Experts credit two ‘lost’ bronzes to Michelangelo
LONDON — Two “lost” statues have been identified as original Michelangelo sculptures — and possibly the only surviving bronzes by the master, experts have claimed.
The statues, which show naked young men riding panthers, are described as “phenomenally important” and, if truly by the Renaissance master, would solve one of the great mysteries in art history.
They have been attributed to Michelangelo following a clue in a little-known 500-year-old drawing, which made the link between the bronze figures and an incomplete sketch from the days of the artist’s workshop.
They could now become the only surviving bronzes attributed to Michelangelo, as experts at the University of Cambridge and the Fitzwilliam Museum publicly declare their find.
The statues, which have been known as the Rothschild bronzes for years, will go on display at the museum, along with published evidence that the authors claim proves their origins.
Critics, experts and members of the public will be invited to share their own views on the strength of the claims, before a conference later this year aims to reach a consensus about the creator.
Michelangelo is known to have made at least two bronze statues — a nearly three-metre figure of Pope Julius II and a version of David — but both were destroyed. Art critic Martin Gayford has called the possibility of finding a surviving bronze one of the “most intriguing possibilities in art history.”
The bronzes, nudes of differing ages, were once attributed to Michelangelo in the 19th century, before the claim was dismissed at a Paris exhibition in 1878. Since then, they have been credited to various lesser-known sculptors, and were held in private collections for years before going on display at the Royal Academy in 2012.
There, they came to the attention of scholars, who believed the attribution should be re-examined.
Paul Joannides, emeritus professor of art history at Cambridge University, spotted that their shape matched a small sketch in a drawing by one of Michelangelo’s apprentices, held in the Musee Fabre, in Montpellier, France.
The anatomy and style of the bronzes were compared with known works by Michelangelo and found to be “very similar” to his creations of 1500-10.