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Tomb of Pope Julius II. Moses (fragment)
Michelangelo Buonarroti • Sculpture, 1515, 235 cm
Description of the artwork «Tomb of Pope Julius II. Moses (fragment)»
The statue of Moses is not a separate statue, but part of a complex memorial complex, the tomb of Pope Julius II and, in a sense, his spiritual self-portrait.
Pope Julius himself, in the world of Giuliano della Rovere (1443-1513), we can well imagine from hisportrait authorship Raphael. However, despite the fact that in this portrait Julius II looks decrepit, painful and humble, in fact it was one of the most warlike popes on the Roman throne. During his pontificate, Rome significantly expanded its borders as a result of wars and political intrigues. In both, Julius II was gifted beyond measure. In some battles, he led the army, carrying the Holy Gifts ahead of him and inspiring exploits. He positioned himself as the successor to Julius Caesar, and restored the Church's reputation, which had been badly damaged by Pope Alexander IV of the Borgia clan. Pope Julius II mankind owes the appearance of the most outstanding monuments of the Renaissance - St. Peter's Basilica, the Vaticanstation Raphael and Michelangelo's Ceiling Sistine Chapel.
Pope Julius II himself was fully aware of his outstanding place in history and, long before his death, he attended to the design of his own tomb. Young Michelangelo presented Julia with a project that enthralled the pope. Here is how art historian Alexei Dzhivelegov describes him: “The grand mausoleum, which is open to view from four sides, has 30 feet in length, 15 widths and at least 30 feet in height at the base, maintaining a proportion of a square and a half. It is decorated with 40 statues, far exceeding human growth and personifying virtues, free arts and conquered by the pope of the province in the form of prisoners. In the corners of the majestic monument there are four eight-foot statues: the apostle Paul, the prophet Moses, contemplative life and active life. Two statues of Heaven and Cybele, the goddess of the Earth, supporting the sarcophagus with ashes complete the composition. The first of them smiles at the fact that the pope’s soul reached heavenly glory, and the second mourns and cries, because the world was orphaned, having lost a great man who had straightened his enemies and caused an unprecedented flowering of arts and talents. ”
Michelangelo allocated funds so that he went to Carrara and personally sorted the marble samples, recruited masons' brigades to cut down the right amount of material, and looked after his transportation to Rome. But the grandiose project, which began so successfully, will bring Michelangelo a lot of grief. For objective reasons (the main one being that the pope, having cooled to the tomb for a while, will instruct him to paint the ceiling of Sistine), Michelangelo will not be able to quickly implement the project. Then the Pope will die, and his heirs will sue the sculptor. The project will be changed many times; it will bring curses and shame on Michelangelo’s head. Genius biographers call it all “the tragedy of the tomb.”
In a much more modest form than originally conceived, the tomb will still be realized. In the final version, Moses will become her “frontman”, and her face and spiritual appearance resembles Julia II. The Old Testament prophet is depicted at the moment when he came down from Sinai, where he received the tablets from the commandments from God, and sees his people worshiping the golden calf.
Sigmund Freud, who admitted that he spent many hours in front of the statue of Moses and never experienced a stronger impression from the work of art, wrote: “How often I went up the steep stairs of the low-key Cavour Street to the deserted square on which the abandoned church was lost, how many times I tried to withstand the scornfully angry glance of the hero! “Sometimes I slipped furtively out of the gloom of the inner room, feeling part of that rabble that his gaze was fixed on, a rabble who could not defend his convictions, not wanting to wait and trust, and who rejoiced only having regained the illusion of a golden calf.”
Ilya Repinalthough he called Rome “an obsolete, dead city”, he acknowledged that Moses alone “works amazingly” and “redeems everything.” Michelangelo himself, according to legend, seeing how perfect and alive Moses turned out, demanded from the sculpture “Chdon't you get up too? Are you alive! Go on!", And in the hearts slashed the remaining immovable slope with a cutter. A small scar remained on Moses' knee, a trace of Michelangelian anger.
Pope Julius himself, in the world of Giuliano della Rovere (1443-1513), we can well imagine from hisportrait authorship Raphael. However, despite the fact that in this portrait Julius II looks decrepit, painful and humble, in fact it was one of the most warlike popes on the Roman throne. During his pontificate, Rome significantly expanded its borders as a result of wars and political intrigues. In both, Julius II was gifted beyond measure. In some battles, he led the army, carrying the Holy Gifts ahead of him and inspiring exploits. He positioned himself as the successor to Julius Caesar, and restored the Church's reputation, which had been badly damaged by Pope Alexander IV of the Borgia clan. Pope Julius II mankind owes the appearance of the most outstanding monuments of the Renaissance - St. Peter's Basilica, the Vaticanstation Raphael and Michelangelo's Ceiling Sistine Chapel.
Pope Julius II himself was fully aware of his outstanding place in history and, long before his death, he attended to the design of his own tomb. Young Michelangelo presented Julia with a project that enthralled the pope. Here is how art historian Alexei Dzhivelegov describes him: “The grand mausoleum, which is open to view from four sides, has 30 feet in length, 15 widths and at least 30 feet in height at the base, maintaining a proportion of a square and a half. It is decorated with 40 statues, far exceeding human growth and personifying virtues, free arts and conquered by the pope of the province in the form of prisoners. In the corners of the majestic monument there are four eight-foot statues: the apostle Paul, the prophet Moses, contemplative life and active life. Two statues of Heaven and Cybele, the goddess of the Earth, supporting the sarcophagus with ashes complete the composition. The first of them smiles at the fact that the pope’s soul reached heavenly glory, and the second mourns and cries, because the world was orphaned, having lost a great man who had straightened his enemies and caused an unprecedented flowering of arts and talents. ”
Michelangelo allocated funds so that he went to Carrara and personally sorted the marble samples, recruited masons' brigades to cut down the right amount of material, and looked after his transportation to Rome. But the grandiose project, which began so successfully, will bring Michelangelo a lot of grief. For objective reasons (the main one being that the pope, having cooled to the tomb for a while, will instruct him to paint the ceiling of Sistine), Michelangelo will not be able to quickly implement the project. Then the Pope will die, and his heirs will sue the sculptor. The project will be changed many times; it will bring curses and shame on Michelangelo’s head. Genius biographers call it all “the tragedy of the tomb.”
In a much more modest form than originally conceived, the tomb will still be realized. In the final version, Moses will become her “frontman”, and her face and spiritual appearance resembles Julia II. The Old Testament prophet is depicted at the moment when he came down from Sinai, where he received the tablets from the commandments from God, and sees his people worshiping the golden calf.
Sigmund Freud, who admitted that he spent many hours in front of the statue of Moses and never experienced a stronger impression from the work of art, wrote: “How often I went up the steep stairs of the low-key Cavour Street to the deserted square on which the abandoned church was lost, how many times I tried to withstand the scornfully angry glance of the hero! “Sometimes I slipped furtively out of the gloom of the inner room, feeling part of that rabble that his gaze was fixed on, a rabble who could not defend his convictions, not wanting to wait and trust, and who rejoiced only having regained the illusion of a golden calf.”
Ilya Repinalthough he called Rome “an obsolete, dead city”, he acknowledged that Moses alone “works amazingly” and “redeems everything.” Michelangelo himself, according to legend, seeing how perfect and alive Moses turned out, demanded from the sculpture “Chdon't you get up too? Are you alive! Go on!", And in the hearts slashed the remaining immovable slope with a cutter. A small scar remained on Moses' knee, a trace of Michelangelian anger.
