Twenty new works by Michelangelo, previously little-known or of uncertain authenticity, have now been linked to the Renaissance artist, according to a new study reported in Friday's Il Messaggero newspaper.
The discoveries are the alleged result of the work of independent Roman researcher Valentina Salerno, who in her study "Michelangelo Gli ultimi giorni" (Michelangelo the Last Days) reconstructed the final period of the artist's life by comparing dozens of documents from various Italian and foreign archives.
She allegedly discovered that Michelangelo did not destroy the hundreds of sketches, drawings, sculptures, and drawings he had in his Roman home, as long believed.
Instead, the artist entrusted his students and friends with the task of securing his works in a secret location.
"One of the recovered documents describes the existence of a room where goods were hidden," the researcher explained to the Roman newspaper, "which contained material so precious that it required a system of multiple keys to open it." However, "it has been empty for over 400 years." Thus begins the hunt for Michelangelo's missing works, which will now be more easily traced to him.
