A five-inch-tall red chalk drawing of a foot, attributed to Michelangelo (1475–1564), is set to be auctioned at Christie’s New York in February with an estimate of $1.5–2 million. The work was discovered when Giada Damen, a specialist in Old Master drawings at Christie’s, flagged it from a public online submission; after extensive provenance research, technical analysis, and comparison with known sketches, Christie’s has declared it a preparatory study for the Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508–1512). If authenticated, it would be one of only two such Michelangelo drawings remaining in private hands.
This matters because the drawing is exceptionally rare—Michelangelo made thousands of preparatory sketches for the Sistine Chapel, but very few survive, and most are held in museum collections. The sale could set a significant benchmark for Old Master drawings at auction, and the discovery highlights the ongoing challenge of authenticating Renaissance works, which are often unsigned and frequently forged. The piece also offers a tangible link to one of the most celebrated artistic achievements in Western art history.