ROME: A marble bust of Christ in a Roman church has drawn renewed attention after an independent researcher suggested it may be the work of Renaissance master Michelangelo Buonarroti.
The unverified claim by researcher Valentina Salerno surfaced on Wednesday and has stirred interest among scholars of Renaissance art.
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The suggestion comes amid heightened attention on Michelangelo following the recent sale of a sketch of a foot attributed to him, though disputed by some as a copy, for US$27.2 million at Christie’s.
Leading experts have so far declined to comment, particularly after Salerno suggested additional works might also be linked to the artist through her documentary research.
Salerno published her theory on Academia.edu, a commercial platform used by academics but not subject to peer review, and presented the proposed “rediscovery” during a press conference on Wednesday.
She said documents produced in the first few centuries after Michelangelo’s death attributed the bust to him, although the claim was rejected by a scholar in 1984 and has remained disputed.
Salerno said the conclusion followed years of tracing wills, inventories and notarised records preserved in church and state archives, as well as documents linked to Roman confraternities associated with Michelangelo and his pupils.
Interest in the claim has grown as the art world marks the 550th anniversary of Michelangelo’s birth with exhibitions, conferences and commemorations reflecting on his enduring legacy.
