Editing Michelangelo (section)

===Madonna and Child===
The ''Madonna of the Stairs'' is Michelangelo's earliest known work in marble. It is carved in shallow relief, a technique often employed by the master-sculptor of the early 15th century, Donatello, and others such as [[Desiderio da Settignano]].<ref>Bartz and König, p. 8.</ref> While the Madonna is in profile, the easiest aspect for a shallow relief, the child displays a twisting motion that was to become characteristic of Michelangelo's work. The ''[[Taddei Tondo]]'' of 1502 shows the Christ Child frightened by a [[Bullfinch]], a symbol of the Crucifixion.<ref name="Goldscheider1962 11"/> The lively form of the child was later adapted by Raphael in the ''[[Bridgewater Madonna]]''. The ''[[Madonna of Bruges]]'' was, at the time of its creation, unlike other such statues depicting the Virgin proudly presenting her son. Here, the Christ Child, restrained by his mother's clasping hand, is about to step off into the world.<ref>Bartz and König, p. 22.</ref> The ''Doni Tondo'', depicting the Holy Family, has elements of all three previous works: the frieze of figures in the background has the appearance of a low-relief, while the circular shape and dynamic forms echo the Taddeo Tondo. The twisting motion present in the ''Madonna of Bruges'' is accentuated in the painting. The painting heralds the forms, movement and colour that Michelangelo was to employ on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.<ref name="Goldscheider1962 11"/>

<gallery widths="200" heights="200" perrow="4">
File:Michelangelo, madonna della scala, 1491 ca, 01.JPG|The ''[[Madonna of the Stairs]]'' (1490–1492)
File:Taddei Tondo.JPG|The ''[[Taddei Tondo]]'' (1502)
File:Madonna michelangelo1.jpg|''[[Madonna of Bruges]]'' (1504)
File:Tondo Doni, por Miguel Ángel.jpg|The ''[[Doni Tondo]]'' (1504–1506)
</gallery>