Translated by Lucinda ByattThis book tells the remarkable story of a rare discovery: theuncovering of two lost paintings by the great Renaissance artistMichelangelo.Like many stories of artistic loss, this one begins in a library inItaly, where Antonio Forcellino - a distinguished Michelangeloscholar and restorer - stumbled across some unpublished lettersamong the papers of Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga, son of Isabellad'Este and an extremely important figure in the ItalianRenaissance. These letters comment on the paintings of Michelangeloin a way that is completely at odds with what was to become thedominant critical tradition of Michelangelo scholarship, aninconsistency that set Forcellino off on a journey that took him toDubrovnik, Oxford, New York and Niagara Falls and culminated in thediscovery of two magnificent paintings: Pieta with Mary and TwoAngels, now in a private collection in America, andCavalieri Crucifixion, now held by an educationalinstitution in England. Through a combination of careful historicalresearch, extensive restoration and meticulous radiographicanalysis, Forcellino shows convincingly that these paintings can betraced back to the studio of Michelangelo.This extraordinary story, brilliantly retold, calls into questionthe received view of Michelangelo's work and fills in amissing piece in our understanding of one of the greatest artistsof all time.