Researcher Valentina Salerno has linked twenty additional works to Michelangelo Buonarroti. Her study, based on historical documents from various archives, challenges the idea that the artist destroyed most of his sketches. The research indicates that collaborators safeguarded many drawings in a secret location. This discovery has prompted the formation of an international scientific committee to review the attribution of scattered works.
Technology in the Service of Artistic Attribution 🔍
The attribution process no longer relies solely on the expert eye. Today, techniques such as infrared reflectography, multispectral photography, and material analysis with X-ray fluorescence are key. These tools allow viewing underlying layers, studying preparatory strokes, and comparing pigment and paper compositions with certified works. Cross-referencing this technical data with archival documentary research generates stronger evidence to confirm or rule out authorship.
The Best-Guarded Renaissance Backup in History 💾
It turns out Michelangelo had his own backup system, albeit somewhat rudimentary: some collaborators with nerves of steel. While everyone believed he had done ctrl+Z on his sketches, his assistants hid them as if they were a pirate's treasure. Now, art historians face the task of restoring those 16th-century .jpg files, hoping not to find just a bunch of unfinished final.doc drawings.