The unfinished: Michelangelo's 'Entombment' and 'Manchester Madonna'

Interesting workshop at the National Gallery starting a season on unfinished pictures led by Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe.

As this was the first in a series of talks the first section looked at the difference between an unfinished picture ie one which is not complete and the finish on a picture which can be described as unfinished ie loose. We then talked about why a picture might be abandoned. It might be that the artist dies while creating it and we talked about what is left in a studio. It might be that the patron changes there mind and we took Pope Julius’s tomb as an example. It might be that there is a problem with the work such as the Michelangelo Risen Christ where a fault in the marble was found where Christ’s face was going to be. And finally it might be that the work was too ambitious and was not achievable.

In the second half we looked at what unfinished pictures can tell us about technique and Chantal look us through the process of painting a picture at this date looking at the ground, the transfer of a picture from a cartoon and what colours were used.

Given these pictures were in the title of the talk I would have liked to hear more about them. She did use them well as examples in technique and it was interesting to think that the main unfinished sections in the Entombment would probably have used the most expensive paint but I would have liked to know more about why they are unfinished and maybe about how they have survived despite being in this state.