A previously undocumented Michelangelo sketch, hidden for centuries within a family collection, has been authenticated and is now poised to command between $1.5 and $2 million at Christie’s upcoming Old Master Drawings auction in New York. The remarkable red chalk study, created circa 1511-1512, depicts a foot study for the Libyan Sibyl figure that would later adorn the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
The extraordinary discovery began when the current owner, a West Coast-based American who inherited the piece from his grandmother, submitted a photograph to Christie’s for a routine valuation. The artwork had been passed down through generations since the late 1700s without recognition of its true provenance.
Christie’s specialists employed advanced infrared reflectography to examine the sheet, revealing additional drawings on the reverse that displayed characteristics consistent with Michelangelo’s technique. Giada Damen, a specialist in the Old Master Drawings Department, conducted meticulous comparative analysis with authenticated Michelangelo works at the Metropolitan Museum, ultimately confirming the sketch’s authenticity.
Andrew Fletcher, Global Head of Christie’s Old Masters Department, characterized the find as “one of the most memorable moments” of his professional career. The upcoming sale places this Renaissance treasure among other landmark art market achievements, including Leonardo da Vinci’s $450 million Salvator Mundi in 2017 and recent record-breaking sales of works by Gustav Klimt and Frida Kahlo.
The Thursday auction represents not merely a commercial transaction but the culmination of art historical detective work that has restored a lost masterpiece to its proper place in Michelangelo’s celebrated oeuvre.