Royal Academy may sell Michelangelo sculpture

The Royal Academy of Art in London could this week discuss selling a prized Michelangelo sculpture in order to save jobs amid the pandemic.

Academics at the gallery, known as the RA, might propose the sale of the marble masterpiece, known as the Taddei Tondo, to prevent significant job losses.

The Observer newspaper reported that a meeting of members has been scheduled where those in favor of selling the 515-year-old sculpture will make their case to save up to 150 jobs, or 40 percent of the workforce.

The institution, like many across the country, has been severely impacted by the virus outbreak and is considering job layoffs following a reported 75 percent drop in revenue.

One anonymous Royal Academician told the Observer: "The sale of the tondo has already been discussed. It is worth so much, it could save jobs and get the RA out of the financial mess they have got themselves into."

The Taddei Tondo was given to the London gallery in 1829 to inspire the academy's schools after the death of owner Lady Margaret Beaumont and is the only marble sculpture by the Italian artist Michelangelo in the United Kingdom.

The tondo, featuring the infant St John the Baptist, and the infant Christ with the Virgin Mary, is thought to have been carved between 1504 and 1505. The Renaissance term tondo refers to its circular shape.

It could be worth 100 million pounds ($128 million), according to an estimate in the Art Newspaper in 2017.

The Observer reported that the prospect of a sale has been met with fierce resistance from the Academy's president, Rebecca Salter, and from the executive and other academicians.

The newspaper quoted a spokeswoman for the Academy who said the institution "has no intention of selling any works in its collection. We have the privilege and responsibility of being custodians of extraordinary works of art. It is our duty to look after our permanent collection, for current and future generations to enjoy."

The Guardian newspaper last week reported that the Academy's finances were in serious danger. One disgruntled academician was quoted in the Observer as saying a recent 56 million pound expansion was to blame.

It is morally wrong, the artist argued, to "cling on to a lump of marble that could make the RA financially secure for the years to come".

The Observer report quoted author Malcolm Gladwell, who commented recently that museums and galleries must consider the value of treasures they own before asking for donations.

In reference to those curators who guard their collection above all else, he applied the term "dragon psychology".

Gladwell said: "All they would have to do is pick a couple of things off the shelf and then never see a deficit again."