ee sketches,
extravagant in style and most beautiful, of which the Pope selected
the least costly; this was executed much to his credit, as may now be
seen." To what extent he was responsible for the other
sixteenth-century gates of Rome, including the Porta del Popolo, which
is commonly ascribed to him, cannot be determined; though Vasari
asserts that Michelangelo supplied the Pope with "many other models"
for the restoration of the gates. Indeed it may be said of all his
later work that we are dealing with uncertain material, the original
idea emanating perhaps from Buonarroti's mind, but the execution
having devolved upon journeymen.

Pius IV. charged Michelangelo with another great undertaking, which
was the restoration of the Baths of Diocletian in the form of a
Christian church. Criticism is reduced to silence upon his work in
this place, because S. Maria degli Angeli underwent a complete
remodelling by the architect Vanvitelli in 1749. This man altered the
ground-plan from the Latin to the Greek type, and adopted the
decorative style in vogue at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
All that appears certain is that Michelangelo had very considerable
remains of the Roman building to make use of. We may also perhaps
credit tradition, when it tells us that the vast Carthusian cloister
belongs to him, and that the three great cypress-trees were planted by
his hand.

Henri the Second's death occurred in 1559; and his widow, Catherine
de' Medici, resolved to erect an equestrian statue to his memory. She
bethought her of the aged sculptor, who had been bred in the palace of
her great-grandfather, who had served two Pontiffs of her family, and
who had placed the mournful image of her father on the tomb at San
Lorenzo. Accordingly she wrote a letter on the 14th of November in
that year, informing Michelangelo of her intention, and begging him to
supply at least a design upon which the best masters in the realm of
France might work. The statue was destined for the courtyard of the
royal chateau at Blois, and was to be in bronze. Ruberto degli
Strozzi, the Queen's cousin, happened about this time to visit Rome.
Michelangelo having agreed to furnish a sketch, it was decided between
them that the execution should be assigned to Daniele da Volterra.
After nearly a year's interval, Catherine wrote again, informing
Michelangelo that she had deposited a sum of 6000 golden crowns at the
bank of Gianbattista Gondi for the wor