The Warrior Pope: Raphael’s ‘Pope Julius II’ | Talks for All | National Gallery

Matthias Wivel, our Curator of 16th-century Italian paintings, gives a talk about the portrait of Julius II by Raphael. Julius II belonged to the della Rovere family. He was a forceful ruler, who reasserted his power over the Papal States by military action, and as a consequence he was nicknamed the ‘Warrior Pope’. He chose his papal name, ‘Julius’, not in honour of Pope Julius I, but in emulation of Julius Caesar. He patronised the arts and ordered the rebuilding of St Peter's in Rome.#AntiqueMasterpieces