In 1505, Michelangelo was ordered to build a monumental mausoleum for Pope Julius II. He worked in the Carrara quarry for 8 months, picking the stones himself and transporting them to Rome. Because the architect Bramante slandered the plan in front of the Pope, Michelangelo did not receive any remuneration. Instead, he borrowed money to pay for the stone. It was not until 1513, on the basis of a drastic reduction in the original plan, that Michelangelo signed a new contract with the Holy See for the construction of the mausoleum of Julius II, and began to create "Moses" and several other statues to decorate the mausoleum.
Like David, Moses was a hero of ancient Israel. He was a prophet, poet, commander and statesman. When Moses was born, the Israelites were exiled to Egypt. Fearing that slaves would outnumber their masters, Pharaoh ordered the drowning of every newborn Boy in Israel. Moses' mother could not bear it, so she put the child on a boat made of papyrus and placed it on the riverbank. She told her daughter to hide and peek in the dark. It happened that the princess of the pharaoh, accompanied by a maid, went to the river to bathe. When she heard the child's cries, she felt compassion. Moses' sister pretended to be passing by and recommended a nurse to the princess to raise the child. In fact, the wet nurse is her mother. Thus, although Moses grew up and was educated in the Egyptian government, he always maintained his national faith and patriotism.
As an adult, Moses witnessed the enslavement and suffering of his fellow citizens and was furious. Once, he saw an Egyptian beating the Israelite so hard that he could no longer control his anger. Moses killed him on the spot and went into hiding. After several twists and turns, Moses finally led all the Israelites to defeat Pharaoh's pursuit, flee Egypt, cross the Red Sea, and reach the Sinai Peninsula. Moses wrote poems celebrating victory, showing his poetic genius. The Israelites were frustrated because they had been enslaved for a long time. They desperately need a brilliant and decisive leader. Moses was such a man. Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai making laws for the Israelites, listing the moral code that everyone must obey as the "Ten Commandments," carved into two stone tablets, and taken down the mountain. However, the Hebrews at the foot of the mountain forgot his admonition because their leader was absent for many days, and they were in Egypt performing the idolatry they saw, paying homage to a golden bull. When Moses saw this, he was very angry, threw the stone tablet down the hill and broke it, and returned to the mountain. Forty days later, he brought back the stone tablet inscribed with the Ten Commandments. It is said that when he came down the mountain for the second time, the Israelites did not dare to come near him because he was "full of glow." The fifth-century Latin Bible says, "Moses had horns on his head." That's why Michelangelo, like other artists before him, put two horns on Moses' head.
In addition to using the horns on his head as a symbol of the prophet, Michelangelo also expressed Moses' poetic temperament with a long curly beard and used stone tablets to clarify his status as a legislator. However, the statue's most emphatic depiction is of the leader's sense of majesty—quick eyes, dignified expression, alert posture, and firm eyebrows.
Michelangelo did not hide his shortcomings in praising the strengths of his heroes. We can see uncontrollable rage churning through Moses' chest, prompting him to smash the stone tablet in anger. And that sense of pride that stands out from the crowd, which is the pride of Moses and Michelangelo himself. Michelangelo's disposition and temperament are the epitome of Moses. Today, when we face the majesty of "Moses," we seem to see Michelangelo's angry expression frozen in marble.