A rare red-chalk drawing by Michelangelo has sold for US $27.2 million at Christie’s in New York, setting a new auction record for the Renaissance artist after around 45 minutes of intense bidding. The price far exceeded its estimate and surpassed Michelangelo’s previous auction high of $24.3 million.
Christie’s identified the sheet as a previously unrecorded study connected to the Sistine Chapel ceiling—specifically, a preparatory drawing for the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl, one of the monumental seated figures painted along the ceiling’s edges. The auction house said it was the only unrecorded study for the Sistine ceiling ever to come to auction, and one of only about 10 Michelangelo drawings believed to be in private hands.
A rare survival from Michelangelo’s working life
Photo courtesy Christie’s
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) was one of the defining figures of the Italian Renaissance—celebrated as a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. He is best known for masterpieces such as the Pietà, David, and the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Vatican City, commissioned by Pope Julius II and completed in the early 1510s.
Only a fraction of Michelangelo’s drawings survive today—Christie’s puts the number at roughly 600 sheets, compared with the thousands he must have produced across a long career. Of these, the auction house notes that this drawing is among only around 50 studies connected to the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which makes any newly surfaced related sheet an exceptional find.
A record-setting auction in New York
Michelangelo’s rendering of the Libyan Sibyl on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Christie’s specialist Giada Damen identified the drawing as an original Michelangelo, describing it as a red-chalk study made in preparation for this figure – Wikimedia Commons
The drawing was offered in Christie’s Old Master and British Drawings sale at Rockefeller Center, part of a wider set of Old Master auctions held in New York this week.
“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,” said Andrew Fletcher, Christie’s Global Head of Old Masters, who placed the winning bid on behalf of his client. “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. I’m so proud of my team for recognizing this work for what it is, and for bringing it to this point.”
Christie’s noted that the drawings sale featured works by artists including Rembrandt, Titian, and William Blake, and followed what the auction house described as its strongest Old Master Paintings sale in New York in a decade, totalling more than $54 million.
A rare red-chalk drawing by Michelangelo has sold for US $27.2 million at Christie’s in New York, setting a new auction record for the Renaissance artist after around 45 minutes of intense bidding. The price far exceeded its estimate and surpassed Michelangelo’s previous auction high of $24.3 million.
Christie’s identified the sheet as a previously unrecorded study connected to the Sistine Chapel ceiling—specifically, a preparatory drawing for the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl, one of the monumental seated figures painted along the ceiling’s edges. The auction house said it was the only unrecorded study for the Sistine ceiling ever to come to auction, and one of only about 10 Michelangelo drawings believed to be in private hands.
A rare survival from Michelangelo’s working life
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) was one of the defining figures of the Italian Renaissance—celebrated as a sculptor, painter, architect, and poet. He is best known for masterpieces such as the Pietà, David, and the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Vatican City, commissioned by Pope Julius II and completed in the early 1510s.
Only a fraction of Michelangelo’s drawings survive today—Christie’s puts the number at roughly 600 sheets, compared with the thousands he must have produced across a long career. Of these, the auction house notes that this drawing is among only around 50 studies connected to the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which makes any newly surfaced related sheet an exceptional find.
A record-setting auction in New York
The drawing was offered in Christie’s Old Master and British Drawings sale at Rockefeller Center, part of a wider set of Old Master auctions held in New York this week.
“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,” said Andrew Fletcher, Christie’s Global Head of Old Masters, who placed the winning bid on behalf of his client. “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. I’m so proud of my team for recognizing this work for what it is, and for bringing it to this point.”
Christie’s noted that the drawings sale featured works by artists including Rembrandt, Titian, and William Blake, and followed what the auction house described as its strongest Old Master Paintings sale in New York in a decade, totalling more than $54 million.
Subscribe to Medievalverse
Related Posts