BEIJING, April 6 (Xinhua) -- A rare drawing by Italian art magnate Michelangelo is scheduled to be auctioned in the French capital, Paris, on May 18 for an estimated price of 30 million euros (about 200 million yuan).
A visitor sees Michelangelo's work Roman Soldier at the Michelangelo Art Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA, on November 13, 2017. Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Wang Ying
Christie's auction house issued a statement on the 5th, saying that this sketch is an early work of Michelangelo and can be completed back to the end of the 15th century. Sold in Paris in 1907 as one of Michelangelo's school of paintings, the painting was long forgotten until 2019, when it was identified by Christie's auction house as a personal creation by Michelangelo himself and is currently in the collection of a French collector.
Christie's auction house expert Stein Altimes said the painting is one of fewer than 10 works of Michelangelo paper from private collections.
The main body of the painting is a nude man, and the figure is copied from a mural by another Italian master, Masaccio. Michelangelo highlights the muscles of the characters on the basis of copying, making the characters appear more robust, reflecting his signature style of portraying the human body. Michelangelo painted another figure on each side of the man as a foil.
Visitors view two of Michelangelo's sculptures at the Michelangelo Art Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA, on November 13, 2017. Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Wang Ying
Altimens told Reuters that the painting reflects Michelangelo's desire to create works with his own style while learning from his predecessors.
Christie's auction house said the painting had previously been designated a "national treasure" by the French government and was banned from leaving the country until recently, when it was removed from the national treasure list, allowing collectors around the world to buy it.
Source: Xinhua News Agency