A previously unknown sketch of a foot by the Italian artist Michelangelo has been sold for a record amount of 27.2 million dollars (23 million euros). That reports Christie’s auction house. According to experts from the auction house, it is a sketch of the foot of the Libyan Sibyl, which was later painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Auction house Christie’s reported that after a 45-minute bidding war, the drawing fetched almost twenty times the minimum amount the auction house had expected in advance. The identity of the buyer has not been disclosed.
According to Christie’s, only about ten drawings by Michelangelo are in private hands. The previous record for a work by Michelangelo was $24.3 million for a sketch of a naked man with two other figures in the background, sold at Christie’s in Paris.
Owner
According to the auction house, the unsuspecting owner had merely submitted a photo for an appraisal, only to discover the true value of the sketch. The anonymous owner, who lives on the west coast of the United States, told Christie’s that he inherited the drawing from his grandmother. The man said the work had been passed down within the family in Europe since the late 18th century.
Andrew Fletcher, global head of Old Masters at Christie’s, described the discovery as “one of the most memorable moments” of his career.
Infra-red
The small sketch in red chalk probably dates from about 1511–1512, when Michelangelo was preparing for the second half of his painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which also features the Libyan Sibyl.
A specialist from Christie’s Old Master Drawings department, Giada Damen, used infrared reflectography, revealing drawings on the back of the sheet that also resembled works by Michelangelo. Damen then placed the foot sketch next to a drawing by Michelangelo in the Metropolitan Museum in New York and concluded that the sketch was an original.
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