Michelangelo Sistine Chapel ceiling study confirmed
Rare sketch hits the market, sparks fierce bidding competition
A sketch of a foot that has been confirmed as a study by Michelangelo, a master representing the Renaissance, was sold at auction for 27.2 million dollars (about 3.99 billion won).
On the 6th (local time), major foreign media including CNN in the United States reported that at a Christie’s auction held in New York on the 5th, this drawing was sold for 27.2 million dollars, about 20 times the low estimate. This set a new record for the highest price ever paid for a work by Michelangelo. The previous record was held by a drawing titled "A nude man and two figures behind him," which was sold for 24.3 million dollars (about 3.56 billion won) at a Christie’s auction in Paris, France, in 2022.
This foot sketch, drawn in red chalk, is one of 50 studies Michelangelo created for his masterpiece, the ceiling frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. On the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the "Libyan Sibyl" is depicted twisting her body as she moves to place a book behind her, and a close look at this figure reveals a foot identical in form to the one in the study. The drawing portrays a foot with the heel slightly lifted off the ground, casting a shadowed outline beneath it. The sketch measures about 12.7 centimeters on each side, making it a small work, just slightly larger than the palm of a hand.
Christie’s, at the request of the sketch’s owner, authenticated the work as an original by Michelangelo. It is said that the piece has been passed down within a European family since the late 1700s. The current owner inherited it from their grandmother and had carefully kept it at home. However, the identity of the winning bidder at the auction has not been made public.
Christie’s explained that most of Michelangelo’s sketches have been lost. Some were reportedly burned by Michelangelo himself after completing the ceiling frescoes to prevent his techniques from being copied, while others were destroyed by early collectors or simply damaged in the course of work. In particular, only two sketches related to the "Libyan Sibyl" are known to survive: one in the Ashmolean Museum in the United Kingdom and another in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This scarcity is believed to have intensified the bidding competition at the auction.
Andrew Fletcher, Christie’s Global Head of Department for Old Master Drawings, said, "Because this was the only opportunity to own a study for the ceiling frescoes, which are regarded as the greatest work of art in human history, a large number of bidders took part in person, by phone, and online."
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