Michelangelo Bronzes Identified by Pubes, Toes, and Eight-Pack Stomachs

What does it take to identify a sculpture by Michelangelo? Pubes, distinctive toes, and eight-packs, apparently.

Researchers now believe that two sculptures of men riding panthers, the Rothschild bronzes, are the only known remaining bronzes by the great artist. How did they reach such a major conclusion? The Telegraph reported that the Fitzwilliam Museum got Peter Abrahams, a professor of clinical anatomy to take a look and compare the pieces with the rest of Michelangelo’s work. First off, he noticed the toes: “a short big toe and a long second toe” appears in almost all his works.

Then there are the over-the-top abs:

The two men – one young, one older and bearded – have rippled torsos. “We all know a six-pack, but these guys actually have an eight-pack,” he said, something seen in very few people. “I found two statues and five Michelangelo drawings that have that same, rare anomaly, which tells me that the model he used for those was the same model he used for these bronzes.

“They look slightly on steroids, slightly pumped up, like bodybuilders. But if you were a guy lifting masonry stone you would have very developed muscles.”

Most importantly of all, the pubes:

Almost every male classical and Renaissance sculpture has pubic hair arranged “in a triangle going down towards the genitalia”, he explained. In Michelangelo’s work, “the triangle goes up towards the umbilicus, not the other way around”.