Tomb of Pope Julius II
by MICHELANGELO

When, by the will of Pope Julius della Rovere (1503-13), Michelangelo went to Rome in 1505, the Pope commissioned him to build in the course of five years a tomb for the Pope. Forty life-sized statues were to surround the tomb which was to be 7 meter wide, 11 meter deep and 8 meter high; it was to be a free-standing tomb and to contain an oval funerary cell. Never, since classical times, had anything like this, in the West, been built for one man alone.

According to the iconographic plan, which we are able to reconstruct from written sources, this was to be an outline of the Christian world: the lower level was dedicated to man, the middle level to the prophets and saints, and the top level to the surpassing of both former levels in the Last Judgement. At the summit of the monument, there was to have been a portrayal of two angels leading the Pope out of his tomb on the day of the Last Judgement.

Michelangelo immediately began his preparations for this task, but the capricious Pope, in doubt of finding an appropriate place in which to erect his tomb, planned something even more grandiose: the restoration and remodelling of St Peter's. Thus Michelangelo was ordered to make other commissions, first in Bologna then in Rome, the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

After the death of the Pope in 1513 Michelangelo and the Pope's heirs reached a new agreement concerning the tomb. It was decided that the tomb was to be smaller and placed against a wall. After several further changes and simplifications the tomb was finally set up in San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome in 1545.

The slaves (four in Florence and two in Paris) were intended to the lower level, while the Moses for the middle level.

Preview Picture Data Info
Tomb of Julius II
1545
Marble
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Tomb of Julius II (detail)
1545
Marble
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Moses
1515
Marble, height 235 cm
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Moses (detail)
1515
Marble
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Moses (detail)
1515
Marble
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Moses
1515
Marble, height 235 cm
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Moses
1515
Marble, height 235 cm
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Moses
1515
Marble
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Rachel and Leah
1545
Marble, height 197 and 209 cm, respectively
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Leah
1545
Marble, height 209 cm
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Rachel
1545
Marble, height 197 cm
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome


Slave (Atlas)
1519-36
Marble, height 208 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (Atlas)
1519-36
Marble, height 208 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (Atlas)
1519-36
Marble, height 208 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (bearded)
1519-36
Marble, height 248 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (bearded)
1519-36
Marble, height 248 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (awakening)
1519-36
Marble, height 267 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (awakening)
1519-36
Marble, height 267 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (awakening)
1519-36
Marble, height 267 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (young)
1519-36
Marble, height 235 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (young)
1519-36
Marble, height 235 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (young)
1519-36
Marble, height 235 cm
Galleria dell'Accademia, Florence


Slave (dying)
c. 1513
Marble, height 229 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris


Slave (dying)
c. 1513
Marble, height 229 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris


Slave (dying)
c. 1513
Marble, height 229 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris


Slave (dying)
c. 1513
Marble, height 229 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris


Slave (dying), detail
c. 1513
Marble
Musée du Louvre, Paris


Slave (rebelling)
c. 1513
Marble, height 229 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris


Slave (rebelling)
c. 1513
Marble, height 229 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris


Slave (rebelling)
c. 1513
Marble, height 229 cm
Musée du Louvre, Paris


Tomb of Julius II
-
Drawing
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Tomb of Julius II (project of 1505)
-
Drawing
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Tomb of Julius II (project of 1513)
-
Drawing
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence


Tomb of Julius II (project of 1532)
-
Drawing
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence



Summary of works by Michelangelo
All genres
Sculptures | Paintings | Sistine Chapel | Drawings | Architecture
Sculptures
-1501 | 1502- | David | Julius II's Tomb | Medici Tomb | Pietàs
Paintings
Easel paintings | Frescoes in Pauline Chapel
Sistine Chapel
Division of the ceiling | Genesis | Prophets | Sibyls | Ignudi
Spandrels | Lunettes | Triangles | Medallions
Last Judgment
Architecture
until 1530 | after 1530



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