Sketches in the walls of a room in Florence, Italy, have been reported to be secret works of art by world-renowned artist Michelangelo are now open to the public.
The artworks were reportedly created by Michelangelo while hiding from an angry pope. Charcoal figures are evident; the room serves as a former coal cellar in the Museum of the Medici Chapels.
These artworks will be open to the general public starting on November 15. The room is known as Michelangelo’s “secret room”. The room measured 33 feet by 10 feet and stored coal until 1955.
In 1975, the room was discovered again. The room was described as “unused, unsealed, and forgotten for decades below a trapdoor covered by wardrobes, furniture, and stacked furnishings.”
The director of the Museum in 1975 was Paolo Dal Poggetto, who attributed many of the sketches that were unveiled. Michelangelo Buonarroti was best known for his work, the statue of David and other works, and the frescos in the Sistine Chapel.
The former Museum director believed that Michelangelo hid the room from Pope Clement VII for two months in the year 1530 due to the pontiff who was a member of the Medici family. The pontiff was reportedly infuriated with Michelangelo.
The Museum released another statement: “The drawings, still being studied by critics, were produced during the artist’s ‘self-confinement’ period, using the walls of the room to ‘sketch out’ some of his projects.” Curator Francesca de Luca stated that the space was “truly unique for its exceptional evocative potential.”
Furthermore, de Luca shared, “Its walls appear to be teeming with numerous sketches of figures, largely of monumental size. These are accompanied by studies, varying between in-depth and superficial analyses, capturing body details, facial features, and unusual poses.”
Michelangelo’s work while he was hiding under the Medici chapels as he avoided persecution from Pope Clement VII will be accessible to the public from November 15, 2023, to March 30, 2024. Francesca de Luca further shared that “This place allows today’s visitors the unique experience of being able to come into direct contact not only with the creative process of the master but also with the perception of the formation of his myth of the divine artist, taken as a model by his contemporary colleagues and by the young people enrolled in the Academy of Drawing Arts, of which Michelangelo was named Father and Master, who in 1563 established the seat in the Sacristy.”
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