Paton was a Scottish painter, illustrator and sculptor. Highly successful he specialised in painting detailed compositions illustrating biblical episodes and imaginative stories based on romantic myths and legends. His interest in achieving convincing naturalistic detail was inspired by his friend John Everett Millais, the Pre-Raphaelite painter, whom he met while both were students at the Royal Academy Schools in London. Millais invited Paton to become a member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood but he turned it down. Although not an official member of the Brotherhood his paintings of historical, fairy, allegorical and religious subjects were painted in the Pre-Raphaelite style.
The subject-matter of this painting depicts the Renaissance artist Michelangelo, and reveals how Paton’s interests extended beyond his expertise in Scottish and Celtic folklore. Michelangelo is shown seated in a loggia, enveloped in a red cloak and asleep, behind him extends a detailed Italianate landscape with evening sky and setting sun. The title ‘Michelangelo’s Dream’ alludes to his slumbering state but is also a reference to Michelangelo’s masterpiece ‘The Dream’ (Courtauld Institute, London) a drawing depicting a nude youth being roused by a winged spirit from the vices that surround him. ‘The Dream’ was probably part of the celebrated group of drawings which Michelangelo made as gifts for Tommaso de’ Cavalieri, a young Roman nobleman with whom he had fallen passionately in love.
