# Design for an Equestrian Statue of Henry II of France

- By: Michelangelo (Caprese Michelangelo, 1475–1564)
- Date: 1559 - 1564
- Medium: paper, chalk
- Classification: drawing
- Dimensions: height 130 mm x width 120 mm
- Credit line: Aankoop uit het legaat van de heer J.C.J. Bierens de Haan, Amsterdam, met medewerking van Mevrouw Baronesse de Geer van Juphaas, geb. Roëll van Hazerswoude en van de Vereniging Rembrandt
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/RP-T-1953-140--4e40c153da3e448097bbef2293b41c05)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/DAWJO/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Tweens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

In 1559 Catherine de Medici commissioned Michelangelo to create a monument with an equestrian statue for her husband, who had died in a tournament. However, it was never realized due to the death of the artist and of the assistant who was to take on the work. This sketch focuses mainly on the monumental pedestal (base). Its shape is derived from a design that the great master had made about fifty years earlier.