The five-fingered masterpiece (literally) went under the hammer and exceeded expectations. Initially, the lot was estimated at only 1.5-2 million dollars, but during the auction, which lasted more than 45 minutes, its value has increased many times.
“You could say Christie’s put its foot forward – in the best sense,” joked auction house spokeswoman Angela Montefinise.
The tiny drawing, measuring only about 12 centimeters, is in red chalk and is believed by experts to depict the foot of a man who posed for Michelangelo while working on frescoes of the Sistine Chapel in Rome in the 16th century.
In fact, each toe cost the buyer about $5.4 million.
The work was discovered quite by accident: the owner from Northern California inherited it from his grandmother in 2002. According to him, the drawing was in the family at least since the end of the XVIII century. Research has confirmed: this is a genuine Michelangelo.
As a result, the drawing was sold in the hall Christie’s anonymous buyer.
