Donation Campaign by Michelangelo-Julius II.-Figur e. V. (€42 Million)

Frankfurt am Main, November 2026.
Modelled on the French initiative “100 euros - 1 Picasso”, the campaign “100 euros - 1 Michelangelo figure of the 16th century” offers one donor the chance to receive a wooden figure of Pope Julius II. The non-profit association Michelangelo-Julius II.-Figur e. V. considers this piece a rediscovered masterpiece by Michelangelo Buonarroti. CEZ scientific analysis dates the wood to around 1500, aligning directly with Michelangelo’s era. All proceeds will be divided 50:50 between the Nobel Peace Prize laureate Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) and the association.

A comprehensive account of the artwork is published on michelangelo-lost-masterpiece.com. The figure represents Pope Julius II; while the famous bronze monument in Bologna was destroyed, the association views this surviving wooden bozzetto as the sole preserved sculptural record and one of the rarest wooden works attributed to Michelangelo.

Worldwide participation is strictly capped at 420,000 donors. The octogenarian owners chose this unique philanthropic path, staking the sculpture against donations. They believe that with further scholarly research, the piece possesses the potential to surpass Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi,  which set the global record in 2017 at 450 million US dollars as the most valuable artwork worldwide.

Doctors Without Borders will receive these vital funds to sustain their life-saving medical humanitarian missions in global conflict zones.

The initiative is hosted exclusively via the donation platform WhyDonate in Amsterdam and managed by the German non-profit association Michelangelo-Julius II.-Figur e. V., based in Frankfurt am Main:
https://whydonate.com/de/fundraising/the-international-michelangelo-fundraising-campaign