The room was used to store coal until 1955 and then sealed and forgotten about for decades below a trapdoor that was in turn, hidden beneath furniture.
ADVERTISEMENTOn 15 November, art lovers will be allowed access to a long-hidden space inside Florence's Medici Chapel where some experts have attributed delicate charcoal drawings sketched on the walls to Renaissance master painter Michelangelo.
The secret room was discovered during a cleaning operation nearly 50 years ago beneath two layers of plaster when officials were searching for a new exit from the Medici Chapel to accommodate increasing visitor numbers.
The museum's then-director Paolo Dal Poggetto “firmly believed that they were by Michelangelo,’’ said the current director, Paola D’Agostino. A fierce debate ensued and continues to this day.
“The major scholars of Michelangelo’s drawings dismissed the attributions at the time of discovery", she said. “Others had a more moderate view, some believed the room contained original Michelangelo's and also sketches by his novices and other artists, so, the debate is ongoing.”
The room was used to store coal until 1955 and then sealed and forgotten about for decades below a trapdoor that was in turn, hidden beneath furniture.
The Curator of the Cappelle Medicee Museum, Francesca de Luca, told Euronews: "These drawings are like exercises of the mind, of the artist’s intellectual project, translated onto the walls. Some of these express a dexterity and an energy in the way that makes them superior to others in quality".
According to experts, Michelangelo hid in this space for two months in 1530 when a warrant was issued by Pope Clement VII for his death, for allegedly supporting the short-lived republic that overthrew the powerful Medici family.
He supposedly spent this time sketching designs for his projects. One of the studies is believed to be of the legs of Giuliano de’ Medici, as seen in the New Sacristy mausoleum near the secret room’s entrance.
Similarities have also been drawn between these drawings and his paintings inside the Sistine Chapel.
“In some ways, they are also somewhat reminiscent of the scene of the creation of God, the father, just flying through the air," said Luca.
For most of the last 50 years, access to the room has been restricted.
Officials decided to open the room to the public on a limited basis and will alternate exposure to LED lights with extended periods of darkness to protect the works.
Up to 100 visitors will be granted access each week by reservation, four at a time, who can spend a maximum of 15 minutes inside the space.
