The Sistine Chapel : a new vision

The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel are often viewed as a striking study in the contrast between the middle and High Renaissance styles. On the one hand, the scenes painted on the chapel's walls by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Rosselli, and Signorelli (1481-82), which depict parallel events in the lives of Moses and Jesus (and allegorically legitimize the power of the pope), exemplify the narrative art developed in quattrocento Florence, in which multiple incidents and numerous draped figures are depicted in a single view. On the other hand, Michelangelo's scenes from Genesis on the chapel's ceiling (1508-12) epitomize the art of the High Renaissance, with its emphasis on compositional clarity and the human form, and his immense Last Judgment on the chapel's altar wall (1536-41) even anticipates Mannerism, which pushed the expressive power of the nude hypertrophied and elaborately posed to its limit. In this boldly original book, sure to inspire lively discussion among all students and enthusiasts of art history, noted scholar Heinrich Pfeiffer reveals that, despite their stylistic diversity, the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel display an iconographic unity of hitherto-unsuspected depth. Drawing on years of research, he argues that neither the frescoes of the quattrocento masters nor even those of Michelangelo are free artistic embellishments on the prescribed themes; rather, their every detail has a specific symbolic meaning that is to be discovered only in the texts available to contemporary papal theologians. As a whole, he asserts, this symbolism constitutes a single iconographic program that underlies (without supplanting) the frescoes more obvious thematic and allegorical meanings, and that expresses metaphorically a number of key theological concepts, such as the Trinity and the analogy of Christ and His Church to groom and bride. With his clearly reasoned text, Pfeiffer leads us to a new understanding of the Sistine Chapel as a collaborative creation, encompassing not only the agony and the ecstasy of Michelangelo and his artistic forebears but also the faith and erudition of the theologians who closely advised them. He inspires us to take a fresh look at this great monument, the entirety of which is illustrated here in stunning full- and double-page photographs that faithfully reproduce the brilliant colors revealed by the frescoes recent restoration. Just as significantly, he reminds us of the importance of iconography to the full appreciation of art, and of the close links that so often exist between text and image. The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel are often viewed as a striking study in the contrast between the middle and High Renaissance styles. On the one hand, the scenes painted on the chapel’s walls by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Rosselli, and Signorelli (1481—82), which depict parallel events in the lives of Moses and Jesus (and allegorically legitimize the power of the pope), exemplify the narrative art developed in quattrocento Florence, in which multiple incidents and numerous draped figures are depicted in a single view. On the other hand, Michelangelo’s scenes from Genesis on the chapel’s ceiling (1508—12) epitomize the art of the High Renaissance, with its emphasis on compositional clarity and the human form, and his immense Last Judgment on the chapel’s altar wall (1536—41) even anticipates Mannerism, which pushed the expressive power of the nude—hypertrophied and elaborately posed—to its limit.

In this boldly original book, sure to inspire lively discussion among all students and enthusiasts of art history, noted scholar Heinrich Pfeiffer reveals that, despite their stylistic diversity, the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel display an iconographic unity of hitherto-unsuspected depth. Drawing on years of research, he argues that neither the frescoes of the quattrocento masters nor even those of Michelangelo are free artistic embellishments on the prescribed themes; rather, their every detail has a specific symbolic meaning that is to be discovered only in the texts available to contemporary papal theologians. As a whole, he asserts, this symbolism constitutes a single iconographic program that underlies (without supplanting) the frescoes' more obvious thematic and allegorical meanings, and that expresses metaphorically a number of key theological concepts, such as the Trinity and the analogy of Christ and His Church to groom and bride.

With his clearly reasoned text, Pfeiffer leads us to a new understanding of the Sistine Chapel as a collaborative creation, encompassing not only "the agony and the ecstasy" of Michelangelo and his artistic forebears but also the faith and erudition of the theologians who closely advised them. He inspires us to take a fresh look at this great monument, the entirety of which is illustrated here in stunning full- and double-page photographs that faithfully reproduce the brilliant colors revealed by the frescoes’ recent restoration. Just as significantly, he reminds us of the importance of iconography to the full appreciation of art, and of the close links that so often exist between text and image. The frescoes of the Sistine Chapel are often viewed as a striking study in the contrast between the middle and High Renaissance styles. On the one hand, the scenes painted on the chapel's walls by Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino, Rosselli, and Signorelli (1481-82), which depict parallel events in the lives of Moses and Jesus (and allegorically legitimize the power of the pope), exemplify the narrative art developed in quattrocento Florence, in which multiple incidents and numerous draped figures are depicted in a single view. On the other hand, Michelangelo's scenes from Genesis on the chapel's ceiling (1508-12) epitomize the art of the High Renaissance, with its emphasis on compositional clarity and the human form, and his immense Last Judgment on the chapelGs altar wall (1536-41) even anticipates Mannerism, which pushed the expressive power of the nude hypertrophied and elaborately posed to its limit. In this boldly original book, sure to inspire lively discussion among all students and enthusiasts of art history, noted scholar Heinrich Pfeiffer reveals that, despite their stylistic diversity, the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel display an iconographic unity of hitherto-unsuspected depth. Drawing on years of research, he argues that neither the frescoes of the quattrocento masters nor even those of Michelangelo are free artistic embellishments on the prescribed themes; rather, their every detail has a specific symbolic meaning that is to be discovered only in the texts available to contemporary papal theologians. As a whole, he asserts, this symbolism constitutes a single iconographic program that underlies (without supplanting) the frescoes more obvious thematic and allegorical meanings, and that expresses metaphorically a number of key theological concepts, such as the Trinity and the analogy of Christ and His Church to groom and bride. With his clearly reasoned text, Pfeiffer leads us to a new understanding of the Sistine Chapel as a collaborative creation, encompassing not only the agony and the ecstasy of Michelangelo and his artistic forebears but also the faith and erudition of the theologians who closely advised them. He inspires us to take a fresh look at this great monument, the entirety of which is illustrated here in stunning full- and double-page photographs that faithfully reproduce the brilliant colors revealed by the frescoes recent restoration. Just as significantly, he reminds us of the importance of iconography to the full appreciation of art, and of the close links that so often exist between text and image. COVER CONTENTS Preface CHAPTER ONE THE SCENES FROM THE LIVES OF MOSES AND JESUS The Heavens in Roman Renaissance Art A Medieval Commentary on the Apocalypse and the Mariological Program of the Frescoes The Temptations of Moses and of Christ in the First Two Frescoes by Botticelli The Pazzi Conspiracy as the Immediate Occasion for the Depiction of the Sacrifice of Purification The Church of Living Stones The Allegorical Meaning of the Birds and Trees in the Frescoes The Essence of the Church according to the Revelation of the Old and New Testaments and the Titles of the Frescoes CHAPTER TWO THE ANCESTORS OF CHRIST AND THE PENDENTIVES The Ancestors of Christ and Joachim of Fiore’s Concordia Novi ac Veteris Testamenti The Four Pendentives Conclusions CHAPTER THREE THE SIBYLS AND PROPHETS Zachariah The Delphic Sibyl Joel The Erythraean Sibyl lsaiah The Cumaean Sibyl Ezekiel The Persian Sibyl Daniel The Libyan Sibyl Jeremiah Jonah CHAPTER FOUR THE SCENES FROM THE BOOK OF GENESIS AND THE IGNUDI The Drunkenness of Noah The Flood The Sacrifice of Noah The Fall and the Expulsion from Paradise The Creation of Eve The Creation of Adam The Separation of the Waters above the Firmament from the Waters below the Firmament The Creation of the Sun, Moon, and Plants The Separation of Light from Darkness The Ignudi and Their Shields The Ignudi The Round Shields with Illusionistic Reliefs The Bronze Nudes CHAPTER FIVE THE LAST JUDGMENT The Preparatory Drawings An Important Model for the Overall Composition: A Medal by Bertoldo di Giovanni The Lunettes with the Arma Christi The Judge of the World The Group to the Left of the Judge The Group behind Christ: Judges and Kings The Group to the Right of Christ: Apostles and Disciples The Group of Holy Women The Group at the Upper Right Edge: The Holy Men and Prophets The Martyrs The Confessors The Angels Blowing Trumpets The Resurrected The Resurrected Ascending to Paradise Purgatory Charons Bark and Hell Epilogue NOTES CHAPTER 1 The Scenes from the Lives of Moses and Jesus CHAPTER 2 The Ancestors of Christ and the Pendentives CHAPTER 3 The Sibyls and Prophets CHAPTER 4 The Scenes from the Book of Genesis and the Ignudi CHAPTER 5 The Last Judgment BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX OF NAMES "An scholarly exposition of the symbolism of the renowned fresco cycle, illustrating both Michelangelo's frescoes and those of the quattrocento"--Provided by publisher