"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."
"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."
"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."
A rare red-chalk study by Michelangelo depicting the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl sold at Christie's New York for US $27.2 million, setting a new auction record and far exceeding its estimate. The sheet was identified as a previously unrecorded preparatory drawing connected to the Sistine Chapel ceiling and described as the only unrecorded Sistine study to come to auction. Approximately 600 drawings by Michelangelo survive, with about 50 studies linked to the Sistine ceiling and only around 10 drawings believed to be in private hands. The winning bid was placed by Christie's Global Head of Old Masters on behalf of a client.
Read at Medievalists.net
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