Main theme: the world of 15C Rome and Michelangelo's work for the pope.

Part 4. Julius II's Tomb

• Michelangelo's Moses. Julius died 21 February 1513. A new contract was drawn up between Michelangelo and Julius' heirs. His studio was located in Macello dei Corvi (between Trajan's Column and Piazza San Marco). Between 1513 and 1516 he completed two slaves (now in the Louvre) and the Moses statue, the scale of the project downsized in the process. The Moses is by far the most important figure of the project. It was to take many decades, several new contracts and new designs before the Tomb was finally completed in 1545. For years the unfinished tomb hung over his head like a dark cloud, Julius' heirs unceasing in their pressure. At some point pope Paul III - who also desired Michelangelo's services - had to interfere on his behalf. The Moses statue received the final polishing in the winter of 1544/5.
• Friends and patrons. Michelangelo's most important patron when Julius died was Julius' heirs. He was therefore looking for new patrons. In 1514 Michelangelo concluded a new contract with Florentines for a marble statue of the Risen Christ for the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva. The first attempt of carving was abandoned in 1515 due to a flaw in the marble. The final version was begun in 1519 in Florence. The Risen Christ was put in place in December 1521, finished by one of michelangelo's assistants. Michelangelo build up friendship with several artists, patrons and aristocrats. In 1514, for example, his friend Sebastiano del Piombo executed a painting of the lamentation of Mary based on one of Michelangelo's drawings. Sebastiano's fresco painting of Christ's flagellation in the Borgherini Chapel in San Pietro in Montorio was also a collaboration with Michelangelo.

Work on Julius II's Tomb after 1516:

• In 1524 Clement VII preferred Michelangelo to finish the San Lorenzo Sacristy and Library rather than Julius' Tomb. The weight of the obligation over the unfinished Tomb was very oppressive though, not least because Julius' executors threatened to sue. Eventually a new contract was signed. // Julius' heirs still loomed in the background and it was only after lengthy negotiations and a trip to Rome that a new contract was signed, the third, in 1532. The pope, of course, wanted Michelangelo to work only on San Lorenzo. About the same time Michelangelo made Dawn and Night. // Little work was done on Julius' Tomb since the new contract in 1532; complaints were unceasing. // Pope Paul III was also very understanding of Michelangelo's dilemma, mostly because he himself desired Michelangelo's services for the Last Judgement. The pope even visited Michelangelo in his house in Marcello dei Corvi where he saw the Moses statue. // In 1536 Paul III exempted Michelangelo from any legal penalties due to his non-fulfilment of the Julius contract. A new, the fourth contract was signed in August 1542. The work was finished in 1545.

Sights and art works:

Moses (The Tomb of Julius II), 1513-16, Michelangelo, San Pietro in Vincoli

Macello dei Corvi ?? (Michelangelo's studio)

Risen Christ, 1519-20, Michelangelo, Church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva

Transfiguration and Flegellation of Christ, Sebastiano del Piombo, Borgherini Chapel, San Pietro in Montorio