Michelangelo's earliest sculpture was made in the Medici garden
near the church of San Lorenzo; his Bacchus and Sleeping Cupid
both show the results of careful observation of the classical
sculptures located in the garden. His later Battle of the
Lapiths and Centaurs and Madonna of the Stairs reflect his
growing interest in his contemporaries. Throughout
Michelangelo's sculpted work one finds both a sensitivity to
mass and a command of unmanageable chunks of marble. His Pietà
places the body of Jesus in the lap of the Virgin Mother; the
artist's force and majestic style are balanced by the sadness
and humility in Mary's gaze. In 1504 he sculpted David in a
classical style, giving him a perfectly proportioned body and
musculature. Michelangelo's approach to the figure has been
contrasted to that of Donatello, who gave David a more youthful
and less muscular frame. In 1505 Michelangelo was offered a
commission for the design and sculpting of the tomb of Pope
Julius II. The original dimensions of the tomb were 3