This is the most magnificent drawing by Michelangelo in the United States. A male studio assistant posed for the anatomical study, which was preparatory for the Libyan Sibyl, one of the female seers frescoed on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (Vatican Palace) in 1508-12. In the fresco, the figure is clothed except for her powerful shoulders and arms, and has an elaborately braided coiffure. Michelangelo used the present sheet to explore the elements that were crucial in the elegant resolution of the figure's pose, especially the counterpoint twist of shoulders and hips and the manner of weight-bearing on her toe. Recent research shows that this sheet of studies was owned by the Buonarroti family soon after Michelangelo's death. The "no. 21" inscribed on the verso of the sheet (at lower center) fits precisely into a numerical sequence found on many other drawings by the artist that have this early Buonarroti family provenance.

Inscription: On recto, annotated in pen and light brown ink at lower left: "di Michel Angelo bona Roti"; annotated at upper right: "58"; unidentified paraph annotated in pen and darker brown ink at lower center. On verso, annotated in pen and brown ink at upper right: "58"; annotated by early 16th century hand at lower center, following the same numbering system of the Michelangelo drawings in the Buonarroti family: "nº.2i".

Marking: Unidentified paraph in pen and dark brown ink at lower center. According to catalog card: "Not in Lugt, but close to Mrks of E. Jabach (see Ref. Dussler)."

Buonarroti family (Italian), Florence; Carlo Maratti (Italian, Camerano 1625–1713 Rome); Andrea Procaccini (Italian, Rome 1671–1734 La Granja de San Ildefonso); Aureliano de Beruete (Madrid); Isabel de Regoyos (Madrid)

Dussler 1959, no. 339 (Attributed to Michelangelo); Tolnay, I, 1975, no. 156r & v; Bean and Turcic 1982, no. 131; Perrig 1991, pp. 22, 26, 30, 50-51, 58, 132 nn. 167-68 fig. 8.

Frank Zöllner, Thomas Pöpper, Christof Thoenes Michelangelo 1475-1564: Complete Works. 2008, fig. no. pl. 69 (recto), 528, ill.

Paul Joannides The Drawings of Michelangelo and His Follwers in the Ashmolean Museum. Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 32, 36, 51, 120-2, 125-6, cat. no. under no. 18.

Miguel Utrillo "De la colección Beruete" Forma. 2, Barcelona, 1907, fig. no. 198, pp. 193-98., ill.

Henry Thode Michelangelo. Kritische Untersuchungen über seine Werke. G. Grote, 1, Berlin, 1908, fig. no. LVI, pp. 167, 254, 37.

Karl Frey Die Handzeichnungen Michelangelos Buonarroti. 1,3, Berlin, 1909, fig. no. Vol. 3:pls. 4, 5, pp. Vol. 1: 2-4., ill.

Joseph Meder Die Handzeichnung, Ihre Technik und Entwicklung. Vienna, 1919, fig. no. fig. 167, p. 409., ill.

Heinrich Leporini Die Stilentwicklung der Handzeichnung XIV. bis XVII. Jahrhundert. 14-18, Jahrhundert. Vienna, 1925, fig. no. fig. 138, pp. 60, no 138, ill.

A. E. Brinckmann Michelangelo Zeichnungen. Munich, 1925, cat. no. 32, fig. no. pl. 32, p. 33., ill.

Bryson Burroughs "Drawings by Michelangelo for the Libyan Sibyl" Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. vol. 20, New York, January 1925, fig. no. no. 1, pp. 6-14., ill.

Bernard Berenson The Drawings of the Florentine Painters. 3 vols, amplified edition. Chicago, 1938, fig. no. fig. 631, pp. 194-95., ill.

Sir Richard C. Jebb - captions written by A. Hyatt Mayor "Metropolitan Musem of Art Bulletin" "The Classical Renaissance". 35, New York, November 1940, fig. no. p. 95, p. 95., ill.

Walter Mehring European Drawings from the Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (A Portfolio of Collotype Reproductions) [Vol. 1: Italian Drawings; Vol. 2: Flemish, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, and British drawings; Vol. 3: Titled "New Series": Italian, Flemish, Dutch, German, Spanish, French, and British drawings]. 3 Vols., New York, 1942-1944, also N.S., no. 6., cat. no. 116, 17v (Vol.1), fig. no. 16, 17v, ill.

Charles De Tolnay Michelangelo. 5 vols., Princeton, 1943-1960, Vol. 2 [published in 1945]: "The Sistine Ceiling.", cat. no. 46 (r), 13A (v), fig. no. pls. 80, 236, pp. 61, 204, 209, ill.

"Connoisseur" "Some Italian Drawings in The Metropolitan Museum". Connoisseur, 110, January. New York, 1943, fig. no. fig. 4, p. 149, ill.

Reginald Marsh Anatomy for Artists. New York, 1945, p. 108., ill.

A. Hyatt Mayor, John Goldsmith Phillips "Metropolitan Musem of Art Bulletin" "Notes: The Renaissance Galleries.". The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 5, no. 3, November 1946. New York, 1946, fig. no. p. 95, p. 95., ill.

Hans Tietze European Master Drawings in the United States. J. J. Augustin, New York, 1947, fig. no. no. 38, p. 77, p. 76., ill.

Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums A Loan Exhibition Arranged in Honor of Professor Paul J. Sachs on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday. Nov. 27, 1948 -- Jan. 6, 1949. Cambridge, Mass., 1948.

A. E. Popham, Johannes Wilde The Italian Drawings of the XV and XVI centuries. London, 1949, cat. no. 486, p. 268.

Robert Oertel "Rezensionen: Italienische Meisterzeichnungen" Kunstchronik. 2, Munich, 1949, pp. 263-64.

One Hundred Master Drawings. edited by Agnes Mongan, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., 1949, pp. 28-29., ill.

Diamond Jubilee Exhibition: Masterpieces of Drawings Exh. cat., Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Museum of Art. Philadelphia Museum of Art, November 4 - February 11. Philadelphia, 1950, cat. no. 32.

Ludwig Goldscheider Michelangelo Drawings. Phaidon Press, London Edition (1st ed). London, 1951, fig. no. no. 30, ill.

"Art Treasures of the Metropolitan" A Selection from the European and Asiatic Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art Treasures of the Metropolitan, New York, 1952, fig. no. 59, pp. 67, 222., ill.

Johannes Wilde Italian Drawings in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum: Michelangelo and His Studio. London, 1953, pp. 26, 101.

Karl Theodore Parker Catalogue of the Collection of Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford Vol. II: Italian Schools. 2, Oxford, 1956, cat. no. under no. 297, p. 141.

Brune Hogarth Dynamic Anatomy. New York, 1958, fig. no. no. 55, p. 55., ill.

Luitpold Dussler Die Zeichnungen des Michelangelo. Berlin, 1959, cat. no. 339, fig. no. pls. 39, 174, ill.

Bernard Berenson, Luisa Vertova I disegni dei pittori fiorentini. 3 vols., Revised and enlarged. Milan, 1961, fig. no. fig. 564, 565, no 1544D, ill.

Winslow Ames Great Drawings of All Time. Volume I: Italian, Thirteenth through Nineteenth Century. Edited by Ira Moskowitz, 1, New York, 1962, fig. no. no. 192, no. 192, ill.

Robert Beverly Hale Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters 100 Great Drawings Analyzed / Figure Drawing Fundamentals Defined. New York, 1964, fig. no. fig. 101, pp. 100-101., ill.

Paola Barocchi Drawings of Michelangelo (Italian edition). Italian edition. New York, 1964, fig. no. no. 24, no. 24, ill.

Jacob Bean 100 European Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York Graphic Society, New York, 1964, cat. no. 10, fig. no. 10, ill.

Jacob Bean, Felice Stampfle Drawings from New York Collections, Vol. I: The Italian Renaissance. exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, vol. 1, New York, 1965, cat. no. 36, fig. no. pl. 36, p. 34, ill.

Paola Barocchi Drawings of Michelangelo (English edition). English edition. New York, 1965, p. 24., ill.

Ludwig Goldscheider Michelangelo Drawings. Phaidon Press, New York Graphic Society, 2. Greenwich, CT, 1966, fig. no. fig. 39, p. 39., ill.

James Watrous The Craft of Old Master Drawings. Madison, Wisconsin and London, 1967, fig. no. p. 97, pp. 96-97., ill.

Charles De Tolnay Michelangelo [2nd printing of De Tolnay 1943-1960]. 5 vols., Princeton, 1969-1971, Vol. 2 [published in 1969]: "The Sistine Ceiling.", cat. no. 46 (r), 13A (v), fig. no. pls. 80, 236, pp. 61, 204, 209, ill.

Frederick Hartt Michelangelo Drawings. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. , New York, New York, 1970, fig. no. no. 87-88, 100, pp. 83-84., ill.

Sir Kenneth Clark Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries Exh. cat., New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 14 November 1970 - 14 February 1971. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, E. P. Dutton and Company, New York, 1970, fig. no. 219, p. 222.

Howard Hibbard Michelangelo. 2. New York, 1974, fig. no. fig. 77, pp. 128-129., ill.

Charles De Tolnay Corpus dei Disegni di Michelangelo.. 4 vols., Novara, 1975-1980, cat. no. no. 156 r-v, fig. no. ill. no. 156 r-v, vol.1: pp. 116-1, ill.

John Gere Drawings by Michelangelo An exhibition held in the Department of Prints and Drawings in the British Museum, February to April 1975. London, 1975, cat. no. 20.

Paola Barocchi, Charles De Tolnay Drawings of Michelangelo. 103 Drawings in Facsimile. New York, 1975, fig. no. no. 24, p. 24., ill.

Anthony Bailey "The Master of the Nude Male Body in Action," review of exhibition Drawings of Michelangelo" Art View: The New York Sunday Times. March 2, 1975. New York, 1975, fig. no. p. 33, p. 33., ill.

Alexander Perrig Michelangelo Studien. Kunstwissenschaftliche Studien, 3 vols., Frankfurt/M, 1976-1977, fig. no. pl. 54, fig. 21, pp. 42, 61,72-3,, ill.

Michelangelo Life Drawings 46 Works. Dover Art Library, New York, 1979, fig. no. Cover and p. 15, Cover and p.15, ill.

David Rosand "The Elusive Michelangelo" Review: Morgan Library's exhibition of Michelangelo drawings" Art News. 78,no. 6,, Summer 1979. New York, 1979, fig. no. p. 49, ill.

Michelangelo and His World with Drawings from the British Museum Exh. cat., The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, 1979, pp. 2, 11.

Edward J. Olszewski The Draftsman's Eye: Late Italian Renaissance Schools and Styles Exh. cat., Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland Museum of Art, March 6 - April 22, 1979. Cleveland, 1981, fig. no. XVI, pp. 10, 82, ill.

Manuela B. Mena Marqués La procedencia del dibujo de la Sibila Líbica de Miguel Angel en el Metropolitan Museum de Nueva York. Miscelanea de arte. Madrid, 1982, fig. no. fig. 1, pp. 90-94., ill.

Jacob Bean, Lawrence Turcic 15th and 16th Century Italian Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1982, cat. no. 131, fig. no. 131, p. 137., ill.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. Edited by John P. O'Neill, English, Italian, French, and Japanese. New York, 1983, fig. no. fig. 6, p. 133., ill.

James Byam Shaw "Review of exhibition 15th and 16th Century Italian Drawings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art" Master Drawings. 21, 4, Winter, 1983. New York, 1983-1984, pp. 412, note 5.

Francisco Calvo Serraller Aureliano de Beruete, 1845-1912, y la Cultura Artística de la Restauración. Madrid, 1983, pp. 36-37.

Bert W. Meijer I Grandi disegni italiani del Teylers Museum di Haarlem. Milan, 1985, p. 23.

Michael Hirst Michelangelo Draftsman Exh. cat., Washington, D.C., October 9 - December 11, 1988. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C., . Washington, D.C., 1988, cat. no. 16, fig. no. 43, pp. 42-43., ill.

Michael Hirst Michelangelo and His Drawings. New Haven and London, 1988, p. 67.

Michael Joyce, Alexander Perrig Michelangelo's Drawings: The Science of Attribution. New Haven and London, 1991, fig. no. fig. 8, pp. 22, 26., ill.

Monique Nicole Kornell Artists and the Study of Anatomy in Sixteenth-Century Italy. PhD diss., 1992 fig. no. 154, pp. 162-63, ill.

Nathan Goldstein Figure Drawing The Structure, Anatomy, and Expressive Design of the Human Form. 5 Edition. New Jersey, 1992, fig. no. fig. 3.20, pp. 88-91., ill.

Charles Hope "Michelangelo, True or False?" Review: Michelangelo's Drawings: The Science of Attribution (by Alexander Perrig)" New York Review of Books. March 26. New York, 1992, fig. no. p. 44, pp. 44-46., ill.

Masterpieces of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Edited by Barbara Burn et al., The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1993, p. 110., ill.

"The Metropolitan Museum of Art Exhibitions and Programs Calendar, March - April 1993". edited by Ruth Gales, 25, no. 5 March, March - April. New York, 1993, fig. no. p. 5, p. 5., ill.

Carmen C. Bambach "Master Drawings" Review: Michelangelo's Drawings: The Science of Attribution (by Alexander Perrig). 35, New York, 1997, pp. 69-70.

Flavio Fergonzi, Maria Mimita Lamberti, Pina Ragionieri, Christopher Riopelle Rodin and Michelangelo: A Study in Artistic Inspiration. Philadelphia Museum of Art, March 30 - June 22, 1997. Philadelphia, 1997, cat. no. 39, pp. 176-179.

Horst Woldemar Janson History of Art. Edited and enlarged by Antony F. Janson, 5 Edition. New York, 1997, fig. no. fig. 8, p. 27, pp. 26-28., ill.

Horst Woldemar Janson History of Art for Young People. Edited and englarge by Antony F. Janson, New York, 1997, fig. no. fig. 4, pp. 17-19., ill.

William E. Wallace Michelangelo: The Complete Sculpture, Paintings and Architecture. Group West, Hugh Lauter Levin Associates, Inc., Hong Kong, 1998, fig. no. no. 168, p. 168., ill.

Carmen C. Bambach Drawing and Painting in the Italian Renaissance Workshop: Theory and Practice, 1300-1600. New York and Cambridge, 1999, p. 453 (n. 219).

Leonardo da Vinci, Master Draftsman Exh. cat., New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 22 - March 30, 2003. Edited by Carmen C. Bambach, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Yale University Press , New Haven and London, New York, 2003, fig. no. 25, pp. 35-36., ill.

Hugo Chapman Michelangelo Drawings: Close to the Master. The British Museum, Teylers Museum, Haarlem, 2005, 134-137.

Anne Marie Logan, Michiel C. Plomp Peter Paul Rubens: The Drawings The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, January 15 - April 3, 2005 (see also Albertina, Vienna, 2004). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2005, cat. no. 3, pp. 66-69, ill.

Achim Gnann Michelangelo: The Drawings of a Genius. Graphische Sammlung Albertina, 2010, cat. no. 41, 150-153, ill.