Michelangelo, Julius II, and Renaissance Artistic Patronage

Introduction: Art as Social Dialogue

The nature of Catholic art during the Renaissance period — as manifested in the mutually beneficial though sometimes antagonistic relationship of patronage between artists and popes — can never simply be understood as an expression of an individual artist's vision of Jesus Christ, nor even as an individual vision struggling against hostile authority. Rather, religious art during this period was an intensely social production: a dialogue between religious leaders such as Pope Julius II and artistic producers such as Michelangelo. Popes commissioned artistic works, and in doing so they inspired, guided, and checked the artist's individual vision.

To properly understand the art of the period, one must set aside later representations of artists as solitary laborers toiling apart from society, and abandon the idea that authority simply smothers artistic freedom and individual expression. One must instead embrace a notion of art as a religious, philosophical, and political tool of a hierarchical church authority — one less interested in individual vision than in coherent theological expressions of the divine and in the advancement of political authority within the church. Although individual artists may have woven their own input into the work, that input was conveyed subtly rather than overtly. The papacy's inspiration of the works, its occasional prodding of individual artists, and the ability of church resources to make such vast, sprawling, and inspiring works of art possible should not be underestimated.

Julius II: Warrior, Statesman, and Patron

Pope Julius II, often known as the "warrior pope" because of his influence in political as well as spiritual affairs, is even more renowned to later ages for his tireless patronage of the arts. He is also called the savior of the papacy, due to his integrity relative to his contemporaries and his restoration of legitimacy to the church through curbing some of its excesses — though not enough, in the end, to prevent the Reformation. It is also unlikely that, had Julius lived after the Reformation, he would have been able to commission such anthropomorphic and expansive works of religious art, some of which were designed to commemorate his own personal memories and accomplishments, including the tomb commission that first drew Michelangelo to Rome.

Julius II was chiefly known as a soldier before he took religious orders. His personal fame in Vatican history rests on his re-establishment of the Pontifical States and the deliverance of Italy from French subjugation. Still, he did not neglect his duties as the spiritual head of the Church. His appointments within the church hierarchy were remarkable for being notably free from nepotism — a rarity in the Italian political climate of familial loyalty and factional war — despite the fact that he had fathered three daughters while serving as a cardinal. He heard Mass almost daily and often celebrated it himself. He worked to abolish simony from the church.

Julius II and the Visual Program of the Church

More importantly, this pope saw art and the physical manifestations of the church and of God upon the earth as equally critical to the strength of the church as its political and military power — and he paid careful attention to how that strength was depicted artistically. With a talent for planning as careful as that he applied to his military campaigns, he enriched the landscape of Rome by adding many fine buildings to the city. He, more than any other pope before him, laid the groundwork for what would become the Vatican Museums — the world's greatest collection of antiquities. Without Julius II, there would most likely be no Vatican Collection of art.

Julius II enjoyed close relationships with many artists, including Raphael. The mosaic frescos he commissioned from Raphael reflect Julius' intensely narrative and anthropomorphic vision of the Bible. But Julius' most stormy and artistically productive relationship was with Michelangelo. One of the most remarkable aspects of the Sistine Chapel commission is that Julius had to virtually force Michelangelo to paint the ceiling. At the time, Michelangelo regarded himself primarily as a sculptor, not a painter.