Did Michelangelo paint some of this work?
This panel formed part of a series depicting the life of John the Baptist, with other panels located in New York City and Liverpool. Scholars believe that as many as five artists may have participated in creating the series and disagree about who painted this panel. Michelangelo Buonarotti, a lifelong friend of Francesco Granacci’s, may have contributed to one of the two panels in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Compare the sculptural quality of the maidservant’s white drapery in the CMA’s picture with figures from the Met’s panels attributed to Michelangelo (below left) and Granacci (below right). Which one do you think it more closely resembles?