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Epifania

Artist	Michelangelo
Year	c. 1550–53
Type	black chalk on paper
Dimensions	232 cm × 165 cm (91 in × 65 in)
Location	British Museum, London

Epifania (Italian - Epiphany) is a cartoon or drawing in black chalk by Michelangelo, produced in Rome around 1550–1553. It is 2.32 metres tall by 1.65 m wide, and is made up of 26 sheets of paper.

The composition shows the Virgin Mary, with the Christ child sitting between her legs. An adult male figure to the right, probably St Joseph, is pushed away by Mary. In front of him is the infant St John the Baptist. The adult figure standing to Mary's left is unidentified, as are other figures only just visible in the background. Michelangelo repeatedly changed the composition and its forms, as its apparent in the cartoon's alterations. The composition was originally thought to be of the Three Kings, which may be the reason for the title, but is now understood as referring to Christ's siblings mentioned in the Gospels (explained by Saint Epiphanias—another possible source for the title—as Joseph's sons by a previous marriage, and hence Mary's stepsons, leaving their marriage unconsummated—hence her pushing Joseph away—and Mary forever a virgin).

Michelangelo's biographer Ascanio Condivi used this cartoon for an unfinished painting. A 19th-century Scottish collector called John Malcolm of Poltalloch in Scotland bought it for only £11 0s 6d. and, on John's death in 1893, his son John Wingfield Malcolm gave it to the Museum (with Parliament voting £25,000 to purchase the rest of his collection for the Museum two years later). The cartoon is now on display in Gallery 90 of the Museum, and has the catalogue reference PD 1895-9-15-518.

References

• J.A. Gere and N. Turner, Drawings by Michelangelo in th, exh. cat. (London, The British Museum Press, 1975)
• M. Hirst, Michelangelo and his drawings (New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1988)
• M. Royalton-Kisch, H. Chapman and S. Coppel, Old Master drawings from the M, exh. cat. (London, The British Museum Press, 1996)
• J. Wilde, Italian drawings in the Depa-2 (London, The British Museum Press, 1953)

External links

• The British Museum

Michelangelo Sculptures Head of a faun (c. 1488) • Madonna of the stairs (c. 1491) • Battle of the Centaurs (c. 1492) • Crucifix (1492) • The Ark of St Dominic: St Petronius (1494–95), St Proclus (1494–95) and Angel (1494–95) • Sleeping Cupid (1496) • Standing Cupid • Bacchus (1496–97) • Pietà (1499–1500) • David (1501-04) • Madonna of Bruges (1501–04) • St. Paul (1503–04) • St. Peter (1503–04) • Pius (1503–04) • Taddei Tondo (c. 1503) • Pitti Tondo (c. 1503) • St. Matthew (c. 1505) • Tomb of Pope Julius II (1503) • Moses (c. 1513–15) • Rebellious Slave (1513–16) • Dying Slave (1513–16) • Medici Chapel (1520–34) • The Genius of Victory (c. 1532–34) • Rachel (1545) • Leah (1545) • Tomb of Giuliano de' Medici • Tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici • Virgin and Child • Apollo (David) (c. 1530) • Crouching Boy (c. 1530-34) • Cristo della Minerva (Christ Carrying the Cross) (1519–20) • Brutus (1540) • Palestrina Pietà (1550) • Florentine Pietà (c. 1550) • Rondanini Pietà (1552–64) Paintings Panel paintings The Torment of Saint Anthony (c. 1487-88) • Manchester Madonna (c. 1497) • Doni Tondo (c. 1503–06) • The Entombment (c. 1505) Lost paintings Battle of Cascina (1504) • Leda and the Swan (1530) Sistine Chapel frescoes Ceiling (1508–12) (including The Creation of Adam, 1511) • The Last Judgment (1534–41) Pauline Chapel frescoes The Martyrdom of St Peter (1542–50) • The Conversion of Saul (1542–50) Architecture Florence New Sacristy (1520–34) and Laurentian Library (1523–59) in the Basilica of San Lorenzo Rome Piazza del Campidoglio (1538) • Palazzo Farnese (1546) • St. Peter's Basilica (1546–1564) • San Giovanni dei Fiorentini (1559–60) • Porta Pia (1561–65) • Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (1561–) Works on paper Epifania (1550–53) List of works by Michelangelo • Casa Buonarroti • Wikimedia Commons • Wikiquote