Rare Michelangelo drawing to be auctioned at Christie's Paris in May

Christie's has announced the sale of Michelangelo Buonarroti's drawing 'A nude young man (after Masaccio) and two figures behind' for May 18 in Paris, where it will be the sole lot in a dedicated auction. The work, one of the few Michelangelo drawings still in private hands, was recently declassified as a trésor national by the French government, allowing its export. Estimated at around €30 million, the drawing dates from the late 15th century and is considered one of the artist's earliest nude studies. It was sold in 1907 at Hôtel Drouot as a work from Michelangelo's school and was rediscovered in 2019 by Furio Rinaldi, then a specialist at Christie's, and Paul Joannides, professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge. The drawing will tour from Hong Kong to New York before the Paris auction. Christie's strategy of offering it separately underscores its importance, and expectations are high following recent strong results for Old Master drawings on paper, such as Leonardo da Vinci's 'Head of a Bear' which sold for over €10 million at Christie's London in 2021.