Miniature Michelangelo Sketch Sells For Recording-Breaking £27m

A newly discovered Michelangelo sketch has sold at Christie’s, New York for $27.2 million (with fees), smashing both its $2m estimate and the artist’s auction record.

The miniature work, which has never previously appeared on the market, was identified last year as a study for the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. It was discovered by Christie’s after a member of the public sent in an image of the work, requesting a valuation.

Andrew Fletcher, global head of Christie’s Old Masters Department, said in a statement: ‘In the 23 plus years I have been in the industry I have been privileged to see many wonderful Old Masters moments but today topped them all.

‘This was an exceptional piece with a wonderful story. We had multiple bidders in the room, on the phone, and online because this was likely to be the only chance a collector might have to acquire a study for arguably the greatest work of art every made.’ 

The drawing is a study for the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl, which is part of the decoration of Rome’s Sistine Chapel. It can be dated around 1511-12, when Michelangelo was preparing to work on the second half of his painting.

Measuring just five inches, the work is part of a small group of studies executed by Michelangelo in a distinctive red chalk, all characterised by careful attention to anatomical detail.

Its sale price is ten times Christie’s estimate and beats the artist’s previous auction record by more than $2 million. The record was set in 2022 by nude man (after Masaccio) and two figures behind him, which was sold by Christie’s in Paris for $24.3 million (with fees).

The anonymous seller, who is based on the US West Coast, told Christie’s he had inherited the drawing from his grandmother. The man said it had been passed down through the family in Europe since the late 1700s.

The work was first seen at the auction house by Giada Damen, a specialist in the Old Master Drawings Department. After six months of research, she eventually placed the work next to a Michelangelo drawing at the Metropolitan Museum.

‘I was so excited,’ she said. ‘It was clear that the two studies were by the same hand, done in the same moment.’ —[O]

Main image: Main image: Michelangelo Buonaratti, Red-chalk study for foot of the Libyan Sibyl. Courtesy of Christie’s.