If the attribution is confirmed, the sculptures would be the only known surviving bronzes by Michelangelo, according to the Fitzwilliam Museum at Cambridge, which is displaying the works beginning Tuesday.
But even with the researchers’ methodical review of the sculptures — including stylistic, scientific and even anatomical evidence that links them to the artist — their word is not likely to be the last. Through the centuries a variety of provenances have been attributed to the sculptures, and the researchers themselves said that their declaration is just one step in an ongoing scholarly process.
“We’ve done due diligence,” said Victoria Avery, a lead curator in the applied arts department of the museum. “It’s the right moment to present it to the wider world. And if there is a strong counter-case, then, fine, let it be heard. This is how scholarship moves on.”
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Ah, Abbots, didn’t we know it was coming?Read more…
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