MICHELANGELO Buonarroti
(b. 1475, Caprese, d. 1564, Roma)

Jesse - David - Solomon (detail)

1511-12
Fresco
Cappella Sistina, Vatican

More severe tones are used for the clothes of the woman, who, absorbed by her work on a wool-winder, is sitting sideways on and wearing a violet dress, girt above the waist by a green sash, over a white shirt with gray-blue shadows. Her headgear is also grayish, while the only bright touches are provided by the yellow ocher cloth covering the seat, and the red boots visible in the shadow at the bottom.

The careful modeling of the woman's face gives particular emphasis to the details, but it makes the figure intensely expressive, with a sense of ineffable melancholy, concealed beneath an exterior of toughness and diligent attention to her work.