Michelangelo. The question now arises whether the bronze head ascribed
by Vasari to Daniele da Volterra was executed during Michelangelo's
lifetime or after his decease, and whether we possess it. There are
eight heads of this species known to students of Michelangelo, which
correspond so nicely in their measurements and general features as to
force the conclusion that they were all derived from an original
moulded by one masterly hand. Three of these heads are unmounted,
namely, those at Milan, Oxford, and M. Piot's house in Paris. One,
that of the Capitoline Museum, is fixed upon a bust of _bigio morato_
marble. The remaining four examples are executed throughout in bronze
as busts, agreeing in the main as to the head, but differing in minor
details of drapery. They exist respectively in the Museo Buonarroti,
the Accademia, and the Bargello at Florence, and in the private
collection of M. Cottier of Paris. It is clear, then, that we are
dealing with bronze heads cast from a common mould, worked up
afterwards according to the fancy of the artist. That this original
head was the portrait ascribed to Daniele da Volterra will be conceded
by all who care to trace the history of the bust; but whether he
modelled it after Michelangelo's death cannot be decided. Professional
critics are of the opinion that a mask was followed by the master; and
this may have been the case. Michelangelo died upon the 17th of
February 1564. His face was probably cast in the usual course of
things, and copies may have been distributed among his friends in Rome
and Florence. Lionardo Buonarroti showed at once a great anxiety to
obtain his uncle's bust from Daniele da Volterra. Possibly he ordered
it while resident in Rome, engaged in winding up Michelangelo's
affairs. At any rate, Daniele wrote on June 11 to this effect: "As
regards the portraits in metal, I have already completed a model in
wax, and the work is going on as fast as circumstances permit; you may
rely upon its being completed with due despatch and all the care I can
bestow upon it." Nearly four months had elapsed since Michelangelo's
decease, and this was quite enough time for the wax model to be made.
The work of casting was begun, but Daniele's health at this time
became so wretched that he found it impossible to work steadily at any
of his undertakings. He sank slowly, and expired in the early spring
of 1566.

What happened to the bronze heads in the interval between June 1564