Freud's Afternoon Session - Freud and Moses: What's in a name

About this event

Freud had a lifelong fascination for the figure of Moses. An etching after Rembrandt’s painting of Moses about to shatter the Ten Commandments hung in his consulting room in Vienna, and Freud dedicated his final completed work, Moses and Monotheism, to the question of the lawgiver’s identity. This talk explores Freud’s fascination, particularly in relation to his 1913 article the Moses of Michelangelo, which was composed under the influence of multiple visits to view the sculpture in the church of St Pietro in Vincoli, on his trip to Rome in 1901. Despite Freud’s libidinal investment in Michelangelo’s sculpture, he chose to publish his paper anonymously. We will examine this peculiar ‘authorial’ decision in the light of Freud’s ambivalent relationship to his Jewish heritage. _______________________________________________________________________ Speaker: Tom DeRose is Research Manager at the Freud Museum London. His research focusses on the cultural and philosophical aspects of Freudian theory. His most recent publication is ‘Freud’s Changing Views on Sadomasochism’, published in, ed. Akhtar and Crilley, ‘The Joy of Torment’ (Karnac, 2024).