Michelangelo's Moses - Rome's Non-Talking Statue

Those who already read the previous post about Pasquino (you can find it clicking on this link: http://viewsofrome.blogspot.com/2011/08/romes-talking-statues-1-pasquino.html), know that Rome has some "talking statues". The Eternal City, however, also has a very stubborn statue, who refused to speak at his maker's request: Michelangelo's Moses. 

There are many stories related to this masterpiece located in a rather dim corner of the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli, on the Colle Oppio, the hill right opposite the Coliseum. The Basilica has this name (translating as "St. Peter in Chains") because it was built to contain a rather special relic: the chains that held St. Peter during his stay at the Mamertine Prison, located in the Forum area. 

The most interesting feature of this Basilica, however, is not the holy relic under the main altar, but a statue placed in a corner...  A masterpiece coming from two different failures, still one of the most stunning artworks available in Rome: Michelangelo's Moses.


The first failure came from the material itself: the marble block used to make this sculpture was discarded by another artists, who made a mistake in the inital phase of the making of his work, and who deemed the block no longer usable. Michalngelo picked up this block and made a real masterpiece out of it, being however forced to give the Moses a slightly unusual stance, turned towards the left, and a masterfully hidden disproportion beween the size of the two knees. 

Another failure that marked the destiny of this wonderful artwork, is that this statue was just a part of a magnificent tomb for the Pope Julius II (depicted in the upper part of the tomb), which was not completed before the Pope's death, as the great artist was deeply absorbed in other great artworks, such as the Sistine Chapel. Being too beautiful to be put is some dusty warehouse, the statue was put in the corner of this ancient Basilica. 

The reason why I called the Moses a "Non-talking statue" as opposed to the "Talking" ones like Pasquino, stems out of a legend: it is said that the great artist, upon completion of his artwork, being himself surprised by the quality and perfection of the statue, hit the Moses' knee with his hammer shouting: "Why don't you talk?!". Some claim that the mark of this hammer hit is still visible... possibly with the eyes of an art lover...


Related topic link: http://viewsofrome.blogspot.com/2011/08/moses-statue-at-largo-santa-susanna.html

Rome's Talking Statues - 1 - Pasquino

On a small square just south of Piazza Navona, in a corner stands the most famous among Rome's "talking statues": Pasquino. A heavily damaged statue, probably depicting a Greek hero (its conditions make the identification difficult, even if many hypothesis have been made) found in 1501 during the excavation works of the nearby Circus of Domitian (which is right beneath Piazza Navona). 

Since 16th Century, the statue was the place where, during the night, hiding from the policemen's sight, the people posted their criticism against the power and the government, often in the form of short sarcastic poems or short sentences, in the typical Roman humor style, which, since the most ancient times, is known to express itself in short but effective sentences. Such sentences have grown to acquire the dignity of a literary form, the so-called "pasquinate". 


Far from being a simple literary exercise, the "pasquinate" deeply irritated many Popes, who several times attempted to have the overly loquacious statue removed, but always wisely abandoned the project, in order to avoid irritating the people by depriving them of a way to vent their anger and dissatisfaction in a form which, after all, was absolutely harmless for the power itself. 


Even today, Pasquino's statue is still "talking" and it can be an interesting and funny experience to stop by the statue and read the sheets of paper pasted to the statue (often written in Italian, more often in Roman slang) and enjoy some of the traditional Roman humor :)