Perfect Head by Michelangelo Buonarroti

Gift drawings can be considered an independent art genre. They differ from ordinary drawings and etudes in more elaboration and completeness. This type of drawing appeared in Italy at the beginning of the 15th century. The earliest extant of this kind of drawings was made in about 1500 by Leonardo da Vinci. In the 1530s, Michelangelo created a series of similar drawings. It includes, in particular, the “Dream of human life”, approx. 1533.

Some of the drawings by Michelangelo gave them away to their young friends – among them we single out the handsome aristocrat Tommaso Cavalieri, whom the artist met in 1532. To dot the i’s, we note that Michelangelo was a homosexual. His gift drawings are made either on mythological plots, or are fabulous portraits – such as, for example, The Ideal Head. Later, Michelangelo embodied in gift drawings and religious subjects.