Michelangelo's sketch sold for $27.2 million at Christie's auction

A drawing by Italian sculptor and artist Michelangelo Buonarroti was sold at auction at Christie's for $27.2 million. This was confirmed on February 6 by data published on the auction house's website.

Sold in just 45 minutes from the start of the auction, the sketch of the foot, according to experts, formed the basis of the frescoes on the vault of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. It is noted that this project has become one of the most significant for Michelangelo.

The canvas, which had a starting price of $1.5–2 million, depicted in red chalk the foot of the Libyan sibyl, a priestess who appeared in ancient Greek mythology and led the oracle of Zeus-Ammon at the Siwa oasis in the Libyan desert. The remains of black chalk were found on the back, and in the lower left corner on the front side there was an ink inscription "Michel Angelo Buana Roti".

On October 23, 2025, BFMTV reported that a monochrome painting "California", painted in 1961 by artist Yves Klein, was sold at Christie's auction for a record €18.4 million. The slot represented a canvas almost 2 m high and 4 m wide. The identity of the person who acquired one of the most important works of the artist ever put on the market was not disclosed.

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