Jones Gallery curator Sarah Jones looks at the tumultuous relationship between Michelangelo and Pope Julius II. The ideas of the High Renaissance, Moses with horns, and a ceiling.
When I was a kid my grandparents would take us to a small Catholic Church in Central Texas. This tiny little church had a 1:1 replica of the Pieta in the back vestibule. I had never seen anything like it and my entire family knew that if we were in that church I was going to be in the back staring at the sculpture. My parents thought this meant that I might want to be a nun. I was fascinated by the hair of the Christ, the mouth of Mary and especially the look of her fingers digging into the clothing of Jesus. I couldn’t understand how this could be done with stone. It had absolutely nothing to do with the religiosity of the piece. The beauty and craftsmanship of that replica launched me on a lifelong love of sculpture. Thank you so much for this lecture! Two stubborn goats butting against each other created such beauty!
Excellent presenter and great topic: the tensions between those two titans of the Renaissance, the extraordinary artist and the warrior pope, always fascinated me.
She made up things that didn't happen, made up.motivations and history It's as poorly researched as I've seen Just embarrassing that she was allowed to do this presentation and present such obvious lies as fact
15:30 The reason why the pope Julius II had a beard was that it was a "penitential beard", he would keep it until he would reconquer Bologna (which he never reconquered).
i wished she was more studious and accurate in her historic account. at times even contradicting herself. the historic dimension falls short. it is certainly told in a sympathetic way, but i feel the audience is smarter than she thinks.
34:25 "La Giulia" was not melted by the Bologna citizens, they sold the bronze to Alfonso I, Duke of Ferrara, and a great expert in artillery, and he melted "La Giulia".
23:30 and 33:10 the statue on horseback on the Capitol in Rome is not Hadrian, it is Marcus Aurelius. The other name for the Capitol is Monte Caprino (goats' mount, or hill) and the other name for the forum is Campo Vaccino (cows' field).
10:45 Giulio II Della Rovere was born to his father Raffaello della Rovere, from the noble Della Rovere family, in Savona (Liguria), who also was the brother of the previous Della Rovere pope, Sixtus IV. The "fisherman" who was his father was the brother of a pope (and the father of another pope). Giulio II was not born into a fisherman family, but into a very powerful and rich family. He is the typical "cardinal nepote", "cardinal-nephew", hardly a "very inauspicious beginning"! The family was of ancient Piedmontese nobility. The armorial reads: "Titolo: conti di Cinzano; signori di Belriparo, Bruzolo, Castelvecchio, Cercenasco, Mombasiglio, Montafia, Rivalba, Vinovo; consignori di Bruino, Candiolo, Cantogno, Castelnuovo, Castelreinero, Cisterna, Cortanze, Cortazzone, Lemie, Montosolo, Piobesi, Rivalta, Santena ". Another branch of the family has: "Titolo: marchesi di Montabone, Montiglio; conti di Bistagno e Monastero, Viù; signori di Mombasiglio; consignori di Ormea, Roccaverano, Usseglio ". Basically, he was born inside a family of the Piedmontese nobility, the family was conspicuous and if not rich, not poor much before having a pope. Leonardo Beltramo di Savona Della Rovere, the father of pope Sixtus IV, belonged to the Consiglio degli Anziani, (Council of the Elderly, basically the City Parliament), of Savona, when the future pope was still a child, which means he was a notable person in the town.
I sent my little gallery minions out to stop traffic for the duration of the lecture, and some meanie in a pick-up truck ran them over five minutes in. What can you do.
@@JonesGallery I suggest to reframe the picture and move the field of view to the right, placing the speaker to the right, so as to cut out the window from the video frame. Alternatively, a curtain on the window would block the view of the distracting traffic without blocking all the light.
Michelangelo and Julius II had sexual relation? Idk but thats what i read in a graphic historical novel "The Terrible Pope" which was publiched in 2009. It was an interesting read and i want to know how accurate is the book i read. I am a lay man and i find these historical stories interesting and i want to read more but i am not sure where to start from.
Try Ross King's 'Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling'. It's non-fiction but very readable - not an esoteric art history tome, hah. King discusses the relationship between Julius II and Michelangelo at length. I don't believe there is any direct evidence of a sexual relationship - so that might be creative license - but they certainly had a complex power dynamic.
Interestingly, Julius was far more cruel and lacking in morality that Alexander ever was. At least Alexander had some introspection towards the end of his life and as you said Julius was a massive narcissist. #teamborgia
I'm really amazed of how many inaccuracies this person makes in this "lecture". I mean, who are her audience and what is her background to be called "curator" with so many inaccuracies and silly statements? The equestrian statue in Campidoglio "Hadrian", really?
This is just embarrassingly bad, she makes up things about Julius II that just aren't true, from simple things as to why he grew his beard to his inner thoughts and motivations. To Anyone who has studied Italian Renaissance and Julius II this is painful to watch and scandalous that she injects her personal biases
Pope Julius was a "raging narcissist"?? Is this art historical fact? 🤣 Simplistic and weird presentation by a giggling lecturer who clearly needs to ridicule historical figures and drag the quattrocento into the 21st century and popularise it by raising laughs. Absolutely terrible. An insult to Michelangelo.
@@latitudeselongitudes1932 Yes, but those "boring" lectures are usually well researched and evidence-based, that is why they are serious and are delivered in a manner that is credible. If you want to be entertained you need to go see a comedy show! Michelangelo is a genius of such magnitude that silly comments for laughs demean him and his legacy.
@@Eudaimonia88 I don't think there's just one way to approach and talk about art. I find her style light and humorous. Of course she is not erudite and eloquent as someone like Andrew Graham Dixon but still she makes a good effort to give her own personal take. I think her comment about Pope Julius is because of his papacy, his military and cultural legacy, his lavish commissions and artistic patronage. A desire to leave a mark and make Rome and the Vatican greater.
@@latitudeselongitudes1932 I know what she meant 🙄. Anybody with just a tiny bit of background knowledge can deduce why the term "raging narcissist" was used by her in the papal context. Doesn't mean it's accurate, appropriate or even relevant. This talk is very shallow stuff, cheap, nasty, unhealthy - it's the gristly burger and rancid fries of art history. No need to reply, I know you like fast food. Bon appetit! 🤪
