The Moses is one of Michelangelo's most admired and powerful of his sacred conceptions. In 1503, after the creation of the Pietá and the David, Michelangelo's name had reached such fame that Pope Julius II, asked for Michelangelo to come to Rome and work for him. The first work Pope Julius II commissioned from Michelangelo was to sculpt his tomb. Michelangelo settled on a design for the tomb, that according to the very Michelangelo it was set to "surpass in beauty and richness of ornament all ancient and imperial tombs" with over 40 larger than life size sculptures initially planned. (A scale down version was done and graces the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome where Pope Julius II was the cardinal.)

Michelangelo set to work with spirit and he went to Carrara to obtain all the marble needed to complete the tomb. Upon his return, after eight months, Pope Julius II had changed his mind and abandoned his ambitious plan and instead asked Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo was disturbed by the Pope's behavior and left Rome while the Pope's emissaries pursued him. Michelangelo and Julius II reconciled at the end of 1506. Michelangelo returned to Rome to paint the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. He painted the chapel as a challenge not only for the vastness and difficulty of the labor, but also for the desire to go beyond the limits imposed by tradition and those which he himself had attained. The vaulted ceiling was finished in 1512, after four years of intense labor. Shortly afterwards, Julius II died, and Michelangelo signed with his heirs a new contract for the Pope's funerary monument that redefined the grandiose dimensions of the preceding version. For this project, Michelangelo executed two statues of Prisoners, now at the Louvre, and Moses, which was later recovered for the final version of the tomb in the Basilica of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome.

Giorgio Vasari in the "Life of Michelangelo" wrote:
"Michelangelo finished the Moses in Marble, a statue of five braccia, unequaled by any modern or ancient work. Seated in a serious attitude, he rests with one arm on the table, and with the other holds his long glossy beard, the hairs, so difficult to render in sculpture, being so soft and downy that it seems as if the iron chisel must have been a brush. The beautiful face, like that of a saint and mighty prince, seems as one regards it to need the veil to cover it, so splendid and shining does it appear, and so well has the artist presented in the marble the divinity with which God had endowed him. The draperies fall in graceful folds, the muscles of the arms and bones of the hands are of such beauty and perfection, as are the legs and knees, the feet being adorned with excellent shoes, that Moses may now be called the friend of God more than ever, since God has permitted his body to be prepared for the resurrection before the others by the hand of Michelangelo."
The fame of Michelangelo's Moses was widely spread during Michelangelo's lifetime by requests for copies in marble and plaster. Many scholars have observed that when sculptors copied the Moses, they invariably introduced modifications. A plaster cast taken directly from the original is the most faithful possible duplication of its volumes and form.
This original bronze cast of Michelangelo's Moses has met the standards and approval of the museum world for two inseparable reasons. The first reason, provenance. San Pietro in Vincoli, source of the marble Moses provides impeccable provenance. The second reason is quality. The reputation of the Chiurazzi Foundry and its long distinguished history is important. Their craftsmen's faithfulness to the period methods of casting and finishing is a critical reassurance for the museums. The mold used for Michelangelo's Moses has been preserved in pristine physical condition. This magnificent work is so faithful to the Moses in marble that shows the musculature details and the tiniest details, such as veins. The lost wax process is so painstaking that the work took more than a year to complete, needing several weeks just to bake out the wax before beginning the arduous process of careful hammering, chiseling and chasing to remove imperfections. The bronze proudly bears the Chiurazzi Foundry mark as well as its unique number within the strictly limited edition and the year in which it was cast.

The Chiurazzi Foundry has a reputation to be the finest bronze workers in Italy. They continue a century-old tradition for upholding the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship while faithfully abiding by the original artistic intentions of the master.

Chiurazzi has the most expansive collection of artistic bronze sculpture moulds of the world's greatest art, ever to be assembled in the history of the world. In short, the national archive of Italian Art.

Among others, the Chiurazzi Foundry has cast original bronzes of Michelangelo's David, Moses and the Pieta, Giambologna's Mercury, Donatello's David; Venus de Milo and the Victory of Samothrace.

The Chiurazzi Artistic Foundry was established in 1870 by Gennaro Chiurazzi, who enlisted the Partnership of his two sons, Salvatore and Federico in 1885. Together the Chiurazzi family developed the foundry into the preeminent source for Hellenistic and Renaissance sculpture, especially renowned for exact replications of artwork and artifacts from Herculaneum and Pompeii.

The onset of the industrial revolution, the 20th Century and two world wars dramatically reduced commissions of, and investments in, monument sculpture, which triggered a global reduction in sculpture demand. Fortunately, it also inspired the most significant occurrence in the history of The Chiurazzi Foundry and School.

It was from 1890 to 1972 when the Chiurazzis with a Special dispensation from the Italian Ministry of Cultural Goods and Activities took moulds of Masterpieces making plaster moulds directly from masterpieces by Michelangelo, Donatello, Bernini, Cellini, Verrocchio, and others. Many of these sculptures are icons in art history.
Michelangelo's Moses has been created in the exact same dimensions as the original marble. This masterwork is not simply a passable copy; rather, is a rigorously faithful, perfect likeness of this exceptional work of art, which took more than a year—from casting to surface finishing—to complete. This bronze has been sanctioned by the museums as authentic and original. In hindsight, the Chiurazzis' initiatives were prescient because museums worldwide generally prohibit the making of molds from original sculptures today.

During the early 20th century, the concept of the limited edition was adopted by sculptors. They knew that with rarity guaranteed, values were reinforced. The most successful adoption of the rarity-authenticity-value principle in posthumously cast limited edition bronzes is exemplified in the estate collections of Auguste Rodin [1840-1917], Edgar Degas [1834-1917], and Alberto Giacometti [1901-1966]. The French government has officially recognized the posthumous castings of these masters as "original" and "authentic" bronzes. The Muséé Rodin continues to produce authentic Rodin bronzes today. They even sold out a reduced -size version of Rodin's famous Thinker cast in gold apparently at $1,000,000 each in China. The second example is Degas. After his death in 1917, as many as seventy-four small figural sculptures in wax, clay, and plaster were found in his studio. He had made many sculptures but only exhibited one piece during his lifetime, in 1881. After his death, the Degas estate had these works cast in bronze, and many are now owned by major museums, including a significant collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In 1999, Degas' Petite Danseuse de Quatorze Ans which was cast posthumously in 1922, fetched a record $12.4 million. The third prominent example of posthumous bronzes involves Giacometti. In 2002, a group of his sculptures were sold at auction in Paris, including the bronze, La Cage, which Giacometti conceived in 1950,, an was cast posthumously in 1990—forty years after the original was created and more than twenty-four years after his death. But it sold for $1,569,280.

In the Spring of 2007, the market for ancient bronzes was awed, as was the entire art market, when Sotheby's sold a vintage (ca.100 BC-100 AD) Roman bronze, Artemis and the Stag, for $28.6 million, setting a new record as the most expensive piece of sculpture ever to sell at auction. the 36-inch tall bronze is less than half the size of the 78-inch bronze Artemis and the Stag in the Vatican Museums Collection. The Vatican's variant shows the goddess reaching for an arrow from her quiver while a stag leaps by her side. The smaller record-breaking version shows the goddess moments after having released an arrow from her bow. If the Vatican decided to sell their version today, it would likely fetch a comparably strong price.
Looking back over the centuries, we see that copyists produced shallow imitations of Renaissance and Ancient bronzes in bronze, always in reduced sizes. Michelangelo's Moses has been carefully recreated in its exact size—92.5 inches (235 cms)—.

For any art lover who feels the history of art in the deepest way, this is an opportunity to admire one of the world's great masterpieces. The Moses carries a direct line of provenance and an inseparable bond with the Vatican and represents one of the highest artistic achievements of world culture. There is thought and implied movement as well as power, beauty, form and line that emanate from Michelangelo's Moses.

Michelangelo thought the Moses to be his most realistic sculpture, it is said that upon completion of the marble sculpture, he hit Moses' right knee and commanded: Now, speak!

In Michelangelo's Moses we have a clear sense of the prophet and his duty to fulfill God's wishes.

 

Chiurazzi International

Since 1870, the Chiurazzi Family and its artisans have executed their exacting craft of casting bronze sculptures at their historic foundry in Naples, Italy. They have been religiously creating quality bronzes and plasters for public buildings, churches and for the private collections of wealthy art patrons. The foundry possesses the world's most significant and important collection of historic art from ancient and Renaissance sculptures. Builders, developers, architects and fine art collectors have been their clients for decades!

It was Gennaro Chiurazzi, who first put his apprentice skills to work as a master Neapolitan artist 140 years ago. Managing Director Gordon Root and his partner had a dream to purchase the foundry from its previous owner to develop globally this unique industry of combining fine art, history, sculptures, quality artworks by growing internationally.

"We are truly excited to launch our company this year in DC and NYC. We are also very happy to have our bronze of Michelangelo's Moses be exhibited at The National Shrine of San Gennaro in the Most Precious Blood Church which is the homeland of many New York Italian Immigrants." Gordon Root, Managing Director, Chiurazzi International.

Michelangelo's Biography

History of the Most Precious Blood Church in New York City