Michelangelo's lost masterpiece - sculpture Pope Julius II. photo: Robert Schittko
Michelangelo's lost masterpiece - sculpture Pope Julius II. photo: Robert Schittko

In 2023, an art collector acquired an Italian wooden sculpture dating back to the 16th century, which according to the seller was supposed to represent St. Peter. He turned to renowned art historians for further expertise and asked for a thorough analysis in order to clarify whether it is actually a work from the specified period, who its creator might have been and whether it is a St. Peter figure.

Due to extensive, lengthy research (including the writings of Giorgio Vasari, universal genius, artist and artist biographer), the following groundbreaking finding has now been made:

It is an original from the hand of Michelangelo. The work depicts the Italian Pope Julius II and refers to the large bronze statue that Michelangelo created for the main portal of the Basilica of San Petronio in Bologna. However, it was destroyed in the course of civil unrest and thus the rediscovered wooden figure is considered the only evidence of another masterpiece by Michelangelo.

Art historians are convinced that the wooden sculpture provides art history with an extremely valuable insight into the creative world of Michelangelo.

Giorgio Vasari described this figure in his writings “The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects” as the work of Michelangelo as follows and was impressed by the mastery:

The face, the posture and the gesture of the right arm: “Animo, forza, prontezza e terribilita…” Overall, he praised “…usó arte bellissima nella attitudine, perché nel tutto avea maestá e grandezza…”

 

Drawing of the facade of basilica San Petronio in Bologna (Rothschild Album I, p.12, Paris, Musée de Louvre, Départment des arts graphiques)
Drawing of the facade of basilica San Petronio in Bologna (Rothschild Album I, p.12, Paris, Musée de Louvre, Départment des arts graphiques)

Art historians also find a drawing interesting, documented in the so-called “Rothschild Codex” . The art historian Norbert Huse has described and published this document in detail in his writings “Miscellany”.

“A picture document on Michelangelo’s Julius II in Bologna (pages 355-358).” “For more than three years, a bronze statue by Michelangelo depicting Julius II stood above the main portal of San Petronio in Bologna. It was about three or four meters high. Nothing remains of it. Several chroniclers report on its appearance, but the statements remain summary. To my knowledge (N. Huse), a drawing has not yet appeared.”

Norbert Huse

Norbert Huse (1941–2016) was a renowned German art historian who was particularly interested in the architecture and art of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. He was considered an expert in the art history of Italy and published numerous works on important buildings and artists of this era. Huse was a professor of art history at the Technical University of Munich and was highly respected in research and teaching.

His best known work is the book “Michelangelo and the Facade of San Lorenzo”, in which he deals intensively with the architectural and historical aspects of Michelangelo’s unfinished facade of the church of San Lorenzo in Florence. Huse also dealt with urban architecture and the development of public spaces in the Renaissance.

Through his work he made a significant contribution to the understanding of art history, especially the history of architecture.

 

Provenance

Formerly private property in Nice, France – acquired there by an Italian art dealer, from whom it was acquired by a German art collector.

Michelangelo's lost masterpiece - sculpture Pope Julius II. photo: Robert Schittko
Michelangelo's lost masterpiece - sculpture Pope Julius II. photo: Robert Schittko