A drawing attributed to Angelo Di Cosimo Allori called Bronzino (1503-1572) fetched a record price of 10,6 million FF (US $ 1,4 million) (Not inclusive of buyer's premium) at Drouot.
Sold by the PIASA group, this 31 x 21.6 cm drawing representing the study of Christ for a Pieta was not really in good condition as a it had restored tears and a horizontal folding. It went to Jean-Luc Baroni, an expert working for Colnaghi of London who staged a furious bidding battle against George Coldner acting for the Metropolitan Museum of New York.
This drawing only carried a 600 000 FF high estimate but Mrs Cox-Rearick noticed that it was probably a preparatory study for the figure of Christ in the Pieta dated 1529 now hanging in the Uffizi Museum in Florence. By no doubt this work pointed to Bronzino's powerful style and bidders were convinced enough of its authenticity to push the price to such altitude. However most specialist thought that it would only fetch less than $ 1 million. Still that price seemed justified due to the fact that a late drawing by Bronzino representing the Madonna del Popolo went for $ 2,64 million in January 1999 at Christie's in New York. Bronzino, a pupil of Pontormo, was one of the most brilliant exponents of Manierism in Tuscany during the Renaissance period. There are only 30 known drawings produced by this artist.
This bid was a record price for the artist and the highest fetched at Drouot this year. The highest price ever paid for a drawing was for Michelangelo's Resurrection of Christ, which was bought by the Getty Museum for $ 8,14 million at Christie's on July 4th 2000 in London ahead of a study of a hand and head of an apostle by Raphael sold for £ 5,28 ($ 7,52 million) by Christie's in December 1996 in London while Michelangelo's Christ and the Samaritan Woman went for $ 7,48 million at Sotheby's in January 1998 in New York.
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