drawing

After: Michelangelo

1533-1600

paper; drawn

British Museum

Cleopatra, after Michelangelo Black chalk Wilde 91 is a contemporary copy of Michelangelo`s drawn depiction of `Cleopatra` in the Casa Buonarroti (Corpus 327) in Florence. It attests to the fame of the original which, as Vasari records, was given in the early 1530s by the artist to his young friend of Roman patrician family, Tommaso de`Cavalieri (c. 1519/20-87). The `Cleopatra` stands out amongst the… drawings given to Cavalieri, such as the `Fall of Phaeton` in the BM (1895-0915-517 / Wilde 55), in its iconic presentation, suggesting that it was among the first drawings which Michelangelo gifted to Cavalieri. It shares with the `Co