In 1532, Michelangelo was 57 when he met the 17-year-old Tommaso dei Cavalieri, who came from a well-respected patrician family. The artist was immediately and utterly smitten by the youth's beauty, distinguished appearance, and intellect, and their meeting marked the beginning of a lifelong friendship. Michelangelo sent Tommaso sonnets, letters, and drawings, in which he expressed his love for him. He promoted the young man's artistic interest by teaching him how to draw and by imparting architectural knowledge to him.

Michelangelo presented as a gift to Tommaso a series of drawings on classical-mythological themes. These included The Rape of Ganymede, The Punishment of Tityus, The Fall of Phaethon. All these heroes symbolized the "fire that burned in him". According to Vasari, the master created many other drawings for Tommaso, among them the "divine heads" in black and red chalk, such as the portrait of Cleopatra.

The works that Michelangelo dedicated to Tommaso possess an extraordinary refinement and decorative ingenuity that certainly reflect the feelings of the master for his beloved friend. The years between 1532 and 1534 marked a phase of beauty and grace in Michelangelo's drawings.

Preview	Picture Data	Info
	The Punishment of Tityus (recto) 1532 Black chalk, 190 x 330 mm Royal Library, Windsor
	The Punishment of Tityus (detail) 1532 Black chalk, 190 x 330 mm Royal Library, Windsor
	Study for a Risen Christ (verso) 1532 Black chalk, 190 x 330 mm Royal Collection, Windsor
	The Rape of Ganymede 1550s Black chalk on brownish paper, 361 x 275 mm Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge
	The Fall of Phaethon c. 1533 Black chalk, 413 x 234 mm Royal Library, Windsor
	The Fall of Phaethon c. 1533 Black chalk, 313 x 217 mm British Museum, London
	Six Figures in Startled Postures (recto) 1532-34 Red chalk, 110 x 192 mm Teylers Museum, Haarlem
	Cleopatra (recto) 1533-34 Black chalk on paper, 225 x 170 mm Casa Buonarroti, Florence
	Study for Cleopatra (verso) c. 1533 Black chalk on paper, 225 x 170 mm Casa Buonarroti, Florence
	Allegorical figure c 1530 Chalk Casa Buonarroti, Florence
	Portrait of a Woman (recto) 1530s Pen and brown ink, over black and red chalk, 320 x 256 mm British Museum, London
	Portrait of a Woman (verso) 1530s Black chalk, 320 x 256 mm British Museum, London