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Madonna of the Stair

Madonna of the Stair is a marble relief sculpture by Michelangelo, dated around 1491. It is one of his earliest works and is associated with the same period as The Battle of the Centaurs. The unfinished relief measures 55.5 x 40 cm and is now kept in Casa Buonarroti in Florence. Its treatment recalls Donatello’s virtuoso stiacciato style, especially the Madonna Pazzi. The Virgin is shown seated on a stone block, with the Child sitting on her lap. A staircase appears on the left, possibly alluding to a 1477 book, the five letters of Mary’s name, or the stone of Saint Peter. The work was given to Duke Cosimo in 1566 and returned to the Buonarroti family in 1991.

Madonna of the Stair relief showing a seated woman holding a child on her lap beside climbing figures in the background.
Madonna of the Stair, a stone relief of a seated Madonna and child with figures climbing the steps beside them.
June 2009 © · CC BY-SA 3.0
Madonna of the Stair stone relief showing a seated woman holding a child, with smaller figures on the stairs behind them.
Madonna of the Stair, a stone relief of a seated Madonna and child with figures on the staircase in the background.
May 2022 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Madonna of the Stair relief carving showing a seated woman with a halo holding a child beside ascending steps and small figures.
Madonna of the Stair, a relief by Michelangelo, showing the seated Madonna and child beside a stairway.
© · CC BY 3.0
Madonna of the Stair marble relief showing a child nestled against an adult figure with hands supporting the child.
Close-up of Michelangelo’s Madonna of the Stair, showing the child and surrounding drapery in marble relief.
May 2022 © · CC BY-SA 4.0
Close-up of Madonna of the Stair showing the lower half of the relief, with draped fabric, bare feet, and stair-like lines in the background.
Detail of Madonna of the Stair, showing the draped lower figure and bare feet in the relief sculpture.
May 2022 © · CC BY-SA 4.0

Identification

TitleMadonna of the Stair
Original titlesLa Virgen de la escalera; Madonna della scala; La Vierge à l'escalier; Madonna przy schodach; "Madonna by the Stairs"; "Madonna on the Stairs"; "Madonna at the Stair"; "Madonna on the Stair"; Madonna da Escada; Madonna u lestnitsy
SubjectMadonna and Child with four children/putti

Historical context

Datec. 1491
Creation periodMade when Michelangelo was about 15–16 years old, during his stay in the Medici Gardens/Palazzo Medici in Florence after leaving Ghirlandaio's workshop
ChronologyOne of Michelangelo's earliest works; scholars disagree on the exact order among his earliest sculptures
Related early worksHead of a faun; Battle of the Centaurs
Contemporary workBattle of the Centaurs

Creator

Early source noteAscanio Condivi does not mention the work
Historical attributionFirst included among Michelangelo's works in Vasari's 1568 Lives
Attribution statusTraditionally attributed to Michelangelo, but authenticity has been disputed; Colin Eisler completely denied it
ArtistMichelangelo Buonarroti

Discovery and provenance

Early provenanceThe relief remained in Michelangelo's family until his death in 1564; first known record is in the 1568 edition of Vasari's Lives, in Leonardo Buonarroti's house
Gift to Cosimo I de' MediciIn 1566 Leonardo Buonarroti gave the relief to Cosimo I de' Medici after making a bronze copy
Return to familyReturned to the Buonarroti family in 1616
Museum transferTransferred to the Casa Buonarroti collection in 1617

Location and ownership

Current locationCasa Buonarroti, Florence, Italy
Display locationDisplayed at Casa Buonarroti, on the wall next to Battle of the Centaurs

Physical characteristics

SupportSquare stone block
Relief depthVery shallow relief, up to 5 cm deep
Dimensions55.5 × 40 cm
TypeMarble bas-relief sculpture
ConditionUnfinished

Materials

MaterialCarrara marble

Technique

TechniqueStiacciato low relief
Creation contextMade while Michelangelo was a student in Bertoldo di Giovanni's drawing school in the Gardens of San Marco, organized by Lorenzo de' Medici
PatronageLorenzo de' Medici paid for the materials; finished works in the school became the property of the artist

Appearance

Stylistic featuresSevere, monumental, and classical in feeling, with a contrast between the Madonna's body and drapery and the Christ Child's athletic form; the work combines vigorous figures with realistic drapery and varied surface treatment
Composition detailsThe arrangement creates a spiral movement and a blocked-but-dynamic composition; Mary avoids a frontal view and looks to the side
Figure detailsThe Christ Child is shown sleeping, with his back partly to the viewer and his right arm hanging behind him; Mary lifts or covers him with her garment and has a halo that projects partly beyond the unfinished marble
Background elementsA staircase and railing appear in the background; the steps are pronounced and there are handrails
CompositionThe Madonna sits in profile on a square stone block, with the Christ Child on her lap and four children/putti around the stairs; the work is designed to be viewed from below

Iconography and meaning

Symbolic staircase meaningThe staircase may allude to the Virgin as a stairway between heaven and earth, to a 1477 Book of the Stairway of Paradise, or to the five letters of Mary's name
Square block meaningThe square stone seat may refer to Saint Peter, the rock on which the Church was founded
Child's right hand meaningThe infant's outward-turned right hand has been linked to the Farnese Hercules and later used by Michelangelo as a symbol of sleep or death
Putti meaningThe children/putti may be a decorative motif, a tribute to Donatello's dancing putti, or part of an internal symbolic scheme

Interpretation

Interpretive uncertaintyThe meaning of the background scene is unclear; it has been interpreted as either a style exercise or a tribute to Donatello

Significance

StatusMichelangelo's earliest surviving work and one of his first independent sculptures
Art-historical significanceSeen as already revealing mature Michelangelo and as marking his entry into the great sculptural tradition
Critical receptionDescribed by some critics as mysterious, premature, monumental despite its small size, and showing occasional uncertainty in proportion and perspective
InfluenceStrongly influenced by Donatello, especially his stiacciato reliefs and Madonna Pazzi; also related to Masaccio's example