The Dying Slave, a marble sculpture by Michelangelo Buonnaroti, now resides at the Louvre in Paris. Dying Slave was intended to be a part of Pope Julius II's tomb. Michelangelo started on the Dying Slave in 1505 and ended in 1513, at the Pope's death when economic factors changed plans for the tomb. Because of his great intelligence, Michelangelo is probably the most famous of all sculptors, and his two Slaves in the Louvre, including the Dying Slave and the Rebellious Slave, are the best known works in the sculpture department.

Michelangelo's father and art mentor was Lorenzo de'Medici's, a famous artist. He was therefore exposed heavily to the arts and thoughts of the ancient world. This resulted in Michelangelo's art as well as his poetry bearing at first a great resemblance to the art and thought of the ancient world. As he got better his art slowly progressed into something nobody else had ever accomplished, setting new standards for artists of the Renaissance. Michelangelo's art had two main components which were also two components of the Renaissance art style. These consist of a revival of the classical forms originally developed by the ancient Greeks and Romans, a great con

cern for secular life, along with an interest in humanism and individualism. Michelangelo, along with many artists of the High Renaissance, reduced his art to the bare essentials, in order for attention to be focused on the theme of the art piece.

Dying Slave reflects humanism in that Michelangelo made this sculpture for the Pope's tomb, and it had to be good enough for the pope, who is the most respected religious figure in the world. It is also humanistic in that it displays god's control over humans, as well as Michelangelo's decision to leave marks from his tools in the marble with intent to display the struggle with matter which is an essential characteristic of sculpture. Michelangelo used the techniques of light and shading, symmetry, and proportion in creating the Dying Slave. With everything in proportion, the light and shading being used effectively, and the figure being as symmetrical as that of a real human figure, this sculpture looks incredibly realistic, as if it were modeled off of a real human figure.

Individualism, or the value of being an individual, is portrayed in the Dying Slave's face and the gestures and flow of the body. It is evident in the face where the intensity of the light draws attention to the figure's expression. This is also an example of Mich

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