Gherardo Perini

Gherardo Perini was a model for Michelangelo and came to work for him around 1520.

When Perini failed to show up to his studio, Michelangelo was distraught and stated "I beg you not to make me draw this evening since Perino's not here." On that same page, he drew a naked putto urinating into a vase.

Scholar Robert Clements believes that their affair was homosexual and points to the verse written to Perini, "I had always thought I could come to term with love, Now I suffer, and you see how I burn."