It is a simple square scribbled on a small piece of yellowed paper, but by the hand of the Renaissance genius Michelangelo according to the auction house Christie's, which will put this drawing up for sale for an estimated value of under $10,000. in April in New York.
The company's experts were examining a drawing by another artist of the time, for an upcoming sale, when they say they saw, stuck to the back of the frame,
"this little piece of paper with a drawing and a handwritten letter
,” explains Stijn Alsteens, international head of the Old Master drawings department at Christie’s, to AFP.
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In period calligraphy, Cosimo Buonarroti, last direct descendant of Michelangelo, indicates in the letter, dated November 3, 1836, that he offers
“the attached essay”
by his
“illustrious ancestor Michelangelo”
to one of his friends, the Briton Sir John Bowring, future governor of Hong Kong, whose signature appears at the bottom of the sheet.
Everything had already been sold by Christie's in London in 1986, and the catalog already indicated the presence of the small square,
"probably by the hand of Michelangelo"
, without visibly arousing interest.
Painter, sculptor and architect, Michelangelo (1475-1564) is the author of numerous masterpieces, including the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Michelangelo made these little
“diagrams”
to indicate the type of marble block he needed for his work, Mr. Alsteens points out.
Without the artist's signature, Christie's nevertheless affirms that it is
“100% Michelangelo”
.
The drawing of the marble block is on display from Friday at Christie's headquarters in New York, as part of its Old Masters sales, which begin next week.