An exhibition at London's Courtauld Gallery is exhibiting some the finest Italian Renaissance drawings. The focal point of the exhibition will be Michelangelo's (1475-1564) The Dream of Human Life (Il Sogno or The Dream), one of the Courtauld’s greatest treasures. The drawing will be displayed with a group of Michelangelo’s poems, letters and drawings, as well as works by his contemporaries.
The Dream of Human Life
This drawing, which demonstrates Michelangelo Buonarroti’s unique skills as a draughtsman, was executed in approximately 1533 when the artist was at the height of his career.
In The Dream a nude young man is woken by an winged spirit blowing a trumpet. The youth rests on a globe supported by an open crate containing disembodied heads. He is surrounded by figures in varying poses, usually interpreted as representing man’s vices, including avarice, lust and greed.
Although the piece became famous shortly after its completion it has never been fully understood. The show explores the meaning of this black chalk drawing through related works such as The Risen Christ (c.1532) by Michelangelo, Six Nude Figures (1515) by Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), and Allegory of a Dream (c.1541-45) by Giorgio Varsari (1511-1574).
The Dream is probably part of a group of outstanding pieces created by Michelangelo for his close friend, Tommaso de’ Cavalieri, a young Roman nobleman, with whom Michelangelo enjoyed a thirty-year friendship. Their friendship was recorded in great detail by Michelangelo in his letters and poems.
The other drawings in the group include The Punishment of Tityus (1532), The Fall of Phaeton (1533), A Bacchanal of Children (c.1533) and The Rape of Ganymede (1533). The Fall of Phaeton is displayed with two earlier versions showing how these works were created.
Related Event: Looking at Michelangelo
A related exhibition, Looking at Michelangelo,will show selected items from the Courtauld's own collections. The display will investigate how artists, such as Jacopo Pontormo and Tintoretto, were inflenced by Michelangelo. Additional drawings dating from Michelangelo's early period in Florence, to his final years in Rome, will also be displayed.
Michelangelo's Dream – Exhibition Catalogue
To coincide with the exhibition, the Courtauld Gallery, in association with Paul Holberton Publishing, will release a fully illustrated 200-page catalogue. The publication, featuring 125 colour illustrations, is edited by the exhibition’s curator Stephanie Buck, with supporting contributions by Stephanie Buck, Michael Bury, Caroline Campbell, Joanna Milk, Carol Plazzotta, Françoise Viatte and Matthias Vollmer.
Michelangelo's Dream and Looking at Michelangelo will be on view from 18th February to 16th April 2010. There will be a varied programme of public events and further information about the exhibitions, the catalogue, and all special events, can be obtained from The Courtauld Gallery
Frances Spiegel - Frances Spiegel, B.A. Hons. (Open)., Dip.Eur.Hum., read Art History/European Modern History at the Open University.
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