Michelangelo’s Tombs

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Michelangelo's Tombs

The career of Michelangelo spanned almost 75 years. Within which his artistic genius touched all aspects of the arts ranging from architecture to poetry. Yet despite his renowned fame, Michelangelo was not a free spirit, privileged to work when and where he wanted. Often because of high demand, his work was made to suffer under the ever-shifting political powers who commissioned his genius.

The Tomb of Pope Julius II occupied more than half of Michelangelo's working career, it is this great time span which allows for a closer look into the pressures and influences which precipitated the numerous transformations of the tomb.

Development of the tomb occurred over 40 years in various stages from the original contract of 1505 to the finished product of 1545. Around the pontification of Pope Julius II, Rome was the artistic center of Italy, witnessing the rebirth of the "classical style". The Pope was a great patron of the arts and in 1505 he commissioned Michelangelo to Rome to design his tomb1. As there are no existing drawings for the first tomb design, information is primarily based on reconstructions from the secondary sources of Vasari and Michelangelo's biographer Condivi.

The first tomb design referred to as a "symphony of marble"2, combined architectural and sculptural elements which differ from those of previous centuries. Unlike previous mausoleums, the 1505 project was designed as a freestanding structure, which represented a first in regards to papal tombs.3

Essential to the importance of the Pope's tomb was its surroundings. It was important the architecture surrounding the mausoleum enhanced the statement commemorating the greatness of Julius II. Michelangelo's intention to place the mausoleum within a centrally planned funerary chapel located upon St. Peters cemetery, derived from studies of ancient tradition Martyrium and the Greek Hellenistic basilica4. Michelangelo intended to include the dome into the illusionary meaning of the tomb as representing the heavenly dwelling of the deceased Pope.5 It was this intention which led to the construction of the new St. Peters away from the traditional Latin cross design towards the adoption of a Greek cross basilica. This is important because it represents the first development of a church due to funerary tradition, not aesthetic considerations of the time.
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The tomb was divided into a 2-story structure. The lower was adorned with 8 Virtues each positioned within a niche, flanked by a number of struggling Captives totaling 166. According to Condivi, the struggling Captives represented the perishing of the arts upon the death of their patron Julius II7. Vasari on the other hand concluded the Slaves represented the captured provinces, exalting the conquests of the "Warrior Pope"8. The lower scene was quite disorganized, unlike the ordered contemplative world of the upper platform which contained images of grace and redemption; representing the higher, heavenly world.

The construction ...

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