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Ol’ Dirty Masters

News and notes from New York’s Old Masters sales: the mystery of a $27 million Michelangelo, the Rembrandt collector chatter, a Gentileschi selfie, and the surprising fates of two Corneille de Lyons.

Christie's art auction
The Michelangelo buyer, represented by Christie’s Andrew Fletcher, was willing to pay just $100,000 more to win at the hammer price of $23.1 million, which translated with the addition of fees to $27.2 million. Photo: Courtesy of Christie's
Marion Maneker
February 6, 2026

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On Thursday, the art advisor Hugo Nathan brought a new client to Christie’s Old Masters drawings sale. And, from the looks of the results for the Old Masters sales earlier this week, he wasn’t the only one. A new cohort of buyers seems to be entering the market. Some are sophisticated collectors from other categories, attracted by the low prices and surprisingly “modern images” the auction houses have assembled. Others just seem to be curious about buying extraordinary objects that connect to immortal, infinite themes, like Michelangelo’s drawing of a foot—a study for the Libyan Sibyl figure in the Sistine Chapel.