The drawing contains several studies: the larger image is the figure of a nude seated youth seen from the back with the head in profile, his arms are bent and the upper body turned in an elegant contrapposto, showing the formidable musculature of his back. The study of the youth, closely observed from a living model — most likely a young male assistant posing in the studio — was transformed into the Sibyl in the fresco. In the painting she is fully clothed except for her powerful shoulders, arms, and bare feet.
On the Metropolitan sheet, next to the body of the youth, are studies of other details with which Michelangelo filled the paper: another sketch of the torso, the head in profile, the right foot and various iterations of the toes, and the left hand.
Michelangelo knew that the Sibyl would be painted clothed, but with bare feet. This might explain his insistence in exploring the poses of her feet: the left foot on the Metropolitan sheet and the right one on the newly discovered drawing.
Through the eyes of a Specialist
The new drawing shows Michelangelo’s enduring commitment to the careful representation of the human body. He drew the foot with powerful energy, studying the visual effects of the toes pressing on the ground and bearing the full weight of this monumental figure.
By looking carefully at the outlines of the back of the heel, we see how Michelangelo first drew the shape with a delicate chalk line and then strengthened it with a more vigorous stroke. This is characteristic of his exploratory working method. These sort of pentimenti suggest that Michelangelo was adjusting the pose of the foot while he drew; he was thinking on paper how to best render the tension of the foot lifted on the toes.
Standing in front of this drawing, one can grasp the full power of Michelangelo’s creative force; we can almost feel the physical energy with which he rendered the form of the foot, pressing the red chalk vigorously onto the paper. The design was later transferred to the wet plaster on the ceiling, the final position of the foot slightly altered so that the Sibyl’s weight is almost entirely supported by the toes. This demonstrates how relentlessly Michelangelo was driven to perfect his work, even in the final stages of painting.
