Moses (Michelangelo)

Michelangelo's Moses is marble sculpture executed by Michelangelo Buonarroti 1513-1515 which depicts the Biblical figure Moses.

Originally intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II in St. Peter's Basilica, "Moses" and the tomb were instead placed in the minor church of San Pietro in Vincoli on the Esquiline in Rome after the pope's death. This church was patronised by the della Rovere family from which Julius came, and he had been titular cardinal there before he became pope.

The statue depicts Moses with horns on his head. This is believed to be because of the mistranslation of by St Jerome. Moses is actually described as having "karan ohr"coming from his head, which Jerome in the Vulgate had translated as "horns" (See Halo). The mistake in translation is possible because the word "keren" in the Hebrew language can mean either "ray" or "horn".

The tomb of Julius II, a colossal structure that would have given Michelangelo the room he needed for his superhuman, tragic beings, became one of the great disappointments of Michelangelo's life when the pope, for unexplained reasons, interrupted the commission, possibly because funds had to be diverted for Bramante's rebuilding of St. Peter's. The original project called for a freestanding, three-level structure with some 40 statues. After the pope's death in 1513, the scale of the project was reduced step-by-step until, in 1542, a final contract specified a simple wall tomb with fewer than one-third of the originally planned figures.

The spirit of the tomb may be summed up in the figure of Moses, which was completed during one of the sporadic resumptions of the work in 1513. Meant to be seen from below, and balanced with seven other massive forms related in spirit to it, the Moses now, in its comparatively paltry setting, can hardly have its full impact. The leader of Israel is shown seated, the tables of the Law under one arm, his other hand gripping the coils of his beard. This figure of Moses can be imagined as him pausing after the ecstasy of receiving the Law on Mount Sinai, while, in the valley below, the people of Israel give themselves up once more to idolatry. Here again, Michelangelo uses a turned head, which concentrates the expression of awful wrath that now begins to stir on the mighty frame and eyes.

The relevance of each detail of body and drapery in forcing up the psychic temperature can be appreciated by closely studying the work â€" the muscles bulge, the veins swell, the great legs begin slowly to move. If this titan ever rose to his feet, says one writer, the world would fly apart. The holy rage of Moses mounts to the bursting point, yet must be contained, for the free release of energies in action is forbidden forever to Michelangelo's passion-stricken beings.

Michelangelo felt that this was his most life-like creation. Legend has it that upon its completion he struck the right knee commanding, "now speak!" as he felt that life was the only thing left inside the marble. There is a scar on the knee thought to be the mark of Michelangelo's hammer.

Michelangelo's work inspired another statue of Moses in the Acqua Felice fountain.