A newly identified early 16th-century drawing by Michelangelo linked to the Sistine Chapel ceiling is heading to auction for the first time. The study, long held in private hands and previously unknown to scholars, offers a rare glimpse into the artist’s working process. It will be auctioned at Christie’s New York on February 5, 2026, carrying an estimate of $1.5 million–$2 million.
The small red chalk sheet, titled Study for the right foot of The Libyan Sibyl on the Sistine Chapel ceiling (1511-12), is one of “about 10” surviving Michelangelo drawings still in private ownership, according to the auction house. This is the only study connected to the Sistine Chapel to come to market. The sheet was recently authenticated following months of research by specialists at Christie’s and external authentication specialists. The drawing is being consigned to auction by a West Coast private collection, whose family has held the work since the late 1700s, according to Artnet News.
Michelangelo produced thousands of drawings over his lifetime, though only roughly 600 survive. Most remaining sheets—including nearly all known studies for the Sistine Chapel—are held in public collections. The rediscovered drawing dates to around 1511–12, during the four years in which the artist worked bay by bay across the 530-square-meter vault in the Vatican.
This drawing depicts a study of the right foot of the Libyan Sibyl, one of the major figures painted on the east end of the ceiling. It captures the pressure exerted by the Sibyl’s toes on the ground, and there is a subtle pentimenti along the heel, suggesting the artist altered the pose.
“Standing in front of this drawing, one can grasp the full power of Michelangelo’s creative force; we can almost feel the physical energy with which he rendered the form of the foot, pressing the red chalk vigorously onto the paper,” said Giada Damen, a specialist in Christie’s old master drawings department, in a statement.
There is a related study at The Metropolitan Museum of Art that contains multiple studies for the same figure, including a male studio model whose pose was adapted for the Sibyl’s twisting form. That sheet also includes preliminary drawings of the left foot.
Original works by Michelangelo rarely come up for sale at auction. The artist’s record auction price, for A nude man (after Masaccio) and two figures behind him, sold for $23.16 million at Christie’s in 2022.
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