Michelangelo’s Night, carved between 1526 and 1531, is one of four monumental allegories of the times of day created for the Medici Chapel in Florence. Together, Night, Day, Dawn, and Dusk represent the relentless passage of time and the cycle of human life.
One of the strangest aspects of Night is her anatomy. Her breasts are conspicuously large compared with her waist and the rest of her elongated, muscular torso, while her limbs are stretched far beyond natural proportions. Michelangelo was not trying to create a scientifically accurate female body; he was deliberately manipulating anatomy to achieve an idealized, monumental form.