Moses vs. Westminster Abbey Sculpture

Westminster Abbey -Georgina Walmsley

England 

This is a sculpture from medieval times in Westminster Abbey. It depicts either the lord or someone equally as holy seated upon a throne holding a cross.  It doesn’t contain many elaborate details like in the time of the renaissance.  Also it contains the cross which shows how religion and the church was a major point of their lives and how it was referenced in almost anything including sculptures by artists.  

Moses

By: Michelangelo-Zach Troidle

This sculpture of Moses was chiseled in 1545 by none other than the great Michelangelo Buonarroti.  The work was commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1505 for his tomb. The pope died in 1513, but the sculpture was not finished until 32 years afterwards. The sculpture is of the biblical character Moses, sitting with a serious demeanor. Michelangelo constructed the piece by just using the description given in the Bible. His human characteristics are much exaggerated, noting his biceps and especially his beard. Overall, his figure gives him the look of Greek gods from classical sculpture.

Compare and Contrast -Kiera Goddu

The sculpture of Moses champions humans and is detailed to the enth degree. The realistic human body is a classic of the Renaissance style. The overly religious themes of the sculpture at Westminster Abbey shows a sad human bogged down by the chains of religion much like those in the Medieval times. These pieces very much fit the archetype of their time periods. Even though both of the sculptures highlight religious characters one is portrayed as a righteous human being and the other is a sad and depressed human.