Michelangelo Sculpted Bronze Statues, New Evidence Suggests

500-Year-Old Sketch Links Master to Art Works

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Michelangelo is primarily known as a sculptor by his works in marble. But two statues that have existed under the noses of art historians for years are possibly the only examples of his work in bronze to survive the centuries, art experts said today.

The statues of nude men riding panthers have been known to art historians for a century or more and once were attributed to the great master.

The claim was discredited at a Paris exhibition in 1878 and the works, known as the Rothschild statues, were attributed to lesser-known period artists.

But new evidence has surfaced that suggests the bronzes are authentic Michelangelo works, according to the University of Cambridgeand the Fitzwilliam Museum.

If true, the find would be “phenomenally important,” according to one art historian.

The institutions hang their claim on a 500-year-old sketch by a Michelangelo apprentice. It’s said to be a copy of a drawing by the artist himself. The pose and the physical details of the man in the drawing are almost identical to the bronzes.

The drawing was discovered in the Musée Fabre in Montpellier, France. The circa 1508 sketch is part of works known as the “sheet of studies with Virgin embracing Infant Jesus,” and is known to be authentic.

The sketch was “drawn in the abrupt, forceful manner that Michelangelo employed in designs for sculpture. This suggests that Michelangelo was working up this very unusual theme for a work in three dimensions,” the museum said in a statement.

Paul Joannides, Emeritus Professor of Art History at the University of Cambridge, which houses the Fitzwilliam, made the connection, according to the museum.

Michelangelo is known to have worked in bronze. He made a nine-foot tall figure of Pope Julius II and a version of his marble statue, David. But both of bronzes were destroyed.

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