Michelangelo

The Lost Pieta: Has A Michelangelo Masterpiece Been Discovered In New York?

Filed under: Art, Books

Could a lost Michelangelo painting have been hanging in a New York home for decades? A new book by Italian art historian Antonio Forcellino, "La Pieta Perduta" (The Lost Pieta) asserts that an unfinished painting of the Virgin Mary and Christ is the work of the Renaissance master and could be worth millions. Forcellino says the piece is definitely by Michelangelo and that X-rays done on the piece show the changes that the artist made as he went along. The owner hasn't sought publicity. He told the Sunday Times in London that he grew up with the pairing and that it was passed down from his great-grandfather. After he inherited the painting he started doing more research in the heirloom that he had always been told might be a Michelangelo. He eventually made contact with Forcellino who came to New York to authenticate the painting. Forcellino believes the painting was created by Michelangelo in 1545. His research has led him to find that the painting eventually was owned by a baron in Croatia and then a German baroness, who passed it to her lady-in-waiting, Gertrude Young. When Young died, the painting remained with her brother-in-law -- Martin's great-grandfather. The painting will be restored and will go on display it Italy next year but the owner hasn't said whether or not he will sell it.

[via Art Fix Daily]

Tags: art, lost masterpieces, michelangelo, pieta perduta, the lost pieta

Raphael, Rembrandt and More At Christie's Old Masters Sale

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

It's still possible to set a record in this art market; it just takes an amazing lot from a far-off period in time. On December 8, 2009, a drawing by Italian renaissance artist Raphael will go under the gavel. The piece is expected to pull in a world record $19.7 million. The 12-inch drawing (in black chalk) will be auctioned by Christie's at its Old Masters auction. It was a study used for a muse in Raphael's fresco of Parnassus, which is in the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican. This is the highest quality piece by Raphael to come to auction since the 1980s.

Christie's is selling the Raphael drawing on behalf of an anonymous private collector, though it's been owned in the past by Sir Thomas Lawrence and King William II of Holland. It hasn't shown up at auction in more than 150 years. The history associated with this piece, as well as the piece itself, are what make it a threat to the record of 8.1 million pounds paid for the drawings "The Risen Christ" (Michelangelo) and Leonardo da Vinci's "Horse and Rider." They sold in July 2000 and July 2001, respectively.

The drawing was completed between 1508 and 1511 at the request of Pope Julius the II. The artist died in 1520 at the age of 37.

The sale will feature other major works including a masterpiece by Rembrandt, shown at right. Unseen in public for almost 40 years and offered at auction for the first time since 1930, Portrait of a man, half-length, with his arms akimbo, 1658, is offered from a distinguished private collection and is expected to bring in £18 million to £25 million. One of the most significant Old Masters to be offered in recent years. Saint John the Evangelist by Domenico Zampieri, called Il Domenichino (1581-1641), will be presented for sale for the first time in over 100 years. It is expected to sell for £7 million to £10 million.

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Tags: art, art auction, art auctions, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, artist, ArtMarket, artwork, auction, auction-house, auctionhouse, auctions, christies, leonardo da vinci, LeonardoDaVinci, michelangelo, raphael, vatican, vaticancity

Art Museum Picks Up Michelangelo's First Painting

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

At 12 or 13 years old most of us were in basic art classes but Michelangelo was already making masterpieces. The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas has acquired the earliest known Michelangelo painting, "The Torment of Saint Anthony." The museum will be the only U.S. museum to have a Michelangelo painting on display.

The 15th-century oil and tempera painting on a wood panel is one of just four of these types of paintings because most of Michelangelo's paintings. The painting has been kept out of the limelight for years due to questions over its authenticity. It was in a private collection for years but last summer an art dealer bought it for nearly $2 million at a Sotheby's auction and then took it to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, where experts in the Met's paintings conservation department cleaned it. When the painting was examined using X-rays and infrared technology, the Met's experts decided that it was done by Michelangelo and represented his earliest work. The painting will be displayed at the Kimbell starting this fall after a summer exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

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Tags: art, kimbell art museum, KimbellArtMuseum, maserpiece, michelangelo, museum

Michelangelo Book Features Marble Cover

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Books

I've covered many expensive books over the years but there aren't too many like "Michelangelo: La Dotta Mano" the new book by Italian publisher FMR. The book measures 18 by 28 inches and weighs a backbreaking 61 pounds. Why so heavy? The cover is a marble carving of a replica of the Madonna della Scala encased in a velvet binding. Inside there are reproductions of drawings by Michelangelo, photographs by Italian photographer Aurelio Amendola and writings on Michelangelo spanning centuries of scholarship. The book commemorates the 500th anniversary of the start of Michelangelo's work on the Sistine chapel. You can see the book at the New York Public Library's Bill Blass Public Catalog Room from Dec. 2-8. Or, if you have the money and sturdy shelves you can pick up one of your own from the limited edition of 99 for $130,000.

[via LA Times Jacket Copy]

Gallery: The Pricey Tomes

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Tags: book, marble, michelangelo

Michelangelo Drawing Fails To Sell

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

A few days ago we mentioned that a drawing of a torso by Michelangelo might fetch $4 million at auction. Alas, no one was willing to pay quite that much for the drawing which hit the block Tuesday at Christie's. Newsday reports that auction stalled out at $3.2 million. Impressive, but not enough to meet the confidential reserve price and so the sketch wasn't sold. The entire auction brought in $2,409,740 with the highest price, $318,400 for a Rembrandt watercolor.

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Tags: art, auction results, christie's, drawing, michelangelo

Old Master Drawings Auction May Bring In Record Prices

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions

This month's Artnews focused on the increasing market for drawings. What was once just an entry point for younger or less wealthy collectors has become something much larger. This point is well-illustrated by the prices for drawings in the latest Old Master Drawings auction to be held on Tuesday at Christie's New York. The drawing shown here a male torso that is one of the Michelangelo drawings in private ownership may bring in well over $3 million. Drawings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Watteau are also up for bid.

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Tags: art, art market, auctions, drawings, michelangelo, rembrandt