Michelangelo’s works are quite attractive without having much clutter or incorporating too much. But still, each of them is a masterpiece that the Renaissance master touched, each speaks volumes, without being too loud.We tend to think of beauty as something we add to the world. But Michelangelo’s wise words suggest otherwise.He says that beauty is what automatically sets in, once everything unnecessary is gone.
Statue of David by Michelangelo (Photo: Canva)
Quote of the day
Beauty is the purgation of superfluities
Michelangelo
What does the quote actually mean?
“Purgation” means cleansing or clearing out. “Superfluities” are the things that are extra, unnecessary, or in excess. When these are put together, the profound meaning behind his words is actually reflected, that beauty is not created by piling things on, but it truly comes out in the most beautiful form by taking unnecessary things away. What is left when you remove everything that does not need to be there? That is where beauty lives. The artist’s job is as much about restraint as it is about skill.This idea is one that Michelangelo actually followed through with his work. To him, sculpture was the art of taking away. He believed a finished figure was already waiting inside the block of marble, and that his job was simply to remove what was extra and free the form imprisoned in the stone.This idea can be seen most clearly in his unfinished works, like the Prisoners or Slaves, which show figures seeming to struggle out of the raw marble that still surrounds them. Beauty, in this view, is an act of subtraction, not addition..
How is the quote still relevant today?
Five centuries later, this could be one of his most useful ideas, precisely because we live in an age of ‘more’. More notifications, more tabs, more possessions, more content sliding past us every second.We are encouraged, constantly, to get more money, more subscriptions, and every other thing that we want. The idea that beauty and clarity come from just letting it be and less is more runs against the grain and beliefs of modern life.This is even true today, as when we notice, the most elegant rooms are rarely the most crowded ones. Apart from this, the growing popularity of minimalism, decluttering, and the “digital detox” is also holding trends, and somewhere or the other, these practices also have the same idea.So, why can’t we apply a little purgation to our schedules, our work, even our thoughts, by clearing away the noise so the things that genuinely matter have room to breathe.