This unfinished painting of Jesus and Mary could be a lost Michelangelo, potentially the art find of the century. But to the upstate family on whose living-room wall it hung for years, it was just “The Mike.” When the kids knocked the painting off its perch with an errant tennis ball sometime in the mid-1970s, the Kober clan wrapped it up and tucked it away behind the sofa.
There it remained for 27 years, until Air Force Lt. Col. Martin Kober retired in 2003 and had some time on his hands. His father gave him a task — research the family lore that the painting was really a Michelangelo.
[…]
“I had assumed it was going to be a copy,” [Italian art expert] Forcellino said. Still, Forcellino skeptically visited Kober’s home outside Buffalo to view the painting, and the trip left him a bit breathless.“In reality, this painting was even more beautiful than the versions hanging in Rome and Florence. The truth was this painting was much better than the ones they had. I had visions of telling them that there was this crazy guy in America telling everyone he had a Michelangelo at home,” Forcellino said.
A scientific analysis of the painting proved that the Michelangelo claim was not so crazy.
[…]
The rare Michelangelo drawings that have come up for sale in recent years have sold for as much as $20 million. And a possible Michelangelo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art could be worth as much as $300 million.
0
Support the Blog — Buy This Book!
For Kindle and with free ePub version. Only $9.49 Great reading.
Here is what Gary Shapiro CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said: Dvorak's writing sings with insight and clarity. Whether or not you agree with John's views, he will get you thinking and is never boring. These essays are worth the read!
Put this ad on your blog!
Syndicate
Subscribe to Main Blog feed here:
Subscribe to Comments too (below):
Junk Email Filter
I wonder if that Elvis on black velvet I saw at my neighbors could be a missing Da Vinci?
The provenance in the link is an interesting read as would even more detail. Family History – always interesting.
WoW! I better dust off that Mona Lisa I’ve had under my bed for the last 17 years!
Uncle Dave… do you think those paint-by-number things we did as kids might be worth something now, especially since you were one of the first programmers at Intuit and are now associated with Mr Dvorak?
Want me to send them to you for appraising?
I would say if it were a Michelangelo, it’s a poor one. The anatomy is not good, it looks like a bad copy. There is no comparison.
My brother has a hobby of hitting junk shops and flea markets. He averages over $50,000 a year in art, antiques and books.
Of course, it took him 20 years of studying to develop the encyclopedic knowledge of a “Lovejoy”.
UncDon: Oh, no. Does this mean I have to buy a beret?
#5: RTFA. It’s an unfinished work that he discarded. Of course it looks bad.
This is not a Michelangelo, says me.
(Professional painter)
It’s Kitsch Crap. Experts be damned.
“The rare Michelangelo drawings that have come up for sale in recent years have sold for as much as $20 million. And a possible Michelangelo at the Metropolitan Museum of Art could be worth as much as $300 million.”
Ah, it’s good to see someone’s artwork get reduced to a pricetag. Three cheers for capitalism!
Mary looks like a used up ho in this painting.
Of course, it could be both a Michelagelo AND crap both at the same time.
90% of Mozart is crap, but he wrote sooooo much that there’s still plenty of great works.
Same holds true for other artists and even entire classes of work. Most motion pictures of the classic 1930-60 “studio era” were crap. But they were made by the thousands so a new picture would be at your local theater every week. We forget about the vast majority of them, but savor the gems.
Mom always said never play ball in the house.
I’ve seen more inspiring images of the Savior on toast.
Are those Hobbits?
Ok. I’ll check right now.
Nope.
#14 Apostles.
The art critics might want to re-evaluate which artist you are blathering about. Do not confuse Michelangelo with Leonardo. Leonardo did the dissections. In any event making the muscles stand out was customary.
As for the ho blast I’m afraid that is what middle aged women who have lived hard lives look like and you aren’t the first to cast that insult at her though it was slander then and now. Nothing supports that claim. Getting pregnant out of wedlock yes. Ho, no.
Well, if you stand back and just look at “any” painting prior to about ((pick your own date based on preferences)) NONE of them are any good. Sure there is a “history” of religious subject matter turning to secular, use of colors, use of perspective, use of light==but they are all terrible.
Whats the first artist you could “stand” to have in your own house before maybe Rembrandt?
I mean – just “look” at that painting. Horrible.
What type of sofa is best for not absorbing odors?
Having framed art paintings will allow you to enjoy many different protective aspects. Some of these aspects are ones that you might not have thought about before, but are ones that you will want to take into consideration as the value of art continues to grow.