Bronze sculptures could be by Michelangelo

(Vatican Radio) Experts in the UK say new evidence has emerged to show that two male bronzes attributed to other sculptors may be the work of famed Italian artist Michelangelo.

The sculptures had been attributed to Michelangelo in the 19th Century but that notion was then dismissed.

Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with Dr Victoria Avery, keeper of the applied arts department at the Fitzwilliam Museum.

International researchers from the Fitzwilliam Museum and the University of Cambridge say the evidence suggests the figures riding panthers were made as Michelangelo was about to embark on the Sistine Chapel ceiling.

If the attribution is correct, the sculptures, the Museum says, would be the only surviving Michelangelo bronzes in the world.

The works were re-examined after they were displayed in the 2012 Royal Academy of Arts bronze exhibition.

Speaking to Vatican Radio, Dr Victoria Avery, keeper of the applied arts department at the Fitzwilliam Museum said, that she and a number of other scholars felt that, “stylistically, the bronzes compared most closely to the works that Michelangelo was producing in his first decade…”

Dr Avery goes on to say that the research is still ongoing, “but we feel that we have got a pretty strong case.”

The sculptures are currently on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.