Drawings by Michelangelo Buonarroti in private collections are rare, and rarer still are their appearances on the auction market. The Old Masters sale orchestrated by Christie's, which included an important drawing by the artist Michelangelo, was therefore bound to cause a stir. And it did not disappoint.
Held on May 18 in Paris, the sale set more than one record: with a hammer price of €23 million, Michelangelo’s drawing A nude young man (after Masaccio) surrounded by two figures became the most expensive work by the Renaissance master. It also achieved the highest price for a work on paper offered on the European continent, and the third highest price for the sale of a drawing by an ‘old master’.
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As well as being one of the very few drawings by Michelangelo still in private hands, the work, executed in pen and brown ink, is probably the earliest nude study by the artist. For the central figure, the artist has represented the trembling man of Masaccio's Baptism of the Neophytes, magnifying his musculature in an exquisitely personal manner.
In 1907, the work was sold at Drouot, also in Paris, as a drawing “by a disciple of Michelangelo”. In 2019, specialist in ancient drawings Furio Rinaldi recognized Michelangelo's authorship and the sketch was classified as a national treasure by France, preventing its export for 30 months. The restrictions having now been lifted, the design was able to be put on the market.
“We are proud to have rediscovered this design and grateful to have taken care of its sale," said Stijn Alstens, International Head of the Old Master Drawings at Christie's. "The exceptional price it fetched today testifies to the enduring admiration for one of the greatest artists of all time and to the strength of the art market, especially for masterpieces of this calibre."
The previous record for a work by Michelangelo was set on July 4, 2000, still at Christie's but in London. On this occasion, his The Risen Christ reached £8.1 million.
