Nomos AG
Auction 25 20 Nov 2022
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ITALY. Papal States. Julius II (Giuliano Della Rovere), 1503-1513. Seal or Bulla (Lead, 35 mm, 38.76 g, 12 h), Rome. S / P/A - S/ P/E Nimbate facing heads of St. Paul to left and St. Peter to right; between them, Latin cross set on three acorns (an allusion to the della Rovere arms; Rovere = Oak). Rev. ▴IV▴/LIVS▴ / PAPA / ▴II▴ in four lines, all in a circular border of dots within two linear borders. Serafini 211-4. With excellent portraits of the Sts. Paul and Peter in fine Renaissance style; portions of the original cord still in place. Minor bangs and marks, otherwise, about extremely fine.
From the Dr. Pelc Dens Sapientiae Collection, USA.
Julius II was undoubtedly the most aggressive and ambitious of all the Renaissance Popes. His wars, alliances and broken alliances were numerous and he preferred to be portrayed with a sword rather than a book! He was never-the-less a great patron of the arts - he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel - and he was a great builder. Early in his reign, in 1505, he ordered Michelangelo to build him a magnificent tomb, but dismayed by the seeming lack of progress, Julius II got so angry that Michelangelo fled Rome in 1506! Since having a pope angry at you was not something one wanted to have in the 16th century, Michelangelo managed to make peace with Julius by 1507, when he was ordered to make an impressive bronze statue of the Pope to be placed on the facade of the church of St. Petronius in the newly captured city of Bologna (Julius had deposed the Bentivoglio, Bologna's ruling family, in 1506). After one casting failure, by 1508 Michelangelo had created the biggest bronze statue made in Europe since antiquity! While the Pope was delighted, the people of Bologna disliked it intensely: when the Bentivoglio retook the city in 1511 the statue was thrown down and broken up for scrap. The pieces were then sold to the Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso I d'Este (1505-1534), who used them to make a cannon (Alfonso was a noted cannon founder), to which he mischievously gave the name Giulia (apparently Titian painted a portrait of Alfonso leaning on 'Giulia' in 1523; while the original is lost many copies exist)!
In 1506 Julius II was responsible for the organization of the Swiss Guards which are since then responsible for the security of Vatican.
From the Dr. Pelc Dens Sapientiae Collection, USA.
Julius II was undoubtedly the most aggressive and ambitious of all the Renaissance Popes. His wars, alliances and broken alliances were numerous and he preferred to be portrayed with a sword rather than a book! He was never-the-less a great patron of the arts - he commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel - and he was a great builder. Early in his reign, in 1505, he ordered Michelangelo to build him a magnificent tomb, but dismayed by the seeming lack of progress, Julius II got so angry that Michelangelo fled Rome in 1506! Since having a pope angry at you was not something one wanted to have in the 16th century, Michelangelo managed to make peace with Julius by 1507, when he was ordered to make an impressive bronze statue of the Pope to be placed on the facade of the church of St. Petronius in the newly captured city of Bologna (Julius had deposed the Bentivoglio, Bologna's ruling family, in 1506). After one casting failure, by 1508 Michelangelo had created the biggest bronze statue made in Europe since antiquity! While the Pope was delighted, the people of Bologna disliked it intensely: when the Bentivoglio retook the city in 1511 the statue was thrown down and broken up for scrap. The pieces were then sold to the Duke of Ferrara, Alfonso I d'Este (1505-1534), who used them to make a cannon (Alfonso was a noted cannon founder), to which he mischievously gave the name Giulia (apparently Titian painted a portrait of Alfonso leaning on 'Giulia' in 1523; while the original is lost many copies exist)!
In 1506 Julius II was responsible for the organization of the Swiss Guards which are since then responsible for the security of Vatican.