Claims of ‘rediscovered’ Michelangelos unsettle Renaissance experts

Independent Researcher Claims Roman Bust is Michelangelo’s Work, Experts Skeptical

An independent researcher has stirred controversy in the art world by claiming that a marble bust of Christ in a Roman church is the work of Michelangelo, the renowned Renaissance master. Valentina Salerno announced her findings at a press conference on Wednesday, unsettling Renaissance scholars who remain skeptical of her claims.

The attribution comes at a particularly sensitive time, as a recently attributed Michelangelo sketch of a foot – itself disputed by some experts as merely a copy – sold for $27.2 million at Christie’s auction. With such astronomical prices at stake, many leading experts have declined to comment on Salerno’s theory.

Salerno published her research on academia.edu, a non-peer-reviewed social networking site for academics, rather than through traditional scholarly channels. Her timing coincides with heightened public interest in Michelangelo, as Friday marks the 550th anniversary of his birth, prompting numerous exhibitions and commemorations celebrating his artistic legacy.

While Italy’s Culture Ministry was invited to Salerno’s press conference, it did not attend. The Carabinieri art squad has refrained from commenting on the statue’s authenticity but noted it is being protected, with a sign reading “Alarm armed” now displayed beside the sculpture.

“We hope that this asset, which belongs to our cultural heritage regardless of whether it can be attributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti or not, is part of the national heritage that we are responsible for defending,” said Lt. Col. Paolo Salvatori of the Carabinieri.

The bust in question resides in the Basilica of Sant’Agnese Fuori le Mura and is currently listed by Italy’s Culture Ministry as an anonymous work from the 16th-century Roman school. Salerno is not the first to suggest a Michelangelo connection – in 1996, Michelangelo expert William Wallace noted in ArtNews that the 19th-century French author Stendhal had once declared the bust to be Michelangelo’s work, though Wallace dismissed this attribution.

Salerno claims to have discovered documentary evidence that correctly attributes the work to Michelangelo, arguing that a 1984 scholarly assessment erroneously rejected this connection. “I have provided and will continue to provide a whole series of documentary evidence on this,” she stated, suggesting the bust was modeled on Michelangelo’s close friend, Tomaso De’ Cavalieriis.

What makes Salerno’s background unusual is her lack of formal credentials in art history – she is an actress and fiction author who began researching Michelangelo ten years ago while writing a novel. Her published research claims to have uncovered evidence of a secret “pact of indissolubility” among Michelangelo’s students to preserve his works after death, including a chamber accessible only with three keys held by different students.

Her work attracted attention from Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, who runs St. Peter’s Basilica. He appointed Salerno to a scientific committee formed in 2025 to discuss a potential Vatican exhibition commemorating Michelangelo’s birth anniversary. The committee includes renowned experts like Barbara Jatta, director of the Vatican Museums, and Hugo Chapman of the British Museum, many of whom have distanced themselves from Salerno’s claims.

William Wallace, a committee member and professor at Washington University in St. Louis, acknowledged that Salerno’s methodology has merit and that non-credentialed researchers in Europe often produce solid work. He agreed with her assertion that Michelangelo entrusted his remaining works to students rather than destroying them – a commonly held misconception. However, Wallace disputes Salerno’s conclusion that a treasure trove of undiscovered Michelangelo works exists, noting that the artist was primarily focused on architectural projects in his final years.

Italy has a long history of claimed “new discoveries” about famous artists, with Wallace estimating that approximately 45 attributions to Michelangelo have been made since 2000, none of which have stood the test of time. “Every single one arrived with the headline, ‘The greatest discovery of the time,’ or ‘It will change everything we think about Michelangelo,'” Wallace noted. “And then five years later, we can’t even remember what it was.”

For now, the marble Christ in Sant’Agnese remains under heightened security as the debate over its creator continues, highlighting the enduring fascination with one of history’s greatest artists and the high stakes involved in attributing works to his hand.