In their hypothetical reconstructions of the intended appearance of Pope Julius II's tomb, most scholars propose that in 1532 Michelangelo planned to place on the upper storey the small number of sculptures that remain there today. For the lower storey, however, they envisage a larger number of figures: the Boboli slaves on pedestals and two Victory groups in the round-topped niches.' Karl Laux and Herbert von Einem are alone in suggesting that after 1532 Michelangelo decided to incorporate into the tomb only those statues that were already in Rome: Moses and the two smaller slaves, now in the Louvre, which were to be placed in the lower niches. No scholar concluded that, after establishing the new architectural framework of the tomb, Michelangelo erected part of it in S. Pietro in Vincoli as early as the summer of 1533. Yet this is what emerges from a study of two drawings, one already known (Fig.I), and one new to the literature, to which Christoph Frommel generously drew my attention and which is the focus of this article (Fig.2). The statue of the pope is shown in this drawing, suggesting that in 1533 Michelangelo or an assistant may have carved not only the terms (termini) for the lower storey, but may also have begun the figure of the pope for the upper storey in the hope of being able to unveil the completed tomb in August 1535, as was required by the contract of April 1532.

Two unpublished letters sent by Orazio Gentileschi from London to Gio Antonio Sauli in 1635 and 1636 (see the Appendix below), as well as a note to Sauli from Artemisia Gentileschi, came to light during the recent re- organisation of the Sauli family archive.' These documents suggest that the relationship between Orazio Gentileschi and Gio Antonio Sauli was more than a mere business arrangement between client and artist. It seems likely that Gentileschi acted as advisor to Sauli while he was setting up his picture gallery, and that their relationship, based on a mixture of respect, friendship and financial considerations, continued after Gentileschi's departure for London and almost until his death. Also discovered was a portrait of a woman by Orazio Gentileschi, which had been lost since it was mentioned by Carlo Giuseppe Ratti in 1780. The newly discovered documents illuminate Sauli's collection and acquisitions subsequently made by his descendants, and make it possible to identify most of the works in it.

To celebrate the canonisation of Queen Elisabeth of Portugal by Pope Urban VIII Barberini on 25th May in the jubilee year of 1625, Gian Lorenzo Bernini spent the early months of the year designing and constructing a monumental temporary structure directly beneath Michelangelo's great dome of the basilica of St Peter's.' This 'wooden theatre' can be seen in two anonymous contemporary engravings first published by Irving Lavin in 1968 (Fig. 19). It was an imposing architectural structure, a screen with seven facets articulated by twenty-four Ionic columns placed in pairs; between each set of paired columns were fourteen statues of members of the Portuguese royal house interspersed with five painted 'histories' depicting the principal miracles of the saint. There was also space for various banners and the coats of arms of the cardinals who assisted in the celebration. The intention was to give the impression that the structure was built of expensive materials: precious marble for the columns, gold and bronze for the capitals, and bronze reliefs for the coats of arms and other ornaments.

There can be few more famous examples of Italian wall painting than the murals of the Arena Chapel in Padua, painted by Giotto in or around the year 1305, and recently reopened to the public following an extensive restoration. The elaborate narrative cycles of Mary and Jesus, and the imposing Last Judgment on the entrance wall in which the patron, Enrico Scrovegni, is depicted offering a model of the chapel to Mary as a means of expiating his family's sin, find their place in all standard surveys. These emphasise the iconographic and stylistic innovations of the cycle that presage the renaissance. Less studied, but arguably of vital importance as the key to understanding the sacred narratives above them, are the figures painted largely in monochrome on the lowest area of the wall, known as the socle, or dado (Fig.22). Here, between panels painted in imitation of plaques of cut marble, we find seven figures on each wall. On the left, as one enters, are personifications of seven Vices, all identified by Latin inscriptions: Despair, Envy, Idolatry, Injustice, Anger, Inconstancy and Folly. On the opposite wall are the corresponding Virtues, each facing their appropriate foe across the space of the chapel: Hope, Charity, Faith, Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and Prudence. Although there is a small mountain of scholarly literature on the Arena Chapel, mostly written over the course of the last century, only a few scholars have paid much attention to the dado decorations, in part because the figures in this area have not been always attributed to Giotto himself. Indeed, this has recently been noted by Giuseppe Basile, who writes: 'It is no coincidence that art historians have long ignored the dado, considering much of it to be the work of assistants.'

The painter and draughtsman Giovan Battista Ricci probably came to Rome from his native Lombardy during the pontificate of Gregory XIII (r.1572-85), since he is mentioned in documents in the Accademia di S. Luca as early as 1581, and he died in Rome in August 1627. Our knowledge of his long career has been increased greatly in the last decade thanks to new research on the pontificate of Sixtus V (r.1585-90).' Several studies have also appeared on Ricci's drawings which he must have produced in great quantity, judging from the number of frescos he executed in the chapels, aisles and apses of Roman churches, following somewhat standard decorative schemes adapted to the patrons' demands and to the requirements of the site.

Carlo Dolci was one of the most eminent painters of the Florentine Seicento. Being extremely devout from his early years, he specialised in painting small-scale pictures for private devotion, which suited the religious climate of the post-Trendentine age. His style was rooted in a painstaking study of his themes which he painted in a clear and brilliant palette. Dolci created a canon of sacred images, imbued with sweetness as well as gravity, that give the impression of life-like presence, a characteristic he deemed necessary to inspire devotion in the faithful. This style was so popular with Dolci's Florentine clientele that from the start of his career he would sometimes repeat his own or his clients' favourite subjects. Consequently, caution is necessary in establishing the authenticity and date of each painting, especially in the present case when the attribution is based solely upon the family tradition of its later owners.