Aeneas with a Boy (recto)
by MICHELANGELO Buonarroti, Black chalk, 137 x 180 mm
Michelangelo made preparatory drawings for a painting depicting Aeneas taking off his clothes to lie with Dido when he is surprised by Mercury. He provided them to his friend, Daniele da Volterra, who elaborated the details or developed them further independently. The painting is lost but the composition is known from a copy.
On the recto of the present sheet Michelangelo depicts Aeneas and the boy who helps him taking off his clothes. On the verso the main motif is a study of a prophet or evangelist. On both sides of the sheet the artist drew various architectural studies.