11 Patrick Yeung Havc 168 Pf. Langdale February 3, 2010 A Life Time Carved in Marble The tomb of Julius II remains one of the most interesting artworks by Michelangelo, because of the evolution it had gone through, and also the ambition expressed by both the artist and his patron, Giuliano della Rovere, more commonly known as Pope Julius II. This paper will focus on the tomb commissioned by Pope Julius II (Fig. 1) by Michelangelo in March 1505.11 The tomb, in the beginning, served as an opportunity for great expression of power and status. While this purpose stayed the same for Julius II and the Rovere family as time passed by, the tomb took on a different meaning for the artist. Through an analysis of the project’s background and its sculptures, along with the possible symbolism and mythical allusions, we shall understand its political and spiritual meanings to both Michelangelo and Julius II. The work is a result of the relationship between the patron and the artist; it is much more than just an immense monument. By studying the tomb’s many aspects mentioned above, we will be able to grasp the pope’s original intent for a glorious demonstration of power, and how time truncated it and made it Michelangelo’s burden. Figure1-Michelangeloandassistants,TombofPopeJuliusII(S.PietroinVincoli,Rome),1545. 11HerbertvonEinem.Michelangelo,trans.RonaldTaylor(London:Methuen&COLTD,1973),39. 22 The tomb began as an extremely ambitious project, but as time went on with one misfortune after another, the result turned out to be a much-reduced version. Michelangelo himself referred to the piece as the “Tragedy of the Sepulchre.”22 The tomb took over 40 years to complete, during which exhaustion and malicious schemes by Bramante and Raphael plagued Michelangelo.33 However, from 1508 to 1532, Michelangelo completed one of his most extraordinary aesthetic achievements: the Ceiling of the Sistine chapel . He made numerous attempts to return to and work on the tomb, but in the end it remained unfinished. His creative effort was not wasted, because he did manage to complete one of the compelling examples of renaissance sculpture, the 10-foot tall Moses (Fig. 2), and a series of sculptures depicting captives. We shall begin by tracing the inception of the project, the motives behind it, and carefully study the sculptures, especially the Moses and the captive figures. Figure 1—Michelangelo, The Moses, 1515 22SestoPrete,TheOriginalContractwithMichelangelofortheTombofPopeJuliusII(NewYork:JohnF. Fleming,1963),7. 33Prete,7. 33 One of Michelangelo’s most important patrons, Julius II was from a powerful papal family. His uncle, Francesco, who was a theologian and General of the Order before becoming pope in 1471, is the main reason behind della Rovere’s rise to power.44 Francesco took the name Sixtus IV and helped make his nephew Giuliano a cardinal. Sixtus IV was an enthusiastic patron of the arts and sponsored the construction of the Sistine Chapel. Giuliano later took the name Julius II when he became pope. He strived to match his uncle’s accomplishment by hiring artists such as Giuliano da Sangallo, Michelangelo, Bramante and Raphael to help build many of his ambitious projects including the new St. Peter’s façade of St. Lorenzo, and the painting of the Sistine Ceiling. All these efforts were made to demonstrate the virtue of Magnificenza, which was a public phenomenon relating to institutions, political power and Roman state. It had nothing to do with luxury. The term came from the Latin expression “magnum facere”, which means “to do something great”55 and to impress without causing fear or indignation.66 Cardinal Giuliano della Rovere was elected pope on 30 October 1503 during one of the shortest conclaves ever held.55 The papacy was gained through manipulation and bribery.66 He was often described as a “large man with an overbearing manner who spoke plainly and quickly lost his temper.”77 Compared to Michelangelo’s character, this presents quite a contrast. Anthony Hughes described Michelangelo as a temperamental man.88 Their personalities complemented each other. One took action while negating views of the masses; the other worked meticulously to please others. Their characters, even though contrasting with each other, both seem to be forceful in their pursuing of their “superpersonal” goals.99 The pope wished to be remembered as a great and powerful ruler, while Michelangelo desired to 4.4. James H. Beck, Three Worlds of Michelangelo (NewYork: WW Norton & Company, 1999), 154. 5.5. Sara F. Maclaren. Lusso, spreco, magnifienza. (Italy, Meltci, 1995), 45. 6.6. Maclaren, 50. 7.7. Beck, 155. 8.8. Anthony Hughes, Michelangelo (London: Phaidon Press, 1997), 105. 9.9. Hughes, 105. 10.10. Hughes, 107. 11.11. Charles De Tolnay, The Tomb of Julius II (Princeton: Princeton University, 1954), 5. 44 produce works that would be revered for eternity. It is as if they were destined to aid each other in materializing their dreams through the planning of this larger than life tomb. Michelangelo was sent for to Rome in March 1505. It is speculated by De Tolnay that Giuliano da Sangallo, who was a friend of Michelangelo’s, recommended him to the pope, and later became the primary contractual negotiator between the two. During the time of the pontificate of Julius II, Rome was the center of aesthetic style movement in Italy. During these years that Rome and Florence saw the birth of what we call the ‘Grand Style’ or the ‘Classical Style’, that is to say the purification of the language of art by the excision of regional idioms, the development of a universal language by the assimilation of the Greco-Roman ideal of beauty. 1010 It is very important to note that it is during this time that the Greco-Roman idea of beauty and style was flourishing, because one of the main purposes of the first design of Julius II’s tomb was to, according to Vasari, Surpass by its beauty and its opulence, its richness of ornamentation and abundance of statues, all the old imperial tombs: “…di bellezza e di superbia e di grande ornamento e ricchezza di statue passava ogni antica et imperiale sepoltura.”1111 Pope Julius II saw himself as an emperor; more importantly, the “Warrior Pope” who was determined to free the Italy from subjection to foreign powers; therefore, the tomb was an imperative attempt to leave an imagery grander than “all the old imperial tombs”. He was determined to regain papal authority and recover papal estates. In 1506, Julius tried to recapture Perugia and Bologna, and in 1511 to 1512, his famous warcry ‘Out with the Barbarians!’ marks his ongoing project of trying to drive the French out of Italy.1212 The political climate during 1505 to 1513 was very complex. On the surface, there was an uneasy relationship between France and Spain on Italian soil; inside, Papal States and city-states 10.10. Einem, 39. 11.11. De Tolnay, 6. 12.12. De Tolnay, 7. 55 conflicted with each other.1313 By demanding the grandeur of the tomb to surpass all “old imperial tombs”, Julius II strived to re-enforce the magnificent persona as great as, if not greater than, the ancient Roman Emperor he saw in himself, because during his reign, Protestant Reformation produced much hostility in Christianity.1414 The Catholic Church was beginning to lose influence and power; moreover, Julius II’s predecessors were poor, impious and unpopular.1515 The commission of the tomb was deemed quite crucial to render Julius II an impressive ruler in history. Michelangelo made many of drawings in planning for the tomb, and Julius created a contract based on the one he selected. Michelangelo was to be paid 10,000 ducats for completing the tomb in five years.1616 Little did he know that he took on a project of a lifetime. He immediately went to Carrara to purchase marble for construction.1717 The original design for the project of 1505 remains a mystery; however, reconstructions of the plan were produced based on Condivi’s description of the first project.1818 It was to be completely isolated so that it can be viewed from all sides. All around were niches, where statues would be placed, and herms placed between niches, on which, certain plinths rising from the ground and projecting forward. There would be statues of bound figure representing the Liberal Arts, along with sculptures personifying Virtues. Forty statues were planned for the project (Fig. 3). Figure 3-Reconstruction of the 1505 Tomb of Julius II project 13.13. Hughes,106. 14.14. Edith Simon. The Reformation(New York, Time-Life Books, 1966), 120. 15.15. Simon, 122. 16.16. De Tolnay, 7. 17.17. George Bull. Michelangelo: A Biography (New York: The Penguin Books LTD, 1995), 65. 18.18. Hughes, 110. 66 After the pope had written the contract of March 1505, Michelangelo set up his studio by the piazza of St Peter’s.1717 The pope even built a bridge to the workshop so that he could observe the work in progress.1818 The first misfortune happened when the arrival of marble blocks was delayed because the Tiber had flooded. Not long after the work had started, Julius ordered the project to be suspended, and on a few occasion refused to receive Michelangelo. This was the inception of what Condivi called “the tragedy of the papal tomb”. 1919 The artist’s pride wounded, Michelangelo left Rome for Florence on August 17, 1506. He later stated in a letter that the reason behind his flight was because the pope’s choosing of Bramante’s plan for St. Peter’s. The conflict between himself and Bramante was summarized by Michelangelo: All the differences that arose between Pope Julius and me were caused by the jealousy of Bramante and Raphael, and this was why Pope’s tomb was never completed – just to ruin me.’2020 At the end of November, the artist and the pope reconciled.