Overview
- Christie’s will offer the red-chalk drawing in New York on February 5, 2026, with an estimate of $1.5 million to $2 million.
- Specialist Giada Damen identified the sheet as a preparatory study for the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.
- Research included laboratory analysis, infrared reflectography revealing underdrawings, and an ink inscription reading “Michelangelo Bona Roti.”
- Comparative study linked the sheet to a Metropolitan Museum page of Sibyl studies and to a later copy in the Uffizi that includes the missing right foot.
- The anonymous Northern California consignor cites family ownership since the late 1700s, as scholars note the attribution remains open to scrutiny due to frequent copies of Renaissance drawings.