Moses (Michelangelo)

Moses is a sculpture by the Italian High Renaissance artist Michelangelo, housed in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli 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. Some scholars believe the use of horns may often hold an antisemitic implication, while others hold that it is simply a convention based on the translation error.

Sigmund Freud's interpretations of the statue from 1916 are particularly well-known. Some interpretations of the sculpture including Freud note a demotic force, but also as a beautiful figure, with an emotional intensity as God's word is revealed.