Traces of the work had been lost for over a hundred years, it is the only painting by the artist created with this technique
We all know the Last Judgmentprestigious fresco by Michelangelo Buonarroti created between 1536 and 1541 commissioned by Pope Clement VII to decorate the wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapelin Rome.
Admired by millions of visitors, the work is one of the grandest representations of the advent of the Kingdom of God.
Now, next to one of the greatest masterpieces of Western art, comes alongside another Last Judgmentto be precise the Last Judgment of Genevapainting found after a century during which his traces were lost.
The Last Judgment of Geneva rediscovered after 100 years
Michelangelo, brilliant artist and personality with exceptional creative genius nicknamed the Divine Artistwas the protagonist of Italian Renaissance.
The study of his works marked subsequent artistic generations, giving a strong impulse to the current of mannerism.
His name is linked to some of the most majestic excellences of Western art such as David, Mosesthe Compassion of the Vatican, the Dome of St. Peter and the cycle of frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.
Michelangelo’s Last Judgment
Michelangelo’s Pietà
The news of the discovery of a second Last Judgment was given by Renaissance art specialist Amel Olivares following research that lasted more than eight years.
A meticulous work, done in collaboration with Monsignor José Manuel del Rio Carrasco, the art history and conservation scholar who brought to light the only work by Michelangelo created with the oil on canvas technique. In the’State Archives of Florence of the 1792 one was found detailed description of this painting.
The Last Judgment of Geneva in fact it appeared in the inventory documents of the furniture and works of art owned by the Florentine Marquis Donato Guadagni.
Over the centuries it has changed different properties and it was restored in 2015 by Antonio Casciani. But only now has it been attributed with certainty to the Divine Artist.
The painting is in excellent condition today
The painting was created on very fine paper linen cloth and measure 96.52 cm by 81.28. According to Olivares, the work, with Christ the Judge and other figures from the famous fresco in the Sistine Chapel, 33 in total, presents some interesting peculiarities. As in that, the figure of the Christ the Judge stands out boldly without a beard and there are incomplete or only sketched characters. The technique is particular movement in the figures represented and theinsertion of apterous angels, i.e. without wings.
Among the “saved” you can admire what is considered a self-portrait by Michelangelo Buonarroti younger in appearance than the known one. From what has been possible to reconstruct, the Last Judgment of Geneva it was a gift from the Divine Artist to the painter Alessandro Allori who used it as a model to create an Altarpiece in the Santissima Annunziata basilica in Florence. At present, as scholars report, the painting is in excellent condition and is the subject of stylistic, historical research and studies and scientific analysis. Facial reconstruction studies, physiognomic and anthroposomatic comparisons were carried out on the face of the figure that supposedly represents Michelangelo himself.
