Oh, the buff buttocks. And backs, thighs and calves, sigh, with their peaks and valleys of light and shadow. And the sensitive, downturned face of an ancient man in what looks like a wrestler's helmet. Such is the larger-than-life size eye candy of one of the monumental drawings enticing viewers to "Michelangelo and the Vatican" this spring at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

One might question whether these soldiers really would have traipsed around the crucifixion fields naked, but Michelangelo Buonarroti's vision of torqued bodies can knock the breath out of even the most jaded museum visitor. Short of traveling to Rome this spring, the best Italian Renaissance experience may be in Houston. The show's works include two of Michelangelo's "cartoons," as the monumental transfers are called, and a wooden architectural model for the vault of the King's Chapel in Saint Peter's Basilica. All are on loan from the Farnese Collection at the Museo e Real Bosco di Capodimonte, Naples.