I need not recapitulate its terms, for I have already printed a summary of them in a former chapter of this work.

Suffice it to say that Michelangelo was at last released from all active responsibility with regard to the tomb, and that the vast design of his early manhood now dwindled down to the Moses.

To Raffaello da Montelupo was left the completion of the remaining five statues.
This lamentable termination to the cherished scheme of his lifetime must have preyed upon Michelangelo's spirits.

The letters in which he alludes to it, after the contract had been signed, breathe a spirit of more than usual fretfulness.

Moreover, the Duke of Urbino now delayed to send his ratification, by which alone the deed could become valid.
In October, writing to Del Riccio, Michelangelo complains that Messer Aliotti is urging him to begin painting in the chapel; but the plaster is not yet fit to work on.