The research of the Portuguese scholar Amel Olivares, which lasted over 8 years and was presented to the Foreign Press in Rome. The work under investigation is “The Last Judgment of Geneva”, the painting of which traces had been lost for more than 100 years
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Michelangelo’s only work created with the oil on canvas technique was found after 100 years. It is “a small Last Judgment with Christ the Judge and other figures from the famous fresco that can be admired in the Sistine Chapel painted by Michelangelo Buonarroti in oil on canvas, the only example of the use of this technique by the Master”.
This was announced by Amel Olivares, specialist in Renaissance art, after research lasting over 8 years with the collaboration of the art history and conservation scholar, Monsignor José Manuel del Rio Carrasco, presented to the Foreign Press in Rome. The work under investigation is “The Last Judgment of Geneva”, of which traces had been lost for a century.
The only oil work by the Divine Artist
According to the reconstruction, it was a gift from Michelangelo to the painter Alessandro Allori who used it as a model to create an Altarpiece in the Basilica Santissima Annunziata in Florence. The painting was created on very fine linen canvas and has the dimensions of 96.52 x 81.28 cm.
The work, according to the scholar, presents some interesting peculiarities, among which the figure of Christ the Judge stands out “boldly” without a beard exactly like in the original fresco of the Sistine Chapel, the creation of incomplete or only sketched characters, the technique of movement in figures represented and the inclusion of apterous angels, i.e. without wings. Among those who are “saved” one can then admire what is believed to be a self-portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti, in which the painter appears with a younger face than the known one.
see also
Ecce Homo, the rediscovered painting by Caravaggio will be at the Prado museum
The history of the painting
A detailed description of the Last Judgment of Geneva was found in the State Archives of Florence in 1792, in the documents relating to the inventory of furniture and works of art owned by the Florentine Marquis Donato Guadagni.
The work has changed ownership several times over the centuries and was restored in 2015 by Antonio Casciani.
Today the painting is in excellent condition and has been the subject of research, stylistic studies, historical studies and scientific analyses, including spectrophotometry, stratigraphy, reflectography. Furthermore, facial reconstruction studies, physiognomic and anthroposomatic comparisons were carried out on the face of the figure which according to scholars represents a self-portrait of Michelangelo.
