The Tomb of Pope Julius II, which is in fact a cenotaph, is an architectural and sculptural project by Michelangelo Buonarroti. In its final, reduced form, it is located in the basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to design and execute a monumental sepulchral monument in 1505, but work on the project was repeatedly postponed and did not begin in earnest until 1542. Over the nearly four decades between the initial commission and the completion of the reduced version in 1545, the project underwent numerous revisions and interruptions.What was originally conceived as a freestanding rectangular mausoleum containing more than forty statues was ultimately scaled down to a wall tomb comprising only seven statues, of which three were executed by Michelangelo himself. Among these, only the Moses is regarded as fully representative of his artistic achievement. Michelangelo's official biographer, Ascanio Condivi, records that the artist considered this single statue sufficient to confer distinction upon the monument, stating that it alone was enough to bring honor to the tomb of Pope Julius II.
The protracted history of the project was marked by significant difficulties, including repeated delays, contractual disputes, and reductions in scale. Michelangelo himself referred to the endeavor as the "tragedy of the tomb", and Condivi described it as having brought the artist "infinite difficulties, displeasures, and troubles and, what is worse, infamy due to the malice of certain men, from which he was barely exonerated after many years".
