| Leah | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Michelangelo |
| Year | c. 1542 |
| Medium | Marble |
| Dimensions | 209 cm (82 in) |
| Location | San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome |
| Preceded by | Rachel (sculpture) |
| Followed by | Apollo |
Leah is a sculpture byMichelangelo of theOld Testament figureLeah. Like the artist'sRachel, it was part of the final, 1542–1545 design for thetomb of Pope Julius II inSan Pietro in Vincoli, on which it still remains.
With Michelangelo'sRachel, the statue ofLeah completed the decoration of the last version of the funeral monument ofPope Julius II in 1542–1545, a troubled work to which the artist dedicated almost 40 years.
Intended for the right niche, next to the older and successfulMoses statue, the work is documented in a plea toPope Paul III of July 20, 1542, which reported that the works were progressing well. A month after, Michelangelo contractedRaffaello da Montelupo to bring the five remaining statues of the tomb to completion, includingLeah andRachel. He reserved for these last two, however, a new execution by his own hand. It seems that the cleaning and finishing was left to his assistant.
After the completion of the monument, Michelangelo was much criticized for the final result, so that his autograph on the two niche statues was denied. That hypothesis was taken up for a long time in the 19th century, until documents were found to authenticate his authorship.
Leah, the Biblical heroine, is represented as a Roman matron, in classical dress and holding a mirror (which would recall the virtue ofPrudence) or a diadem, through which runs her long braid of hair. According toGiorgio Vasari andAscanio Condivi,Leah is an allegory for an "active life," based on a passage from Dante orDiputatione Camaldulenses byCristoforo Landino.
In that sense, the two feminine figures might represent two ways of being, but the two ways of salvation are not necessarily in conflict with each other. The contemplative life represented byRachel prays for its salvation through Faith, while the active life represented byLeah finds its salvation in work.
The communal interpretation of the artwork is that it is a kind of mediation between Reform and Catholicism owing to its association withVittoria Colonna and her followers.
Media related toLeah by Michelangelo Buonarroti at Wikimedia Commons