It seems, from the first design of…
1532 CE
It seems, from the first design of the Tomb of Pope Julius II (1505), that a series of "Prigioni" was planned for the bottom level of the mausoleum, a series of statues larger than life size of chained figures in various poses, leaning on pilasters which would frame niches containing winged Victories and be surmounted by herms.
With a pair on each side of each niche, there must initially have been sixteen or twenty such statues planned.
This number was reduced in successive designs, to twelve (second version, 1513), eight (third version, 1516) and finally maybe only four (fourth version, 1526, or fifth version, 1532), before being eliminated from the project altogether in the final version of 1542.
The first members of the series, who are mentioned in Michelangelo's letters, are the two Prigioni of Paris, named the "Slaves" in the nineteenth century: the Dying Slave and the Rebellious Slave.
They were carved in Rome around 1513.
The Florentine Prigioni (Young Slave, Bearded Slave, Atlas Slave and the Awakening Slave) were probably carved instead in the second half of the 1520s, while Michelangelo was employed at San Lorenzo in Florence (but historians suggest dates between 1519 and 1534).
The Bearded Slave is the most finished of the Florentine Prigioni and gets his name from his thick, curly beard.
The way his muscular torso twists indicates a deep knowledge of anatomy, typical of the best works of Michelangelo; his legs, slightly bent and separated, are covered by a band of fabric.
His right arm is raised to hold his bent head, while his left hand remains unfinished, but seems to hold the band of fabric.
The whole surface retains many traces of the various chisels and scrapers used on the sculpture.
Along his hips there is a repaired fracture, whose cause is unknown.
Its unfinished state creates an extraordinary energy (already noted by Bocchi in 1591), with the figure caught in a sort of primordial act of freeing himself from the cage of the rough stone, an epic battle with the forces of chaos.
The iconographic meaning of the figures was probably linked to the motif of the captivi in Roman art, and indeed Vasari identified the Prigioni as personifications of the provinces controlled by Julius II.
Images
Michelangelo: Bearded Slave (circa 1525–1530). Marble; 63 cm (104 in). Galleria dell'Accademia, Firenze/ (Photo taken 3 January 2014, 16:30:22, by Sailko)
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Southwest Europe
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