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Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500
MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI (after) The Tomb of Pope Julius II.
Engraving, 1554. 418x272 mm; 16 1/2x10 3/4 inches, narrow margins. Workman with a mallet and pail watermark. Published by Antonio Salamanca, Rome. A superb, dark impression of this very scarce engraving.
Commissioned in 1505, Michelangelo's (1475-1564) tomb for Pope Julius II (Della Rovere) was not completed until 1545, following many interruptions and budget reductions. Originally the tomb was to have been installed in St. Peter's basilicia as a freestanding structure with more than 40 statues. Following the Pope's death in 1513, the project was scaled back significantly, reducing the number of statures by a third and ultimately relocating it to the church of San Pietro in Vincoli on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, outside of the Vatican.
The most famous figure on the tomb is Moses, seated lower center. This was one of Michelangelo's favorite creations and he considered it among his most life-like sculptures. The figure of Pope Julius II is shown reclining on a sarcophagus above the statue of Moses.
