2Fr Cleopatra

The Cleopatra was executed for Tommaso de’ Cavalieri, the young Roman who was the recipient of the largest number and most extraordinary of the presentation drawings (drawings made by the artist not for the purposes of design or study, but as gifts). In 1562, when Michelangelo was still alive, Cavalieri was obliged to present the work to the duke Cosimo I dei Medici; in 1614, however, Cosimo II had the Cleopatra sent to Casa Buonarroti.