New World Record

Michelangelo, drawing of the Libyan Sibyl in the Sistine Chapel sold for $27.2 million

This is a preparatory study for the monumental figure of the Libyan Sibyl, located in the eastern part of the vault

by N.Co.

6 February 2026

Record d’asta: disegno di Michelangelo venduto per 27,2 milioni di dollari

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Preparatory study for the figure of the Libyan Sibyl
The design dates from 1511-1512
The result breaks the previous record of 2022
The design belonged to an anonymous private collector
Scientific analyses and stylistic comparisons for the authorship of the work

2' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Record auction at Christie's for a hitherto unknown drawing by Michelangelo Buonarroti. It is a preparatory drawing for the frescoes in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. On Thursday, 5 February, the drawing was auctioned at Christie's for $27.2 million, or approximately €23.1 million. This is a new world record for a work on paper by the Renaissance artist.

Preparatory study for the figure of the Libyan Sibyl

The work, a sanguine study depicting the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl, emerged thanks to the famous auction house's online 'Request an Auction Estimate' service. It was Giada Damen, an expert in Christie's Old Master Drawings Department, who received a photograph of the drawing and immediately realised its exceptional importance.

The drawing dates from 1511-1512

According to Christie's, the drawing dates back to 1511-1512 and was made by Michelangelo as a preparatory study for the monumental figure of the Libyan Sibyl, placed in the eastern part of the vault of the Sistine Chapel, shortly before the artist began the second phase of the famous fresco cycle.

The result beats the previous record of 2022

The drawing was auctioned with an estimate of between $1.5 and $2 million. Immediately the sheet was contested in a tight race that lasted about 45 minutes. The bids, which started at $1.4 million, immediately rose to a final hammer price of $23.1 million, which with auction fees brought the total price to $27.2 million. This result surpassed the previous record for a Michelangelo drawing, set in 2022 in Paris.

The design belonged to an anonymous private collector

It is one of the very few drawings by Michelangelo still in private hands: according to scholars, around 600 have survived, but only about ten are now in private collections, and only about fifty are directly related to the work for the Sistine Chapel. The drawing belonged to a collector on the west coast of the United States, who preferred to remain anonymous. The man had inherited it from his grandmother along with other family objects and knew that the sheet had been passed down in Europe since the end of the 18th century, but without knowing its author.

Scientific analyses and stylistic comparisons for the work's authorship

Giada Damen initiated an in-depth study campaign, conducted scientific analyses and stylistic comparisons with works in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Uffizi in Florence. A direct comparison with an autograph drawing by Michelangelo at the Met, which definitively confirmed the attribution, was decisive. The historical provenance also strengthens the link with the artist: in the 18th century, the drawing was part of the collection of Armand Louis de Mestral de Saint-Saphorin, a Swiss diplomat in the service of the King of Denmark. The sheet also bears a 16th century inscription in brown ink with the signature 'Michelangelo Bona Roti', similar to that found on other autograph drawings.

Nicoletta CottoneCaporedattore
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