Here's How Much a Drawing of a Foot Is Worth

I first saw this story in Hyperallergic: Michelangelo Drawing of a Foot Could Fetch $2M at Auction.  When it actually fetched 27 million many folks were mightily surprised.

This news story brought to mind an anecdote from when I interviewed comedian/actor Jonathan Winters in 2004 for an article about his art. Winters, who enjoyed painting, had a room in his Malibu home where he painted.

EN: What makes your work unique?

JW: Well, that’s an interesting question. All I ever hope to do with anything is try to be a little bit different from the guy on the wall. As I mentioned earlier, I look for style. A woman turned to me the other day and said, “How much is your largest painting?” The biggest I get is about 18 x 24. And I said $25,000. And she said, “Oh my God! I never dreamed it would be that much.” Well, I said, “The painting’s a joke. The idea is worth $25,000.” And she didn’t get that, so she said, and I get this a lot, >>> alters voice << “If you weren’t Jonathan Winters, you couldn’t ask those kind of prices.” And I said, “But I am Jonathan Winters.” Why would I put Henry Walker, or Lyle Davenberger on my painting?

Sink or swim. I get annoyed very quickly. If you don't want to pay that--now the woman is wearing heavy jewelry, pulls up in a brand new Jaguar--You’re talking to a guy who’s 77. I see these assholes coming in with all this glass on their hands bringing in a Delta flight, dickering with me... and I say, “Look, let me tell you something. You’re best bet is to go to Tijuana and get something on velvet. That would be tops $35 and a picture of Elvis.”

I’ve only painted 150 paintings in my life. They’re not all 25,000 for crying out loud. My drawings are like $500, framed pen and ink things. Red Skelton, for an 8 x 10, gets $45,000.

But you’re dealing with people. People say, “After you die do you think these will be worth anything at all?”

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Well, I doubt Michelangelo's drawing of a foot had much value when he first created it, though it is quite striking how much work went into painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Every face, foot and hand required special attention.

The five-inch sketch, which dates back 500 years, fetched 27 million dollars at Christie's auction house. According to the Hyperallergic story, "Its existence was completely unknown to scholars until a Christie's specialist in the Old Master Drawings department, Giada Damen, rediscovered the red-chalk-on-paper work in a digital photograph sent to the auction house as part of a batch of inquiries before it was authenticated earlier this year." The sketch was made sometime around 1511 or 1512 and is titled “The Libyan Sibyl on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.”

It makes you wonder what other "buried treasures" are out there in the art world.  

If you want to see "unburied treasures" from the Renaissance era, I suggest that you make Italy a destination. My brother and his wife saw DaVinci's "The Last Supper" in Milan a few years back. [If you're in Italy for the Olympics this week, don't neglect grabbing the opportunity to see some of the Renaissance period art and other treasures there.] 

When I visited Parma in 2023, my AirBnB was directly across the street from the National Gallery (Galleria Nazionale di Parma). I was astonished to find DaVinci's "Head of a Woman" (aka La Scapigliata.) Long before I ever went to Italy I fell in love with this paintng and did a few pen and ink drawings of my own based on this piece. What is it worth? No, it's not for sale. Few of DaVinci's works can be purchased, as they are national treasures and irreplaceable. This piece, an oil and umber sketch on poplar panel circa 1506-08, was acquired by the National Gallery in the 1830s or 40s. You can read about my exciting encounter with it here.

Bottom Line: Art seems to increase in value based on who's signature adorns it.  

   

Michelangelo's five-inch sketch has been privately owned by a Northern California collector whose family reportedly owned the masterwork since the 1700s, passing it down through multiple generations. (The seller's name has not been disclosed, and I'm curious what else they own. Part of the proceeds may have to be used for security services.) Since authentication is an important step in the process of determining value, the owners no doubt had their stressful moments for a spell.

They say Michelangelo first used pen and ink and black chalk in his earliest studies for the Vatican City frescoes before favoring red chalk for his drawings of live models. He was believed to have produced hundreds of these drawings, although most have been lost to history. Alas. 

The drawing of the Sibyl’s foot is one of a small group of surviving red chalk studies, among them Studies for The Libyan Sibyl, housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Art historians regard these works as among Michelangelo’s most accomplished pieces in red chalk. Although roughly 600 of his drawings are known to exist, nearly all — except for perhaps ten — reside in museum or institutional collections, according to Christie’s.

 

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Related Link

Full Jonathan Winters interview