the country. Michelangelo identified

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with this and many other elements which struck as similarities between the Medici and Brutus. The

bust became a clear way to communicate his thoughts on the events that had taken place in the city

of Florence under the Medici’s rule.

A conventional bust made from marble, Brutus portrays the treasonous Roman representative who

sold out his pioneer and companion, Julius Caesar. Brutus upheld his companion's death and this is

what some people find so hard to deal with. The level of treachery required to carry out such an act.

Michelangelo shows this clearly in the features of the bust, which has a blend of different emotions.

Behind the congressperson's grinning and great face, Michelangelo stacked the look with a

magnificent deadly aim. His end goal seems to be to show Brutus' focus on equity and opportunity.

“The commission for the bust was given to Michelangelo by a companion of his, Donato Giannotti,

for the Cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi. Both Giannotti and Ridolfi were important members of the

republican group estranged abroad from Florence. At the time, they were actively working on

restricting the Medici family. Michelangelo owed a large amount of his livelihood to the Medici’s and

began his vocation with their help.” (“Brutus”. n.d.).

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Techniques

Some of the oldest techniques used with art and sculpture paved the way for the art we see today,

both traditional and digital, these techniques remain and have become some of the fundamentals

within art.

Expression, gesture, and the line of action

Figure 11. Napoleon crossing the Alps. (http://rompedas.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/napoleon-crossing-alps.html, 2012)

Ancient sculptures would be posed from the very beginning of the sculpting process. This is because

as soon as work commenced on the sculpt, the sculptor would need to know exactly what pose

he/she would give to the sculpture. A sculptor would need to have an extremely good understanding

of anatomy and form, and would have to retain proportions across the sculpture due to the piece

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being posed from the very beginning. An untrained sculptor would most likely make limbs different

lengths and ruin the entire piece.

The initial research began by considering motion through a static piece of art with the use of

gesture, expression, and the line of action, or otherwise known as the action line. Mainly the focus

was through sculpture, however, aspects from traditional two-dimensional art gives another level to

the understanding of the use of the line of action.

The line of action, often referred to as the action line, can be used to help create sculptures with

dynamic poses. For example, when posing a character, consideration is needed for the fundamental

concepts, such as the characters’ centre of gravity, where the weight of the character is situated in

relation to the centre of gravity, and how the characters’ anatomy changes with the alteration of the

pose. (Spencer, S. 2011).

Gesture can bring a character to life through a still pose, and refers to the flow of lines in the

figurative sculpture. It describes the rhythm, weight, and balance of the overall design, giving the

appearance of motion within the sculpt. From the initial sculpting stages, gesture must be

incorporated. This is because ignoring gesture will result in a stiff, lifeless sculpt. Some sculptors will

begin creating gesture by shaping the armature before clay is applied. This method ensures a strong

gesture from the beginning of the sculpting process. Unlike anatomy or form, gesture is an abstract

concept, which unfortunately means it is difficult to master. However, gesture can be improved by

practising with quick clay sketches that lack detail, but capture the motion of the subject. Gesture

drawings are also loose studies that do not focus on the details, but instead focus on the impression

and movement of the subject. Quick gesture sculptures and drawings help to gain a feel for motion,

balance and composition. Good gesture sculptures and drawings tell a story, evoke emotion, and

show expression which can allow the viewer to draw their own conclusion to the meaning behind

the sculpt. (Flor, M. D., & Mongeon, B. 2010).

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From life or from imagination, the first mark made in most figure drawings is the line of action. The

line of action is an imaginary line that runs down the spine. The more curve you put into the line will

communicate more attitude and movement to the viewer. Some artists will create two action lines,

one for the body, and one for the arms. Once you have established the line of action, it becomes

easier to compose dynamic, expressive poses by placing the torso and hips along the line. (Genly, K.

2012).

Based on the research on ‘expression, gesture, and the line of action’, a sculpture will inevitably be

posed. It will be structured and posed from the very beginning, and its sole purpose is to be a single

frame of movement for the viewer. A posed character has life and expression once it is posed. If it is

left in a stationary, T-pose state, it will appear lifeless and static. For traditional sculptors working

with materials like wood or stone, posing from the very beginning of production is crucial to get the

correct proportions and structure.

Static art

Figure 12. Fatman T-pose 3D model. (https://www.cgtrader.com/3d-models/character/man/fatman-t-pose, n.d.)

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“Have you ever seen a character in this weird T-pose with his legs together, the arms stretched out

and a default facial expression? This pose is a vital step for any serious animation production. 3D

animators and modelers will often use it as the base of their work and in 2D or stop-motion

productions many model sheets depict characters in this way.” (Englander, F. 2015).

The T-pose is a neutral, most often mirrored a pose, meaning that all the limbs are situated as well

as rotated in the exact same way on either side of the character. This allows an animation team to

rig the character with ease, reducing the risk of any issues when it comes to later posing or

animating the character. It will be used for the foreseeable future as it is such a useful form, both for

character modellers and animators. With its countless benefits and uses, the T-pose is here to stay.

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Proportions

Figure 13. Anatomy and Proportions. (http://www.idrawdigital.com/2009/01/drawing-tutorial-adult-child-proportions/,

2009)

Along with surface anatomy, a sculptor must know human proportions. Proportions can often refer

to size comparison between specific parts such as an ear in relation to the face or it can also to

known ratios between the overall size of a figure and its parts. For example, the average man is

roughly seven heads in height. Also, common errors such as squashing the top of the skull can be

eliminated by knowing that the eyes are in the middle of the head. Thoroughly understanding

proportion will enable the artist/sculptor to create accurate compositions and avoid time consuming

mistakes. (Flor, M. D., & Mongeon, B. 2010).

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Product Specification / Design plan

My initial plan was to create both a single digital sculpture using Zbrush™, as well as a traditional

sculpt using Sculpey™ clay, however, Sculpey™ clay requires an oven to bake the clay and although a

kiln isn’t required and a regular house hold oven can be used, I did not want to create a fire risk or

ruin the oven. My last resort was to buy some air-drying clay, but due to financial restraints I

purchased the most affordable option which took far too long to arrive, not giving enough time to

create the sculpt and to allow it to dry properly without cracking. So, due to this minor setback, my

plan pivoted a few times.

One of my plans during the early stages of the research was to create my own personal sculpture

and interweave the techniques of hiding motivations into the sculpt, and even at one stage,

considering sculpting my grandfather as the personal piece, to document him as ‘just an old man’,

but to hide subtle details, for example to put a look of pain in his eyes to represent his harsh teenage

years after moving to England from Italy, and a clenched fist and strained forearm to show his

proudness for being able to build a life for himself and his family in a foreign country. This idea

resonated very well, however, unfortunately I couldn’t gather the resources to carry out the

immense task. Although I couldn’t create this sculpture, it does prove that the research has changed

my thought process towards art and will be something that I carry on through to future projects.

I then planned to create a handful of digital sculptures, representing the sculptures which I had

researched, but this research spanned across the history of sculpture through time which after much

consideration, it was concluded that this would have been far too much work and would have

required months of dedication just on the products.

The final pivot led my research to focus solely on one artist from the Italian renaissance, this focused

my research, the entire paper, and the products, and finally became achievable.

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Product list

The Venus of Willendorf

I decided to create a digital sculpt of the Venus of Willendorf not only because it is the earliest found

sculpture, but because of the features and links to modern day art. The Venus has a

disproportionate body, limbs, and a face with very little, if any detail. The sculptor’s intent was to

emphasise the features which are linked to childbirth and motherhood. This use of focus on the

details, has been a standard in art throughout history, and as a 3D artist for video games, it is

something that is still used today. very little work has been done on the lesser important features,

and where the features of child rearing and motherhood are, become exaggerated. In a sense, a

30,000-year-old piece of limestone uses similar techniques to modern art.

The bust of Brutus

The bust of Brutus was an interesting choice. Using traditional clay, the robes would have been

created like actual strips of cloaking that I would then be able to blend together to get a natural

cloth appearance. Although, using Zbrush™, and as a speed sculpt, I believe I achieved a good

standard for the cloth draping, however I would have preferred to have spent more time on this

piece. The bust of Brutus, with my own personally opinion based on the research and the product,

depicts a love hate relationship of which Michelangelo had with the Medici family, as he was often

commissioned by them which meant he had an income, but he also didn’t agree with their ruling

over his home of Florence and had lost his respect for them.

The statue of David

With my project being focused on the hidden motivations within Italian renaissance sculpture, my

research on this ultimately led to the focus of Michelangelo. His work from the start of his career to

the height has been consistently incredible. But, his work has also contained hidden motivations and

meanings, of which are personal, as well as story driven based on the commission. The statue of

David, aside from being a masterpiece, has a variety of hidden messages within the piece, from his

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eyes having a panicked glare, his right arm being disproportionately larger which could be a subtle

hint at David’s nickname, manu fortis/mano forte which translates to ‘strong of hand’, to his smaller

than average penis which researchers suggest could be due to David because frightened, he is ready

to fight a Goliath – according to the story.

Products left on the cutting room floor

The Medici Chapel

I enjoyed researching the Medici Chapel and the many sculptures within in which Michelangelo had

created for the family, as they are beautiful masterpieces. Although, I didn’t believe that the tombs

and the Madonna would have been a good use of my time to recreate. This is mostly because of the

outcome of the research. Michelangelo created the sculptures on commission from Cardinal Giulio

de Medici, and other than the information on the reasons behind making these sculptures for the

tomb of Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici, there was little information for the motivations other than

Michelangelo having close ties with the Medici family.

Personal piece

I initially planned to create a personal piece based on the research to carry through the processes I

had learnt throughout this journey. The piece was intended to be a semi-nude pose of my

grandfather sat on a stool. With a clenched fist with a ring on it to represent his strength as a person,

for coming to England from Italy and setting up a life for himself and his family, with the ring

representing his strong marriage to my grandmother. And, with very few clothes on, and a pained

glare in his eyes, this was intended to symbolise the struggles he went through as a young man,

working nonstop in a factory to provide for a family. The piece would represent the struggles of

family life and starting a new life in an alien country. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the resources or

the time to create this piece, but it is something that I will consider as a future project to home my

skills and new knowledge from the research on this paper.

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Methodology

With my first solid idea being focused on the history of sculpture, I had planned to create three

digital speed sculptures per week, which would be a close resemblance to the original. This method

worked for the first two weeks, however, on top of university modules and external work, this plan

quickly became unachievable. Thankfully, after shifting my focus to the Italian renaissance, most of

the sculptures of which I had worked on still had some relevance to the overall project.

During the poster presentation, I was asked by a few people who were interested in my project as to

why I opted to make the existing sculptures by hand in digital 3D, rather than using scanning

technology and equipment to process the chosen pieces and cut out a large amount of time on the

product. My response at the time was simple and leaned towards myself wanting to put the effort

into recreating an existing sculpt without scanning technology, so I could retain the artistic

approach, creating a near accurate rendition with my own personality in the final piece. However,

after much consideration and thought into this project, I have realised that aside from the

implications in which scanning an object behind glass, or 12 feet off the ground can cause, and I not

only wanted to “keep the art alive” by recreating the sculptures by hand, but I also wanted to get

into the mindset of the artist to gain even the slightest insight into what they were thinking whilst

sculpting the piece, as well as their reasons for even choosing to create the product.

Creating the Venus of Willendorf

Being one of the earliest ever discovered sculptures, I had to recreate the Venus of Willendorf to

have even the slightest understanding of what the creator was thinking during its inception.

The digital sculpture of The Venus of Willendorf took roughly six to seven hours to complete. I began

by collecting reference images which would give me as many camera angles and as many lighting

situations as possible, the back images of the sculpture were surprisingly difficult to obtain. Around

five hours were spent sculpting the piece, making sure the micro details were correct, and although I

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had spent a couple of weeks studying the sculpture, many details were still appearing to me even

whilst I was sculpting. This wasn’t exactly demonstrating hidden motivations, but it makes it very

clear as to how possible it is to disguise a personal agenda within a seemingly simple piece of

sculpture.

Figure 14. Figure 15.

I began by blocking out a rough shape to match the original Venus (See Figure 14.), however, a lot of

the reference images either looked different due to lighting and poor photography, or they

appeared to be different versions of the figurine, although no other versions were mentioned in my

research. Because of this, I took a small amount of artistic liberty, and although it is replicating the

original, I didn’t always follow the original whilst considering that multiple versions may have been

made allowing for an inaccurate replica. (See Figure 15.).

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Figure 16. Figure 17.

To achieve some of the details, for example, the lumps on the tip of the head, I had to create the

indentations around the lumps by hand. As a standard process, I would have created an alpha in

Photoshop™, however, using this process would have caused issues as the alphas work on the

current camera orientation using an alpha projection. This would have left anomalies and awful

geometry around the edges of the scalp that would cause issues when baking down any maps in the

baking process, and would also take hours to clean up. I did use alphas, but this was to gain the

rough and old feel to the figurine (See Figure 16.) whilst it was still in symmetry mode. I then took

symmetry off to make the figurine look natural and handmade instead of leaving it to have a

manufactured appearance. (See Figure 17.)

As soon as I became satisfied with the sculpt, I decimated the geometry to retain the details during

the bake, whilst still allowing for a simple geometry UV unwrap using Autodesk™ Maya™. I used

XNormal™ to bake the high poly Zbrush™ sculpt down to the decimated, UV unwrapped mesh,

ultimately baking out a normal (the normal map became pointless due to the high amount of

decimation detail), ambient occlusion, and cavity map. I then altered the ambient occlusion map and

overlaid the cavity bake on top to give a deeper ambient occlusion. To render the final piece, with all

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the maps, I brought the decimated version of the sculpt into Marmoset™ Toolbag 3™, lighting the

piece appropriately to bring out the form and details, as well as creating a museum aesthetic to the

final render. And, with the use of physically based rendering within the Marmoset™ engine, I created

a near realistic, digital version of the Venus of Willendorf, an ancient sculpture that is now captured

as an artistic rendition within digital space for whomever to study from all angles.

During the creation process, I made extra care to focus on the core parts of motherhood and

fertility, still creating the “replica”, but making sure most time spent overall, was spent sculpting the

breasts and genitalia.

Creating the bust of Brutus

The bust of Brutus was a piece which required me to push my skillset, to create a cloth draping

effect, something which I had never experienced within my work as a digital sculptor, however it is

something in which I tackled as a traditional sculptor.

Figure 18. Figure 19.

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Figure 20.

I began with the sculpt of the head, morphing, and blocking in the shapes and features, as I was

doing this I blocked out the hair and cloth around the bust. (See Figure 18 & 19.). sculpting everything

asymmetrically first because the best option as I could achieve the appearance I wanted, then once I

became happy to move on, I merged the separate parts together. This would deformation without

destroying the surrounding geometry, and resulted with the rotation of the head to match the

original sculpt. (See Figure 20.).

I attempted to capture the appearance of Brutus, giving him a subtle grin, and based on the

direction of the light source, can depend (subjectively) on the sculpt appearing to be grinning

slightly, or to look angered. With traditional methods, I would have been able to create the cloth

draping using Modroc, then overlaid with a thin layer of clay, however, creating cloth in Zbrush™ is a

difficult process and can take many hours to achieve a correct cloth render.

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Creating the David

Before starting the digital Zbrush™ sculpture, I studied the statue of David using a vast amount of

reference images of the original sculpt, the replicas that are displayed for public viewing, and the

digital sculptures, both designed using a Wacom tablet and a variety of 3D scanning techniques of

parts of David.

I went into the process of the sculpt thinking of the piece being made of clay instead of marble or

any other hard material. This is because Zbrush™ cannot emulate the same effect of marble being

chipped away by tools. Although this process was not accurate to sculpting with marble and the

methods in which Michelangelo and the sculptors before him had used whilst creating David, it was

however extremely fast and efficient as I used Zbrush™ to sculpt with the mind set of working with

clay where I can easily add and subtract digital mesh. The thought process remained similar, even

though the material workflow had changed drastically.

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Figure 21. Figure 22.

I began the sculpture of Michelangelo’s David, by sculpting a base for the head. This helped to get a

core to build up the rest of the body onto in a T-pose to make sure the proportions were near

correct (See Figure 21.). Once I became satisfied with the base with symmetry on, I turned symmetry

off and posed the base of the body in segments to match the original. Using the Zbrush™ Dynamesh

function, I welded the separate pieces together, allowing for a full body sculpt (See Figure 22.).

As I blocked out the body parts and appendages, I used the Zbrush™ Spotlight feature to bring up a

variety of reference images of the statue of David within the viewport, so not could I see the

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reference images directly next to the sculpt as I worked on it, but I could accurately line up the

digital sculpt to the images to make my rendition as close and as accurate to the original. Also, I

personally posed my own body to be as close as possible to the stance that David is posed in, to help

to see the sculpture from a new angle, and to capture the forms and details that are mostly unseen

by the public due to the statue being quite tall off the ground and in stature, as well as the photos

being taken from a public view, for example, David’s inner left forearm.

I decided to utilise Zbrush™’s functionality by creating one hand and one foot, once I was settled on

a scale, I duplicated and mirrored the appendages over to the other side of the body, and because

the sculpt was asymmetrical, I had to line up the appendages as accurately as possible. This was to

ensure that if I created two separate feet, that one wasn’t larger than the other.

Figure 23. Figure 24.

Figure 25.

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During the sculpting process, I made two slight mistakes. Firstly, I crafter a standard, boring

cylindrical plinth for David to stand on (See Figure 23.) which looked nothing at all like the original, in

fact, it was intended to remain because it wasn’t the focus of the piece. I decided to remake the

plinth to match the original closely and in the end, it brought the entire piece to life. (See Figure 25.).

The second mistake was that the right hand is grasping a stone (See Figure 24.) and I almost missed this

– in my opinion – major detail.

Using traditional techniques, such as the use of negative space, I could somewhat accurately line up

all the limbs to match the reference images I had gathered. These are the same methods I have been

using since studying traditional art, and it is brilliant to see that these techniques also become useful

in a digital sense.

Figure 26. Figure 27.

In the process of crafting David, instead of focusing on the micro skin details, I instead focused on

the details of which Michelangelo put into the sculpture as hidden subtle pieces of the story behind

David verses the Goliath, such as his terrified stare (See Figure 26.) and his small penis (See Figure 27.)

which reflects his deep fear of the Goliath. I still took care with the anatomy and included muscular

details, however it is lacking in the skin details, but they weren’t the important part of the process.

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Final products – Evaluation and thoughts

The Venus of Willendorf

Figure 28.

The bust of Brutus

Figure 29.

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The statue of David

Figure 30.

All the products above (See Figure 28, 29 & 30.) were sculpted entirely in Zbrush™.

The Venus of Willendorf:

At roughly 30,000 years old, is one of the oldest sculptures ever discovered, and whilst this figurine

is tiny (around 4 inches), it is a magnificent work of art from the Palaeolithic era. I knew from the

final iteration of this project that it would appear out of place from the renaissance, however, it is

the oldest discovered sculpture, so perhaps without the Palaeolithic humans bringing her to life, we

may not have been able to witness the works of Michelangelo during the renaissance.

I felt that I captured the aesthetic style of the piece, with the emphasis that the original artist put on

the figurines breasts and genitals. I also attempted to make her look aged using alpha maps within

Zbrush™ to show the immense age of this piece visually, and digitally. And, although scholars have

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stated that the sculpture is a symbol of fertility, this statement personally came true whilst creating

the figurine, as I spent more time on the breasts and genitalia that any other part, alongside the

research, I would agree with the scholars on their statement as the Venus of Willendorf being a

symbol of fertility.

The bust of Brutus:

Although Michelangelo had worked for the Medici family previously, he did not approve of their rule

over Florence and would go on to create Brutus in 1538 (thought to be his last piece of work). The

commission for the bust was given to Michelangelo by his companion, Donato Giannotti, for the

Cardinal Niccolò Ridolfi. Both Giannotti and Ridolfi were actively working on restricting the Medici

family. Brutus was said to have planned the destruction of Julius Caesar as he didn’t agree with

Caesar’s ruling methods. Michelangelo identified with this and his views on the Medici during their

rule of Florence. Brutus is laced with an array of different emotions. Behind the congressperson's

grinning and great face, Michelangelo stacked the look with a magnificent deadly aim. His end goal

seems to be to show Brutus' focus on equity and opportunity.

With my rendition of the bust of Brutus, I tilted the head slightly to give him more of a sense of

focus, whilst trying to convey a realistic grin. Accidentally, I shifted one side of his mouth, and when I

moved it back into place, it appeared that he was demonstrating an angered emotion. As I rotated

the light around the scene, under certain angles, Brutus appears to be grinning again. The lighting

and sculpture appear to be working together to create an illusion.

The statue of David:

David depicts the moments before the battle between David and the Goliath. Michelangelo was able

to hide so many secrets in plain sight on the statue, and with my rendition of the sculpture, I did not

aim for fine details, instead I wanted to focus on the hidden elements instead, to figure out his

methods of integrating story telling into what seems to be, simply, a nude man, but with most of

Michelangelo’s work, there is more than meets the eye.

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Through the research and whilst creating the digital sculpture, I found that David’s right arm appears

to be larger than normal. This could be a subtle hint towards David’s nickname, manu fortis/mano

forte, which translates to ‘strong of hand’, along with the stance that he is posed in, would imply

that David is right handed. However, the position of the hand griping the sling would suggest he was

left handed, potentially ambidextrous. His fearful stare and his abnormally small penis would suggest

that he is terrified of the Goliath, but the receding penis could also suggest that he is mentally

preparing for the inevitable battle.

Michelangelo broke away from convention by sculpting David without the Goliath. I believe this is to

ground David, as the Goliath is something that was a myth, with Michelangelo’s interpretation,

David could be fighting anything, but what is clear is that he is ready to fight something fierce.

Conclusion

This project initially was going to attempt to cover the broad history of sculpture, however after

much consideration it was focused down into one case study, covering the work of celebrated Italian

renaissance sculptor, Michelangelo.

His work, although beautiful masterpieces, contain subtle messages, both personal motivations from

the artists upset towards the Medici family, as well as storytelling, seen in his work on the statue of

David. Michelangelo and his work have been an inspiration and a pleasure to research and study first

hand with digital sculpting software Zbrush™. Using Zbrush™ has allowed for a closer experience to

the work of Michelangelo, and it is obvious that the strenuous months and years were not put into

the sculptures by myself, but I was able to uncover some methods of how he hid his motivations

within his work, due to Zbrush™ being digital therefore it cuts out the mess from traditional clay, and

the cost of marble. Although, to continue this project in the future I will use clay to have a physical

piece that demonstrate the methods and processes I have learnt throughout this project.

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I believe that the process of creating the products has been an important journey, more so that the

final product as I gained a glimpse into the mindset and thought process of Michelangelo. Learning

along the way the most efficient and subtle ways to hide personal motivations and storytelling

within a single piece of work.

Throughout this project, I have found that a piece of art, in this case a sculpture, is not always just

something magnificent to beheld, it is a story, a meaning, and a motivation for the artist, both

personally and collectively with the public.

If I could re-do this project, I would have focused my project earlier on, to spend more time studying

the processes, and I also would have built a personal piece out of traditional clay as I would have had

the resources to do so with more time on the project.

Out of all my work up until the date of writing this paper, I was commended on one piece, in which I

told the story of the character through the character itself, and with a group of industry

professionals asking me to continue this process as it demonstrates my strengths with sculpture and

storytelling. As with the study of the research for this paper, putting my personal motivations and

story into my work is something that I will continue to do in the future of my career.

Deliverables

The images in the ‘Final Products’ section are the final real-time rendered product images.

I have created a dedicated page on my personal website where the higher quality product images

can be viewed. Also, there is a Marmoset™ viewer window with the images. This is where the viewer

can interact with the products in 3D space.

http://michaelstarovoytov.weebly.com/final-year-project.html

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References

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“Brutus”. (n.d.). http://www.michelangelo.net/brutus/

Conard, N. J. (2009). A female figurine from the basal Aurignacian of Hohle Fels Cave in southwestern Germany. Nature, 459(7244), 248-252.

Coughlan, S. (2016, February 15). 4 Ways 3D Printing is Helping the Visually Impaired ‘See’ the World. https://3dprintingindustry.com/news/3d-printing-is-helping-blind-people-see-the-world-around-them-66480/

Englander, F. (2015, May 26). The T-pose. http://www.animatorisland.com/the-t-pose-all-about-the-mighty-blueprint/

Flor, M. D., & Mongeon, B. (2010). Digital Sculpting with Mudbox: Essential Tools and Techniques for Artists. Burlington, MA: Focal Press.

Genly, K. (2012, October 6). Gesture Basics #1: Line of Action. https://line-of-action.com/gesture-basics-1-line-of-action/

Gilbert, E. C. (2011, October 26). Michelangelo. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michelangelo#ref361952

Hall, J. W. (2002). History of the World: Earliest Times to the Present Day. World Publications Group, Inc.

Halle, H. (2016, May 13). The Top Famous Sculptures of All Time. https://www.timeout.com/newyork/art/top-famous-sculptures-of-all-time

“Italian Renaissance.” (2010). http://www.history.com/topics/italian-renaissance

Johnson, G. A. (2002). Touch, tactility, and the reception of sculpture in early modern Italy. A companion to art theory, 61-74.

Puchko, K. (2015, December 3). 15 Things You Might Not Know About Michelangelo’s David. http://mentalfloss.com/article/71643/15-things-you-might-not-know-about-michelangelos-david

Quercia, J.D. (2010, January 25). 7 Mind-Blowing Easter Eggs Hidden in Famous Works of Art. http://www.cracked.com/article_18386_7-mind-blowing-easter-eggs-hidden-in-famous-works-art.html

Rohrig, B. (n.d.). Medici Chapels and Church of San Lorenzo. http://www.museumsinflorence.com/musei/Medici_chapels.html

Schoch, R. M. (1992). Redating the great Sphinx of Giza. KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt, 3(2), 52-59.

Spencer, S. (2011). Zbrush Character Creation: Advanced Digital Sculpting 2nd Edition. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley Publishing, Inc.

Zygmont, B. (n.d.). Venus of Willendorf. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/prehistoric-art/paleolithic-art/a/venus-of-willendorf