Michelangelo Drawing of a Foot Could Fetch $2M at Auction

Michelangelo’s Rare Drawing of a Foot to be Auctioned for $2 Million

A recently discovered five-inch sketch by Michelangelo, dating back 500 years, is set to go up for auction at Christie’s.

Christie’s has announced the upcoming auction of a rare Michelangelo drawing that could fetch $2 million. The drawing, depicting a right foot used in a study for a portion of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling mural, dates back to 1511-1512.

The red-chalk-on-paper sketch, titled “The Libyan Sibyl on the Sistine Chapel ceiling,” has been in the possession of a Northern California collector for generations, with the family owning it since the 1700s. The discovery of this artwork was a surprise to scholars, as it was previously unknown until it was authenticated earlier this year by Christie’s Old Master Drawings department specialist, Giada Damen.

Michelangelo, known for his intricate frescoes in the Vatican City, used red chalk for his drawings of live models, with the Sibyl foot figure being one of his rare red chalk works. Only a handful of these drawings are known to exist, with most held in institutional collections.

Andrew Fletcher, the global head of Christie’s Old Master Drawings department, expressed excitement about the discovery, stating, “The discovery of a study relating to the Sistine Chapel, a work of art that is arguably the keystone of the Italian Renaissance, has been one of the most memorable moments of my career.”