Pope Julius II

Two golden acorns rise from the back of the chair. They play on the pope’s family name, della Rovere, meaning oak. Beneath these gleaming ornaments, Julius II sits with his eyes lowered and his bearded face turned slightly away. Raphael painted him in 1511. Julius was a powerful patron who commissioned the artist to decorate rooms in the Vatican and ordered the rebuilding of Saint Peter’s in Rome. Here, that public authority appears through ceremonial dress and an unusually intimate seated view. The beard records a particular period of his life. Julius grew it after losing Bologna to French troops, vowing to remain unshaven until their expulsion from Italy. Illness and military setbacks belong to the portrait’s historical setting, though an expression alone cannot tell us his thoughts. Compare the richness of the red clothing with the small creases around his mouth and eyes. The picture became an influential model for later portraits of church leaders, bringing the appearance of a particular man into an image of office.