Tiny scribble, whopping price: Michelangelo's simple doodle sold for THIS much
Michelangelo scribble
What is fame? Maybe it is when a seemingly unremarkable sketch you scribbled onthe smallest piece of paper is sold for thousands of dollars.
This is exactly what happened in the US, where a small yellowed piece of paper on which the famed Renaissance genius Michelangelo had scribbled a square sold for a whopping $201,600. This, as per a statement released by auction house Christie's on Wednesday (Apr 17), was 33 times its estimated value.
Its discovery
As per AFP, the scribble was found stuck to the back of the frame of another Michelangelo painting. The second painting had been in a private collection for decades, the auction house said in a media statement.
It was accompanied by a letter from Michelangelo's last direct descendant and was initially expected to fetch somewhere between $6,000 and $8,000.
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
However, Christie's in New York said that the piece, when it went under the hammer, ended up selling for "33.6 times its low estimate." The auction house did not disclose any details of the buyer.
What is the sketch?
The small work, AFP reports, depicts a block of marble. Written on the paper is the word "simile," which in English translates to "similar".
This is believed to have been drawn while the Renaissance genius Michelangelo was working on his famed workthe Sistine Chapel ceiling, a Christie's specialist told AFP some time back.
It is accompanied by a letter written by the artist's descendant, Cosimo Buonarroti. Written in 1836, in the letter, he offers the piece by his "illustrious forefather Michelangelo" to Sir John Bowring, who at the time was the future governor of Hong Kong, whose signature appears at the bottom of the sheet.
While the sketch is unsigned and has no proof, it is indeed drawn by Michaelangelo, as Christie's said that its research team has confirmed that the Italian artist was behind the small drawing.
(With inputs from agencies)
