A small drawing on the back of a frame, accompanied by a letter from Michelangelo’s last direct descendant, was originally estimated to be worth between $6,000 and $8,000. However, New York’s Christie’s announced that the piece sold for “33.6 times the lowest estimate,” without disclosing any details about the buyer.
The drawing shows a marble block with the word “comparison” in English, believed to have been drawn while Michelangelo was working on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The order also includes a letter written by Cosimo Buonarroti in 1836, offering a work by his “illustrious ancestor Michelangelo” to Sir John Bowring, later Governor of Hong Kong. Christie’s experts found the completed letter and diagram on the back of another drawing that had been in a private collection for decades. Although not signed by Michelangelo, research has confirmed that the small drawing is the work of the great Italian artist.
According to Christie’s, fewer than 10 of Michelangelo’s works are thought to be in private ownership, with the majority at the Casa Buonarotti museum in Florence. The auction house did not reveal further details about the buyer of the work, but its significance adds to its value and historical importance.