’s SmartHistory The Tomb of Pope Julius II When Michelangelo had finished sculpting , it was clear that this was quite possibly the most beautiful figure ever created – exceeding the beauty even of Ancient Greek and Roman . Word of David reached Pope Julius II in , and he asked Michelangelo to come to Rome to work for him. The first work Pope Julius II commissioned from Michelangelo was to sculpt his tomb (Pope Julius II's tomb that is).

This may seem a bit strange to us today, but great rulers throughout history have planned fabulous tombs for themselves while they were still alive to ensure that they will be remembered forever (think of the Pharoahs in Egypt having the Pyramids built). When Michelangelo begins the tomb of Pope Julius II his ideas were quite ambitious. He planned a 2 story high structure that will be decorated with over 20 sculptures (each of these over life size - see the sketch above!). This was more than one person could do in a lifetime!

Of course, Michelangelo was never able to finish the entire tomb. Not least because of Pope Julius himself, who asked Michelangelo to stop working on it and to paint the ceiling of the (but that’s another story). Michelangelo eventually completed a much scaled-down version of the tomb after trouble from the heirs of Pope Julius II (and this is what can be seen today in , in Rome).

Moses is an imposing figure – he is nearly eight feet high sitting down! He has enormous muscular arms and an angry, intense look in his eyes. Under his arms he carries the tablets of the law – the stones inscribed with the that he has just received from God on Mt. Sinai.

Source URL: http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/michelangelo-moses.html?q=michelangelo-moses.html Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/courses/arth206/

Attributed to: [SmartHistory] www.saylor.org Page 1 of 3 In this story from the Old Testament , Moses leaves the Israelites (who he has just delivered from slavery in Egypt) to go to the top of Mt. Sinai. When he returns he finds that they have constructed a to worship and make sacrifices to – they have, in other words, been acting like the Egyptians and worshipping a pagan idol.

One of the commandments is “Thou shalt not make any graven images,” and so when Moses sees the Israelites worshipping this idol, and betraying the one and only God who has, after all, just delivered them from slavery, he throws down the tablets and breaks them. Here is the passage from the Old Testament:

15 Then Moses turned and went down the mountain. He held in his hands the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. They were inscribed on both sides, front and back. 16 These stone tablets were God's work; the words on them were written by God himself. 17 When heard the noise of the people shouting below them, he exclaimed to Moses, "It sounds as if there is a war in the camp!" 18 But Moses replied, "No, it's neither a cry of victory nor a cry of defeat. It is the sound of a celebration." 19 When they came near the camp, Moses saw the calf and the dancing. In terrible anger, he threw the stone tablets to the ground, smashing them at the foot of the mountain.

We can see the figure's pent-up energy. The entire figure is charged with thought and energy. It is not entirely clear what moment of the story Michelangelo shows us, is he about to rise in anger after seeing the Israelites worshiping the golden calf? He has the tablets with the ten commandments on them under his right arm. Creating an interesting seated figure is not an easy thing to do!

Source URL: http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/michelangelo-moses.html?q=michelangelo-moses.html Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/courses/arth206/

Attributed to: [SmartHistory] www.saylor.org Page 2 of 3 Here is a seated figure by Donatello. It really lacks the power and life of Michelangelo's , doesn't it? Think about how you’re sitting right now at the computer. Perhaps your legs are crossed, as mine are as I write this. What about if you were not at the computer? And what to do with the hands? You can see that this could be a rather uninteresting position. Yet Michelangelo has given the entire figure energy and movement.

First of all, you’ll see that Moses is not just sitting down; his left leg is pulled back to the side of his chair as though he is about to rise. And because this leg is pulled back, his hips also face left. Michelangelo, to create an interesting, energetic figure where the forces of life are pulsing throughout the body, pulls the torso in the opposite direction. And so his torso faces to his right. And because the torso faces to the right, Moses turns his head to the left, and then pulls his beard to the right.

So, what Michelangelo has done is create a figure where one part Donatello, St. John, marble, ca. 1408-15 of the body (Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence) turns in the opposite direction from another part. This creates a dynamic figure – we have a clear sense of the prophet and his duty to fulfill God's wishes. You have probably noticed that Moses has horns. This comes from a mistranslation of a Hebrew word that described Moses as having rays of light coming from his head.

Source URL: http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/michelangelo-moses.html?q=michelangelo-moses.html Saylor URL: http://www.saylor.org/courses/arth206/

Attributed to: [SmartHistory] www.saylor.org Page 3 of 3