Inside the Mind of Freud – A psychological Art Mystery Play about why Freud refuses to acknowledge Michelangelo’s Moses has horns
In 1914, Sigmund Freud—then already a towering figure in psychoanalysis—published an anonymous article on Michelangelo’s statue Moses in the magazine Imago. It was only a decade later that Freud openly acknowledged his authorship of the piece. His essay is a detailed examination of the statue, providing insight into Freud’s views on art, symbolism, and the human psyche. However, what is most striking about Freud’s analysis isn’t necessarily what he discusses—but rather what he omits. Among the details Freud explores, the prominent feature of two small horns on Moses’ head is barely mentioned, save for brief allusions through quotations of other writers. This conspicuous omission becomes the central premise for an imagined interview between Freud and an interlocutor who seeks to understand why Freud seems to sidestep this peculiar detail.
Freud’s essay takes great care to focus on other aspects of the statue’s form, such as Moses’ beard, his expressive fingers, the placement of the tablets, and the position of his left leg. Freud’s attention to these physical details conveys a deeply psychological perspective on Moses’ character, one that aligns with Freud’s ideas on suppressed impulses and unspoken tensions. In the imaginary interview, Freud is asked why he avoids discussing the horns—a prominent and peculiar aspect of the sculpture. The interview seeks to probe whether Freud is consciously repressing the mention of the horns or if he’s engaging in a playful intellectual dodge with the reader.
The presence of horns on the head of Moses originates from a historical mistranslation in the Latin Vulgate Bible, where the Hebrew word for “radiant” was mistranslated as “horned.” Michelangelo’s choice to depict Moses with horns is a powerful example of how art often embraces myth and misinterpretation to create its own symbolic language. In this context, the horns on Moses could be interpreted as markers of divine insight or extraordinary power. However, Freud’s almost deliberate evasion of them hints at his focus on the psyche, where what’s left unsaid often holds the key to deeper understanding. In psychoanalysis, such omissions can speak volumes, as if Freud’s silence on the horns is itself a form of symbolic repression.
The imaginary interview thus serves as a playful but profound critique, probing the ways Freud himself might fall prey to selective interpretation—perhaps unconsciously avoiding certain elements that could complicate or challenge his analysis. Is Freud “repressing” the horns because they don’t fit into his framework for understanding the statue, or is he subtly inviting readers to see what he has left out? Through this approach, the author not only investigates Michelangelo’s Moses but also illuminates Freud’s own analytical processes, making this interview a study of both art and the psychology of Freud himself.
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