Hindu images in the style of Michelangelo
There is a striking difference between Hindu religious paintings and sculptures and Renaissance art in how mythological images are portrayed.
Someone, somewhere on the US West Coast, casually uploaded a photo of an old sketch to Christie’s online portal, just hoping to get an auction estimate. What came back was not a polite range or a modest valuation. It was a bombshell. The small, dusty-looking foot drawing sitting quietly in a family collection turned out to be a long-lost work by Michelangelo himself, and it has now sold for a staggering $23 million (£16.9 million), smashing expectations and setting the art world buzzing.
From grandma’s drawing to global headline
The anonymous owner told Christie’s that the sketch had been inherited from his grandmother. It had quietly stayed in the family for generations passing through Europe since the late 1700s before eventually landing in the United States.
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No museum labels. No dramatic backstory. Just a drawing that lived its life unnoticed.
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Until now.
What the owner thought was just an old family artwork turned out to be a rare study by one of history’s greatest artists. And not just any study, this one is linked to Michelangelo’s legendary Sistine Chapel ceiling.
A foot that changed everything
Experts at Christie’s identified the work as a red chalk sketch of a foot belonging to the Libyan Sibyl, one of the powerful figures painted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The drawing is believed to date back to 1511-1512, when Michelangelo was preparing the second half of the massive ceiling project.
The sketch focuses on the right foot of the Sibyl, capturing the strength and tension Michelangelo was famous for. Small in size but huge in importance, it offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how the Renaissance master built his iconic figures.
Science steps in
Before the art world could celebrate, proof was needed.
Giada Damen, a specialist in Christie’s Old Master Drawings Department, led the investigation. Using infrared reflectography, she examined the sheet and found additional drawings on the back that also matched Michelangelo’s style.
To be sure, Damen compared the sketch directly with a confirmed Michelangelo drawing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The match was convincing. The verdict was clear: this was the real thing.
Career-defining moment
For Andrew Fletcher, Christie’s Global Head of Old Masters, the discovery was unforgettable.
He called it “one of the most memorable moments” of his 23-year career. Fletcher later placed the winning bid on behalf of his client, describing the drawing as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
According to him, collectors knew this was likely the only chance they would ever get to own a study connected to what many consider the greatest artwork ever made.
When the drawing finally went under the hammer at Christie’s Rockefeller Center, things got intense. Bidding lasted for around 45 minutes, with competitors battling it out in the room, over the phone, and online.
The final price soared to more than 10 times the original estimate, setting a new auction record for a Michelangelo drawing. The previous record stood at $24.3 million, achieved in Paris in 2022.
This particular sketch is even more special because it is the only unrecorded study for the Sistine Chapel ceiling ever to appear at auction.
Why this drawing is so rare
Out of the roughly 600 Michelangelo drawings known to survive today, only about 50 relate to the Sistine Chapel. Even more astonishing, only around 10 Michelangelo drawings are believed to remain in private hands.
That rarity explains why collectors didn’t hold back.
The drawing was included in Christie’s Old Master and British Drawings sale, alongside works by Rembrandt, Titian, and William Blake. The event followed Christie’s strongest Old Master Paintings sale in New York in a decade, which totaled over $54 million.
That sale also saw records tumble, including $5.7 million for Artemisia Gentileschi’s ‘Self Portrait as Saint Catherine’. It brought $30.54 million for Canaletto’s famous Venice masterpiece.
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