French master, named Jean, and took a year to make, as Michael Angelo
expected.

Continuous intrigues caused Michael Angelo to send in his resignation in a
haughty letter dated February 13, 1560, but Pius IV. confirmed the aged
artist in his office, and forbade any alteration of his design for Saint
Peter's after his death. Nanni di Baccio Bigio managed to influence the
deputies so that they appointed him Clerk of the Works instead of Pier
Luigi, surnamed Gaeta, who was recommended by Michael Angelo in a
letter(168) to them.

Nanni then made a report, severely blaming Michael Angelo. The Pope had an
interview with the artist, and sent his relative, Gabrio Serbelloni to
report on the works. It was found that the irrepressible Nanni had again
calumniated Michael Angelo, and he was therefore dismissed.

Notwithstanding the Pope's brief Michael Angelo's design was most
seriously altered after his death by the erection of a long nave, making
the ground plan a Latin instead of Greek Cross. His idea appears to have
been that people should enter the church up a majestic flight of steps
through a gigantic door, and the hollow recesses of the huge dome should
be the dominant impression as soon as the portal was passed. To get his
effect it is necessary to proceed half-way up the present nave with closed
eyes, or merely looking at the pavement, the eyes religiously kept down.
Any one who will make this simple experiment (it is necessary to have a
friend as guide to tell you when you have arrived at the right point of
view) will see that Michael Angelo intended his building to have the
effect of a coherent geometrical whole. The sublime concave of the dome,
with the four arms of the great cross of equal size, will be all at once
grasped by the eye. The huge building is like a great naturally-formed
crystal with mathematically proportioned limbs, beautiful in large things
as in small. An old writer has well said: "The cross, which Michael Angelo
made Greek, is now Latin; and if it be thus with the essential form, judge
ye of the details!" The wooden model of the dome made under Michael
Angelo's eyes is still in existence, and was followed fairly accurately by
Giacomo della Porta, who completed that portion of the work.

Amongst the other schemes that occupied Michael Angelo was the plan of the
improvements upon the Campidoglio, undertaken by a society of gentlemen
and artists. Paul III. approved their design, and we may believe,