# Leah [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MICHELANGELO Buonarroti]() - Date: 1501-1550 - Technique: Marble, height 209 cm ## Commentary In 1542 a fifth, and final, contract for the Julius tomb was drawn up, and three years later an unsatisfactory monument was erected in San Pietro in Vincoli. It was the end of the 'tragedy of the tomb'. Only three of the statues, the Moses, Rachel and Leah, were carved by Michelangelo himself. Rachel and Leah were conceived possibly at different times. They also show inconsistencies: Rachel is noticeably shorter than Leah and has a rectangular rather than a rounded base. It is clear, however, that they represent allegories of the Contemplative Life and the Active Life respectively. ## Related artworks - [A Man Lifting a Boar onto his Shoulder \(verso\)]() - [Abraham - Isaac - Jacob - Judah]() - [Achim - Eliud \(detail\)]() - [Achim - Eliud \(detail\)]() - [Achim - Eliud]() - [Aeneas with a Boy \(recto\)]() - [Allegorical figure]() - [Amminadab \(detail\)]() - [Amminadab \(detail\)]() - [Amminadab]() - [Ancestors of Christ: figures \(detail\)]() - [Ancestors of Christ: figures \(detail\)]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()