Since the spring of 2025, a scientific commission has been trying to rewrite the last days of Michelangelo Buonarroti's life and unravel a five-century mystery that even his official biographer Giorgio Vasari could not unravel – what happened to the artist's hundreds of sketches, drawings, wax models, drawings and sculptures.
The version that Michelangelo, 90 years old, before his death destroyed the sketches in his Roman villa on Via Machel de Corvi by throwing them into the fire is untrue. This was proven by the researcher of Roman painting Valentina Salerno, who meticulously recreated the events of the last years of the greatest artist's life, writing Messenger.
“She was able to establish a historical chain proving the authenticity of at least 20 new works that were previously unknown or not clearly related to the Renaissance genius,” the article said.
Thus, one can discover dozens of sculptures, drawings and paintings that have survived to this day but are not classified as original.
In 1564, Michelangelo, sensing the approaching end, decided not to destroy anything in his house, which, according to his students, was filled with objects. To protect and defend against theft what he considered his artistic testament, he called to himself a small group of trusted students and friends, members of his fraternity, instructing them to preserve the works that had been massively transported and stored in a secret room.
That is why, when Michelangelo died on February 18, 1564, notary Francesco Tomassino, asked to make a careful inventory, found only three large statues and a few sketches. Most of the work was safely hidden elsewhere.
Valentina Salerno's study titled “Michelangelo in the Last Days,” supported by the Canon Regulars of the Lateran Eucharistic Council and Professor Michele Ruck, was published in 2024.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti of the basilica, recognizing the historical importance of this research, established a scientific committee composed of experts from leading museums, such as William Wallace, an art historian at Washington University in St. Louis, Hugo Chapman, curator of prints at the British Museum, Barbara Yatta of the Vatican Museums, Cristina Acidini of the Academy of Arts in Florence, and others. The result of their work was the discovery described above.
