Moses by Michaelangelo
10 years
Ten years ago this past week, Norma and I returned from a trip to Europe, where we visited Italy, Greece, Croatia and Turkey. The image this week is one of my favourites from the many I took during the trip.
The image is of a statue of Moses - a sculpture by the Italian High Renaissance artist Michelangelo, which is housed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli (St. Peter in Chains) in Rome. Commissioned in 1505 by Pope Julius II for his tomb, it depicts the biblical figure Moses with horns on his head, based on a description in chapter 34 of Exodus in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Bible used at that time.
The church itself is magnificent, as are many of the churches in Italy, and certainly the relics of St. Peter's chains are what many travel to see. For me, though, the chance to stand in front of a sculpture that is a masterpiece of art and which is over 450 years old was thrilling.
The statue is so lifelike, one would expect Moses to stand at any moment, with the lighting on it perfectly done to accentuate the curves and grace Michelangelo achieved. Add on top of this that as one exits the chapel, you are looking to your left at the Coliseum, and straight ahead at the Temple of Venus - both built right around 100 AD, meaning they are almost 2000 years old - and you can not possibly stand there and be unmoved.
We got to see a lot of wonderful things on our trip - Corfu and Santorini Greece, Ephesus in Turkey and the marvellous city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, and it would be hard to pick a favourite among them. To me though one of the most powerful moments on our trip was a completely unexpected tour of a church that held a masterpiece of art in such a historic setting.
I hope Covid relents soon, because we've still got places to see, and maybe some to go back to!
