Michelangelo drawings of his muse exhibited in London

London, Feb 22 (ANI): Michelangelo's sketches, which he made for a younger man he is believed to have fallen in love with, are being displayed at London's Courtauld Gallery.

The exhibition is built around Michelangelo's The Dream (Il Sogno), considered one of the greatest of all Renaissance drawings, given to the gallery in 1978.

It shows a naked young man, believed to represent Tommasso de Cavalieri, being woken up by a spirit.

The Michelangelo Dream exhibition also showcases handwritten poems to Cavalieri.

In 1568 Michelangelo's biographer Giorgio Vasari had described these works done for Cavalieri as "drawings the like of which have never been seen".

In a letter to Michelangelo, which has also been given a place in the exhibition, Cavalieri said, "the Pope, the Cardinal de Medici and everyone" had praised the drawings.

According to curator Stephanie Buck, Cavalieri may have been "an adolescent of 17 or under" when Michelangelo fell in love with him.

"It was a deep and serious friendship which was to last until Michelangelo's death in 1564," the BBC quoted her, as saying.

She went on: "The two men met in the winter of 1532 and Michelangelo fell passionately in love with Tommaso de Cavalieri, who was praised for his outstanding beauty, gracious manners and intellect."

When Michelangelo made the drawings for Cavalieri he was "the most famous living artist of his day, at the height of his career, and praised as 'the divine'," Buck said.

She added: "These extremely complex and beautiful works show Michelangelo's power of invention, the immense creativity and mastery in the medium.

"They also show him engaged with concepts of love and beauty."

The exhibition will run until May 16. (ANI)