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Michelangelo Unveiled: About the Discovery

In 1942, the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration (as the Museum was then known) acquired this Design for a Candelabrum along with four other drawings from a London dealer for $60. Four of these drawings were inscribed with the name Perino del Vaga, a 16th-century Italian painter who also produced metalwork designs. The unsigned candelabrum drawing was thought to be by the same artist, or possibly by Perino’s assistant, Luzio Romano.

For 60 years, the drawing has been carefully stored with the Museum’s collection of designs for light fixtures, and catalogued as an Italian drawing from 1530-40. Visiting scholars have examined the drawing, admired its quality, and considered its authorship without firm conclusion. In April 2002 Sir Timothy Clifford, Director of the National Galleries of Scotland, came to the Museum on sabbatical to study its collection of Italian drawings, including this one. Sir Timothy’s identification of the drawing as a work by Michelangelo was, he said, “like recognizing my wife across the breakfast table.” The connoisseur’s intuitive recognition of the master’s hand was only the first step, however, in establishing authorship of the work.

When studying a drawing such as this, which lacks signature and documentation, careful examination is given to the physical properties of the work. In this case, analysis of the paper revealed a watermark with anchor and star that is found on other drawings by Michelangelo executed between 1510 and 1550. The extensive stylus markings, made both freehand and with a straightedge and dividers, indicate a method of construction frequently used in Michelangelo’s designs, but one that was not used in the drawings of either Perino del Vaga or Luzio Romano. The ornamental vocabulary, graphic character, and combination of media share significant similarities with known drawings by Michelangelo. It is this constellation of stylistic and technical characteristics that supports the drawing’s attribution to Michelangelo. Confirmation of the attribution was also sought from Michelangelo scholars, who were invited to examine the drawing in both London and New York. Thus far, every scholar who has scrutinized the drawing has enthusiastically upheld its attribution to Michelangelo.

Research continues to establish the precise use and setting for the candelabrum in Cooper-Hewitt’s drawing. The numerical markings on the plan and elevation portions of the drawing do not establish the unit of measurement. If measured in palmi, this object may have been a monumental Pascal candlestick, intended to stand more than 23 feet tall. Alternatively, the intended height would be only two to three feet if measured in the smaller oncie or soldi. The candelabrum could have been cast in bronze or silver, or carved in marble. Formal similarities with the marble candlesticks Michelangelo created for the New Sacristy may provide clues for the intended appearance of the finished object. Michelangelo specialists are now studying the drawing in order to relate the candelabrum to a specific project and patron, and to illuminate the particular significance of this majestic work. The Museum’s role is to facilitate this ongoing research and to help build a substantive body of evidence to support identification.

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) is best known for his paintings, sculpture, and monumental architecture, but, like many Renaissance artists, he also produced designs for decorative objects and interior furnishings. These include a dagger hilt, parade helmets, a reliquary for the skull of St. John the Baptist, oil lamps, and reading desks for the Laurentian Library in Florence, though few of these objects are extant. Michelangelo was especially prized for his skills of disegno, which is not merely the plan for execution by other craftsmen, but the ingenuity and invention of the design itself. In his biography of the artist, Giorgio Vasari praised Michelangelo’s innovative ornamental vocabulary, which “broke the bonds and chains that had previously confined [artists] to the creation of traditional forms.” Michelangelo’s particular achievement was the fluency with which he could employ his formal innovations in numerous media and on various scales.

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