The Bearded Slave is the most finished of the Florentine Prigioni, a series of larger-than-life chained figures in various poses, leaning on pilasters which were planned to frame niches in the Tomb of Pope Julius II. The Bearded Slave gets his name from his thick, curly beard. The way his muscular torso twists indicates a deep knowledge of anatomy, typical of the best works of Michelangelo,
Behind the figure of Jonah, Michelangelo painted a large fish, a reference to the fact that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.
Michelangelo depicted the angels as wingless male youths with trumpets, but no haloes.
St. Catherine is in a grouping of martyrs at the center on the right; she holds a piece of the spiked wheel on which, according to legend, her captors tried to torture her, but which fell apart at her touch.
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