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Outpoll | Michelangelo's Lost Study: A $2 Million Sketch of a Foot Emerges for Auction

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Michelangelo's Lost Study: A $2 Million Sketch of a Foot Emerges for Auction

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Michelangelo's Lost Study: A $2 Million Sketch of a Foot Emerges for Auction

A rediscovered five-inch drawing of a foot, attributed to Michelangelo, is set for auction with a pre-sale estimate of up to $2 million. The work, emerging from a long-held private European collection, offers a rare glimpse into the Renaissance master's creative process.Executed in red chalk—a medium Michelangelo prized for its ability to render anatomy with warmth and precision—the sketch is a preparatory study. Its powerful articulation of muscle and weight suggests a connection to his major projects, such as the Sistine Chapel or Medici Chapel sculptures.Christie's, presenting the work, has supported the attribution with expert analysis and provenance research, though the inherent mystery of an unsigned Old Master drawing adds to its allure. The market for such historic works remains robust, driven by institutional and private collectors seeking singular artifacts.A sale at this estimate would not only mark a major auction event but also validate the drawing's significance within Michelangelo's known oeuvre. Its survival highlights a Renaissance reality: such studies were utilitarian, often discarded workshop documents. Their preservation allows modern viewers to witness the artist's foundational struggle to extract divine form from mere gesture and line.

#Michelangelo

#drawing

#sketch

#auction

#art market

#featured

#Renaissance art

#discovery

#fine art

#old masters

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Comments

WanderingSoul90d ago

it’s wild how a single sketch can travel through centuries and continents, we see the same reverence for these fragments in collections from tokyo to new york honestly makes you wonder how many more are just tucked away in some private european attic

SketchyArtFan90d ago

been there staring at my own sketches feeling like they’re trash and then you see this foot is worth 2 mil lol the struggle is real but maybe not the same payoff

QuietMuse90d ago

wow just a sketch of a foot for that much money but it’s kinda beautiful to think it was almost thrown away, makes you pause for a sec

OldSchoolArtGuy90d ago

this reminds me of the market back in the early 2000s when a rediscovered sketch would cause a frenzy, fascinating to see the same energy now for a foot study, just shows how these utilitarian pieces hold their mystique