Michelangelo's Moses and the Mausoleum of Julius II The Terrible Pope and "terribilitá" #art

Jan 9, 2023 Mucho más que Arte y ¡dónde va a parar!
Moses, that impressive sculpture we all know, was only one of 40 statues framed within a colossal pyramidal structure (8 m high x 10 m x 7 m base) that made up the ambitious funerary ensemble for the tomb of Pope Julius II. At the top of the pyramid would have been the Pope himself, in a victorious attitude, supported by angels.
Julius II had commissioned his tomb from Michelangelo to be placed in the tribune of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican,
whose destruction and reconstruction he had entrusted to Bramante.
Julius II (Giuliano della Rovere) "The Warrior Pope" "The Terrible Pope" ("hated by many and feared by all"), the great-nephew of Sixtus IV, was the greatest patron of all time; under his patronage were the greatest artists of the time, such as Michelangelo, Bramante, and Raphael.

On April 18, 1506 (the date chosen by Julius II on the advice of his astrologers), Bramante, who was incidentally from Urbino, began the demolition of the Paleo-Christian basilica to begin construction of the new Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican. The works officially lasted 120 years. Upon Bramante's death, they were directed by Raphael and Michelangelo, among others.
Julius II's dream was to make the papal state the most powerful of all states. He personally led military campaigns that greatly expanded his territory; he expanded the papal collection of ancient sculpture (the origin of the Vatican Museums).
A skilled administrator, he left the papacy more prosperous than he had found it.
Seeing the growing lack of interest and payments from the Pope, who refused to receive him, the sculptor chose to return to Florence, where he began the Medici tombs.
I imagine the envious Bramante didn't want to see Michelangelo's mausoleum inside his Basilica overshadowing his work, so to avoid this and make his rival look ridiculous, he convinced the Pope that he should pay homage to his uncle Sixtus IV by commissioning Buonarroti to decorate the Sistine Chapel vault (something he didn't believe the sculptor was capable of doing...)
What a disappointment he must have had! When the versatile genius finished the chapel in 1512.
As a curiosity, I will mention that Michelangelo painted the Pope as the Prophet Zechariah “…searching in the written book, one leg raised and the other lowered; and although the frenzy of searching for something he cannot find makes him remain thus, he seems unaware of the discomfort of this position” (Giorgio Vasari, 1568)

Once the fresco was finished, Michelangelo returned to a smaller project for the tomb, completing “The Prisoners,” now known as “the dying slave” and the “rebel slave,” which would be placed on the lower level of the tomb… and which, in one way or another, ended up in the Louvre…
In 1513, Julius II died, leaving in his last will his intention that the tomb be completed.
Finally, in 1542, Pope Clement VII finally finalized the fifth and final project for the tomb.
“The Genius of Victory” did not have It could not be included in this project and remained unfinished in Michelangelo's studio.
Also excluded from the project were The Slave Atlas, The Young Slave, The Bearded Slave, and The Awakening Slave. Non-finite works; doomed figures who even today seem to be struggling to free themselves from the marble that holds them.
It is located in St. Peter's, on the Esquiline Hill.
The sculpture of Moses was designed to be viewed from a certain height.
The two female statues on either side of Moses are the sisters Leah and Rachel.
Remember that Moses had freed his people from the tyranny of Egypt. He was not a docile and submissive figure, but a leader, a warrior of the people of God.
When he descends from the mount, he finds them worshipping a golden calf.
Michelangelo captures the atrocious moment, Moses with a dramatic expression, a mixture of disappointment and restrained, ferocious anger... what critics have dubbed "terribilitá."
Moses has just turned his head to realize the apostasy of his idolatrous people. The corners of his mouth turned down and his upper lip pursed, contrite, reveal his annoyance, but his holy, illuminated, ecstatic eyes, beneath a furrowed, angry brow... still cannot believe what they are seeing. Moses is somewhere between incredulous, furious, and horrified, despite the fact that Jehovah had already warned him... he has not yet reacted.
His strength is contained; he is about to rise...
Of what happened when he rose, I will only tell you that he perpetrated a terrible punishment in furious anger.
Pope Paul III appointed Buonarroti as the architect of St. Peter's Basilica, where he would work until the end of his life, 17 years during which he was unable to see the dome completed and accepted no reward other than the good of his soul.
"I leave my soul in the hands of God, I give my body to the earth, and I entrust my possessions to my closest relatives."
Amen.
#michelangelo #vatican #genius #moses #sculpture #sculptur