Talking point

Michelangelo’s Dream
Courtauld, until 16 May

This is one of the series of exhibitions built around a single masterpiece from the Courtauld’s collection — in this case Michelangelo’s remarkable presentation drawing ‘The Dream’ — placed in an informative context of closely related loans. The Courtauld does it superbly: quietly stated, rigorously researched, laid out with clarity and authority. It is accompanied by a hefty but handsome catalogue (published by Paul Holberton, £30 in paperback), packed with scholarly exegesis, with particularly useful notes on individual exhibits. The show consists of a group of Michelangelo drawings, original letters and poems by the artist, and certain works by his contemporaries.

Most popular

Samuel Gregg

The welcome fall of Klaus Schwab

I’m not entirely happy about the inclusion of autograph manuscripts in exhibitions of drawings and paintings. We can see it in two shows concurrently in London: van Gogh at the Academy and this one. Visitors are drawn to letters like iron filings to a magnet. Even if they can’t read the language of the cursive script, there will be a translation to hand, and they pore over such documents as if the written page will relinquish more secrets than a painting or drawing will ever be able to do. It just goes to show, once again, that the British are more at ease with the written word than the visual image, but this urge to limit themselves should not be encouraged — at least not in exhibitions of art. This kind of documentation should be kept for displays in libraries or reserved for illustration in the catalogue. Otherwise, I fear it distracts too much from the pictures.

The presentation drawings were highly finished objects made as artworks in their own right to be presented to someone special. Although we cannot be sure, ‘The Dream’ seems to have been given to the beautiful young Roman nobleman Tommaso de’ Cavalieri, with whom Michelangelo fell in love.