St. Proculus

Michelangelo carved St. Proculus around 1494-95 for the Arca di San Domenico in Bologna. The young saint stands in a warrior's pose, his dynamic contrapposto showing Michelangelo's early mastery of the human figure at just nineteen years old.

St. Proculus was a Roman soldier martyred in Bologna, making him appropriate for this local shrine. The small marble figure already displays the muscular tension that would characterize Michelangelo's later Renaissance major works. It remains in its original location at the Basilica of San Domenico in Bologna.