‘Poor man’ Michelangelo’s newly-discovered painting sells for ₹206 crore: Owner inherited rare artwork from grandmother

A foot sketch by Michelangelo has sold for £16.9 million ( ₹206 crore). The previously-unknown painting has far exceeded expectations, according to the BBC. Andrew Fletcher, head of Christie's Old Masters department, called the moment one of the most memorable of his career.

Christie’s experts identified it as a study for the Libyan Sibyl, later painted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The owner only submitted a photograph for valuation and was unaware of its importance.

The small red chalk drawing likely dates from around 1511 to 1512, when Michelangelo was preparing the second phase of the ceiling frescoes. The anonymous owner lives on the US West Coast and inherited the work from his grandmother.

He said the sketch had remained in the family in Europe since the late 18th century. It was quietly preserved without recognition.

Giada Damen, a specialist in Christie’s Old Master Drawings department, examined a sketch using infrared reflectography. The technique revealed hidden drawings on the sheet's reverse that closely matched Michelangelo’s style.

She compared the foot study with a confirmed Michelangelo work held at the Metropolitan Museum. She concluded that the sketch was likely original.

Interestingly, unlike what many people assume, Michelangelo was one of the richest artists of the Renaissance. Yet, he chose to live with extreme simplicity.

When he died in 1564, his estate was valued at about 50,000 florins, equal to tens of millions of dollars today. Despite this wealth, he claimed he always lived like a poor man.

Michelangelo often slept in his clothes and rarely spent money on comfort. In letters to his family, he complained about being “poor” to avoid constant financial demands.

He claimed so while receiving huge payments for major commissions such as the tomb of Pope Julius II. After his death, a locked chest under his bed revealed thousands of gold ducats along with valuable property in Florence and Rome.

"However rich I may have been, I have always lived like a poor man," he famously told his biographer, Ascanio Condivi.

In November 2025, Gustav Klimt’s portrait of Elisabeth Lederer fetched $236.4 million ( ₹2,134 crore) in New York.

That same month, a surrealist work by Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold for $54.7 million ( ₹493 crore). It set a new auction record for a female artist.