A priest from León has discovered a secret work of Michelangelo that was kept hidden in a secret museum for Swiss billionaires. It is the only known oil painting on canvas of the genius who painted the Sistine Chapel.

It meets each and every one of the stylistic characteristics of the Italian, which caught the attention of José Manuel del Río, a priest from León residing in the Vatican.

“We saw that it had a lot of relationship with the Sistine Chapel, Christ the Judge, the portrait of the bearded man, some figures that were not finished, they were typical things of Michelangelo,” says the priest.

A character even appears who could be a possible self-portrait of the artist, as he already did in the Sistine Chapel. These brushstrokes put the team responsible for the study on their trail.

The investigation has lasted nine years. The first thing was to restore the work and analyze the pigments, and at the same time delve into the archives in search of data. An entire investigation that still held another surprise and that is that It is the only oil on canvas known to the artist.

“No one has found any work on canvas by Michelangelo. It is prepared like the wall was prepared to paint the Sistine Chapel,” says the priest.