Atlas Slave by Michelangelo

Reproduction of one of the famous Slaves, or Prigioni by Michelangelo Buonarroti.
Product in patinated resin made in Tuscany and finished by hand.
The statue is to be found inside the Galleria dell’Accademia.

Part of the Slaves series, Michelangelo’s famous unfinished works, the Bound Slave dates from the 1620s. The statue owes its name to the large portion of the uncarved block of marble it holds above its head, just as the eponymous character from Greek mythology holds up the vault of heaven. Like the other Slaves – Bearded Slave, Awakening Slave and Young Slave, it was intended to serve as decoration for the monumental tomb of Pope Julius II. According to some sources, these subjects represented the provinces subjugated by the Pope, or the Arts, cast into slavery by the death of a great patron.