Rare Michelangelo Drawing Discovered and Up for Auction at Christie’s

Michelangelo would make these little “diagrams” to indicate the type of block of marble he needed for his work.

France Télévisions – Culture Editorial

Published on 01/26/2024 10:56

Reading time: 1 min A drawing, at the top, attributed to Michelangelo, genius of the Italian Renaissance, is presented with a letter written by Cosimo Buonarroti, the last direct descendant of Michelangelo, at Christie’s in New York, on January 25, 2024. (ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

It is a simple square scribbled on a small piece of yellowed paper, but by the hand of the Renaissance genius Michelangelo, according to the auction house Christie’s which will put this drawing up for sale for an estimated value of less than $10,000. , in April in New York.

The company’s experts were examining a drawing by another artist of the time, for an upcoming sale, when they claim to have seen, stuck to the back of the frame, “this little piece of paper with a drawing and a letter” handwritten, explains Stijn Alsteens, international head of the Old Master drawings department at Christie’s, to AFP.

A small square so far without interest

In period calligraphy, Cosimo Buonarroti, last direct descendant of Michelangelo, indicates in the letter, on the date of November 3, 1836, that he offers “the attached essay” of are “illustrious ancestor Michelangelo” to one of his friends, the British Sir John Bowring, future governor of Hong Kong, whose signature appears at the bottom of the sheet. The whole thing had already been sold by Christie’s in London in 1986, and the catalog already indicated the presence of the small square, “probably by the hand of Michelangelo”without visibly arousing any interest.

Painter, sculptor and architect, Michelangelo (1475-1564) is the author of numerous masterpieces, including the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo executed these small “diagrams” to indicate the type of marble block he needed for his work, emphasizes Stijn Alsteens. Without the artist’s signature, Christie’s nevertheless affirms that it is “Michelangelo 100%”. The drawing of the marble block is on display from Friday January 26 at Christie’s headquarters in New York, as part of its Old Masters sales, which begin next week.

2024-01-26 09:56:53
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