When we speak of Michelangelo Buonarroti, we immediately think of marble: David, the Pietà, Moses. His works seem to be carved in stone for eternity. That the great master of the High Renaissance also worked with wood is little known – yet crucial to understanding his artistic identity.
A Living Material
During the Renaissance, wood was considered a practical and versatile material: it was more readily available than marble, easier to work – and often the first step toward the final work. For Michelangelo, wood was not an “inferior” material, but rather part of his sculptural thinking: a medium between idea and execution, between design and devotion.
The Crucifix of Santo Spirito (1492/93)
Michelangelo’s most famous surviving wooden work is a life-size crucifix made of linden wood, now in the sacristy of the Church of Santo Spirito in Florence. It was created when the young artist was allowed to study anatomy on the corpses of the monastery – in gratitude, he donated this crucifix to the Augustinian monks.
What is striking: Christ’s body is naked, delicate, almost floating – an unusually intimate depiction for this time. Even here, Michelangelo’s ability to translate body and emotion into wood is evident.
Documented Woodwork into Old Age
Michelangelo continued to work with wood in later years – and this demonstrates not only his early interest, but his lifelong preoccupation with the material:
In 1562, he wrote in a letter to his nephew Leonardo that he wanted to carve a wooden crucifix for him.
In 1563, his confidant Tiberio Calcagni mentioned this work again in a letter.
The Casa Buonarroti in Florence contains a small, unfinished wooden crucifix (26.5 cm), which is one of his last sculptural works.
New attribution: The wooden statue of Julius II.
A particularly fascinating case: a wooden carved seated figure of Pope Julius II, possibly created as a model for Michelangelo’s bronze statue destroyed in 1508 – or later as part of his monumental tomb project. The work shows striking parallels to the Michelangelo school: the seated posture, the blessing hand, the powerfully crafted drapery.
Particularly noteworthy: The figure wears liturgical gloves (chirothecae), beneath which the anatomy of the fingers is perfectly modeled – typical of Michelangelo’s precise powers of observation.
Why wood was more than just “preparatory work”
For Michelangelo, wood was not just a practical intermediate step, but also a space for intimacy and exploration. His woodwork shows the artist as a seeker, as a thinker, as a human being who sought lasting form in a perishable material. While marble asserts eternity, wood allows us to sense the proximity of the design – and the human being behind the genius.
Conclusion
Michelangelo was not an artist of a single material. Even in wood, he created works of depth and meaning – sometimes as devotion, sometimes as a design, sometimes as a monument. Those who look for Michelangelo only in marble are only seeing half the truth.
His hand also spoke through wood – and perhaps most clearly there.
