Bologna Imagery of Julius II During his reign, Julius II utilized his iconic status to his advantage, displaying his interest in the arts by placing himself on medals, emblems, and by commissioning specific artworks containing his image. Choosing to commission objects such as medals or coins is quite different from, having a portrait created. A medal or coin can be representative of an "antitype" or "modern counterpart" to typical, readable typologies that commonly appear in art. The "types" can serve as a code to decode antiquity, Renaissance or even Baroque art. The most noticeable self-referencing image trend on the coins and works of art commissioned by Julius II was the "Della Rovere oak." In Italian "rovere" means oak, derived from the Latin robur, meaning strength or oak tree. The Spernadino medal of Giuliano Della Rovere (1488) is a prime example of a representation of the "Della Rovere oak". In addition, the giant oak in the Belvedere Courtyard was planted by Julius in 1504 to be incorporated into Bramante's design for the three-tiered area. The Della Rovere coat of arms bore an oak tree and the family was referenced with the emblem of the acorn, which had mythological, Christian, and Republican Roman iconographic associations. In reality, however, Julius did not belong to the Della Rovere clan, which was established in Vinovo, near Turin. His uncle Sixtus IV was from a family of merchants and Julius II's own father was a fisherman. Sixtus IV had fabricated a lineage associated with the Della Rovere counts when he was a cardinal and saw an opportunity to ascend to the papal throne. Raphael's Portrait In 1511, Julius commissioned two portraits of him by the master Raphael. One is in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and the other in the National Gallery (London), the latter being the more famous of the two. Several years after its completion, Vasari would comment how it was 'true and lifelike in every way', and the composition became influential, seen in later portraits such as Titian's 'Pope Paul III' of 1543. Julius' long beard was a sign that he had recently lost the state of Bologna, and helps to date the painting, as the beard is recorded as being shaved off in March 1512. Julius II and his Artists Julius first came to appreciate Michelangelo’s work after seeing his Pietà, now in St Peter's Basilica, and commissioned him for several key