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	File Info	Comment
	The Punishment of Tityus (recto) 1532 Black chalk, 190 x 330 mm Royal Library, Windsor	950*542 Grayscale 125 Kb
	The Punishment of Tityus (detail) 1532 Black chalk, 190 x 330 mm Royal Library, Windsor	904*800 True Color 106 Kb
	Study for a Risen Christ (verso) 1532 Black chalk, 190 x 330 mm Royal Collection, Windsor	567*950 True Color 68 Kb
	The Rape of Ganymede 1550s Black chalk on brownish paper, 361 x 275 mm Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge	757*1000 True Color 124 Kb
	The Fall of Phaethon c. 1533 Black chalk, 413 x 234 mm Royal Library, Windsor	964*1700 True Color 215 Kb
	The Fall of Phaethon c. 1533 Black chalk, 313 x 217 mm British Museum, London	596*864 True Color 113 Kb
	Six Figures in Startled Postures (recto) 1532-34 Red chalk, 110 x 192 mm Teylers Museum, Haarlem	700*423 True Color 42 Kb
	Cleopatra (recto) 1533-34 Black chalk on paper, 225 x 170 mm Casa Buonarroti, Florence	639*800 True Color 72 Kb
	Study for Cleopatra (verso) c. 1533 Black chalk on paper, 225 x 170 mm Casa Buonarroti, Florence	638*800 True Color 81 Kb
	Allegorical figure c 1530 Chalk Casa Buonarroti, Florence	508*750 Grayscale 82 Kb
	Portrait of a Woman (recto) 1530s Pen and brown ink, over black and red chalk, 320 x 256 mm British Museum, London	715*900 True Color 94 Kb
	Portrait of a Woman (verso) 1530s Black chalk, 320 x 256 mm British Museum, London	714*900 True Color 78 Kb