A Crack in His Marbles: Michelangelo Used Male Wrestlers as Models for His Females
Yesterday, I sent the following text to my muse, Georgie. And I am sharing a pic her from our recent session, both text and photo are with her permission.
Georgie Leahy, photo by Michael Newberry, 2026.
Dear Georgie, this morning I reviewed all our references from the day you visited and bounced them off the iconic historical paintings—all of them will work beautifully! The Venus, Liberty, and the two Madonnas and child. I catch myself whispering “wow” the lighting works, your body, torso, and face look like they are carved by a heterosexual Michelangelo. And there are beautifully framed shadows that will be transparent celebrating the nebulas behind them. Instead of Liberty leading the people it will be Liberty leading the stars!
A Substack commenter asked: “Michelangelo was gay?”
I thought he deserved a thorough reply:
There is only circumstantial evidence that Michelangelo was gay, which I will share below, but what I find strange is his using male models for female subjects. I love Michelangelo’s art, but that is plain creepy.
For instance the Erythraean Sibyl on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, sibyls are women, but the anatomy is of a male wrestler.
Michelangelo, Erythraean Sibyl on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, 1482.
Another interesting thing is one of his sculptures that conveys sadomasochistic homoeroticism, The Genius of Victory (1532-33).
Michelangelo, Genius of Victory, 1533. Wikipedia.
Michelangelo’s contemporary, artist and theorist Gian Paolo Lomazzo in his 1584 work, Trattato dell’arte della pittura, scoltura et architettura (Treatise on the Art of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture) wrote: “The Victory, a naked man, is alleged to be Buonarroti’s great love: Tommaso dei Cavalieri. The boy for whom he wrote a love poem and of whom he made drawings.”
The friend and biographer of Michelangelo, Giorgio Vasari in his Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1568) wrote: “Infinitely more than any of the others, he loved Tommaso dei Cavalieri, a Roman gentleman… and truly this young man was the reason for his composing many verses.”
Michelangelo wrote several poems to Tommaso dei Cavalieri. According to James M. Saslow in The Poetry of Michelangelo (Yale University Press), there is a definitive core of 30 poems explicitly addressed to Tommaso dei Cavalieri. Here is one of them, Sonnet 251, that is also dated at the same time as the Victory stature (1533):
“If to be happy, I must be conquered and bound, it is no marvel that I, nude and alone, remain the prisoner of an armed Cavalier (un Cavalier armato). …I am held prisoner by a luminous Cavalier… And if I am to be slain and conquered, it is no wonder, since an armed Cavalier stays my heart.”
My earlier comment about my muse having a body that looked carved from heterosexual Michelangelo, to be clear, was that if Michelangelo had painted/sculpted great female models and showed fidelity to their female forms.
Michael Newberry
Idyllwild, California
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You got a great model there, but I’d be too busy falling in love with her Haha. Anyway onto the Michelangelo sexual preference question…I can identify with his use of only male models for female figures. As a guy that loves women (infatuated with everything about them) I could only still use male models for reference. If I had a live muse I would have to say I’d pick a female, but honestly it would be rough if she was attractive.
Ultimately I think that’s the reason I only reference male photos to draw from. If the distraction part of using a woman, but also in being able to see muscle makeup on male figures is easier than on a woman.
So him using only male figures wouldn’t and shouldn’t cast any questions on his sexuality. I’m guessing there isn’t much known about it bcuz he was just that good if an artist. Even so if he was gay, I don’t think it would have any influence on who he used as models.
Sorry for the long comment, but felt I should comment. Also wanted to say thanks for the great tutorials on perspective, as an artist that still struggles with perspective. I have all the info on it, but it is out of order in my memory and your writing makes it more understandable.
Thanks for your thoughtful comments, notably you wanting to keep a disinterested relationship with the model. An interesting pushback is that your art might be channeling dullness instead of love and passion?