A previously unknown drawing by Michelangelo was sold at Christie’s auction for $27.2 million, setting a new record for the master’s works.
According to Christie’s press release, the small sketch, depicting a foot, was done in red chalk and dates from 1511-1512. The drawing was estimated to be worth $1.5-2 million before the auction.
The owner of the drawing sent a photograph for a preliminary appraisal, unaware that the work belonged to Michelangelo. An auction house expert identified it as a sketch of the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl, one of the key figures depicted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican.
It is noted that the drawing is the only previously unregistered sketch for the Sistine Chapel frescoes ever to be offered at auction. Art historians are aware of about 10 drawings by Michelangelo, all of which are in private collections.
The lot was part of Christie’s auction dedicated to drawings by “old masters” and British painting, which also included works by Rembrandt, Titian, and William Blake.
Auction house Christie’s summed up the results of the year and said that he was able to achieve the best annual turnover in its entire 256-year history – $ 8.4 billion. It is 17% higher than last year’s result and more than its main competitor – home Sotheby’s, which also showed a record sales of $ 8 billion.
Auctions brought Christie’s $7.2 billion, another $1.2 billion was earned on private sales. The auction house, headed by CEO Guillaume Cerrutti, was able to achieve these outstanding results, despite the difficult macroeconomic situation in the world caused by rising inflation and instability on the world political stage.
Cerutti referred to the “stability of the art and luxury markets, the extraordinary success of some of the major collections, including the unforgettable sale of Paul Allen, and the expertise and hard work of the entire auction house team. Allen was one of the co-founders of Microsoft on a par with Bill Gates. In 2009, he signed a “Giving Pledge,” according to which most of his fortune would go to charities upon his death. Allen passed away in 2018, and his art collection, which included masterpieces from Botticelli to Van Gogh, sold for a record $1.7 billion in 2022.
Among the best deals of the year was the record sale of the Shot Sage Blue Marilyn portrait of Marilyn Monroe by American pop art classic Andy Warhol. It went under the hammer for $195 million and set a record as the most expensive work of any artist sold at auction.
The number of buyers from North and South America increased this year at Christie’s auction, while Asian collectors bought less frequently.
Nevertheless, according to French billionaire François Pinault, whose holding company Artemis owns the Christie’s house, Asian buyers played a “decisive role” in the overall success of record sales of the Allen collection.
