The Rebellious Slave is a 2.15 meters high marble statue. It is portrayed as a man who tries to free himself from the fetters which hold his hands behind his back, contorting his torso and twisting his head. His whole body seems engaged in a violent struggle. This figure looks tormented, and its forms have lost the resilience of youth. The face is unfinished, it interested Michelangelo less than the body. He used the formal principle of an ascending spiral to make the figure dynamic. The precise pose of man gives the statue a stronger appearance, conveys movement and emotions, and creates an impression that would have contributed to the spatial appearance of the monument, was that he was moving towards the viewer, with his raised shoulder and knee.
From a stylistic point of view, the statue of the Rebellious Slave is based on ancient models, particularly Hellenistic sculpture, like the statue group of Laocoön and His Sons with its twisting backward and wavy eyes. But also it is the influence of the sculptural friezes on the triumphal arches of Rome and depictions of Saint Sebastian.
