Michelangelo’s Moses in the 1540s

Abstract

Although Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) carved theMoses in the 1510s, it was not installed in the tomb of Julius II in San Pietro in Vincoli until 1545 (fig. 1). In the intervening years, Michelangelo lived with the work in his studio and perhaps edited it in some way. The world around the sculpture underwent changes in this period as well. Vasari’s treatment of the work in Michelangelo’s biography bears witness to the religious and artistic upheaval of 1540s Rome. Likewise, Michelangelo’s rethinking of the sculpture in designs for a collaborative altarpiece from the 1540s reveals the artist’s changing vision of the patriarch. In his biography of Michelangelo, Vasari acclaims the Moses for having no equal in beauty and surpassing every ancient work. He marvels that Michelangelo’s chisel must have turned into a pencil in order