Feature: THE BIG PICTURE - Michelangelo’s Dream at The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House

Published: 11 March 2010

‘Drawings the like of which have never been seen...’ – Giorgio Vasari, 1568   

Michelangelo’s masterpiece The Dream (Il Sogno) has been described as one of the finest of all Renaissance drawings.  

Executed about 1533 when Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was at his height, it exemplifies his unrivalled skill as a draughtsman and his extraordinary power of invention. 

Michelangelo’s Dream examines this celebrated work in the context of an exceptional group of related drawings, as well as original letters and poems by the artist and works by his contemporaries.  

The Dream is one of the “presentation drawings”, magnificent and highly refined compositions, which the artist gave to his closest friends. 

It was most likely made for a young Roman nobleman Tommaso de’ Cavalieri. Michelangelo met him in Rome in 1532 and had instantly fell in love. 

This group forms the heart of the exhibition and includes The Punishment of Tityus, The Fall of Phaeton, and A Bacchanal of Children from the Royal Collection.  

In his Life of Michelangelo (1568), Vasari praised these exceptional works as “drawings the like of which have never been seen” – and they are regarded as among the greatest single series of drawings ever made. 

Michelangelo’s drawings for Cavalieri have not been seen together for more than 20 years and this is the first time that The Dream has been shown as part of this group.  

Further highlights of the exhibition are a superb group of drawings by Michelangelo of Christ’s resurrection and an examination of how contemporaries addressed themes of rebirth, dreaming and the nature of man. 

• Michelangelo’s Dream is at The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, WC2, until May 16 Daily 10 am to 6pm. Michelangelo Lates: Thursdays March 25 and April 29, open until 9pm with guided exhibition tours. £5, concessions available. Free admission: Mondays 10am to 2pm, except public holidays. Free at all times for under 18s, full-time UK students and unwaged