Cleopatra

Michelangelo presented this beautifully finished drawing of Cleopatra to his new friend and admirer, the Roman nobleman Tommaso de’ Cavalieri, in 1532. They became fast friends and remained so until Michelangelo’s death 32 years later. The question of whether Michelangelo’s feelings for his beautiful friend were more than platonic remains unconfirmed but he did dedicate more poems to Cavalieri than to anyone else. He also gave him at least six completed drawings. In 1562, two years before Michelangelo’s death, Cavalieri was forced to give Cleopatra to Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici. He had little choice in the matter and made it known in his letter accompanying the “gift” that depriving himself of that drawing caused him as much pain as if he’d lost a son. Half a century later in 1614, Duke Cosimo II donated Cleopatra and several other drawings to Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger for the gallery he was creating in the family home that would become the Casa Buonarroti museum.