The Sistine Secrets : Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican

A New York Times bestseller, The Sistine Secrets exposes the shocking revelations found in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel artwork. The cleaning of the Sistine Chapel frescoes removed layer after layer of centuries of accumulated tarnish and darkness. Rabbi Benjamin Blech and scholar Roy Doliner's The Sistine Secrets endeavors to remove the centuries of prejudice, censorship, and ignorance that blind us to the truth about one of the world's most famous and beloved art treasures. For hidden in plain sight within his masterpiece, Michelangelo shared his personal beliefs about brotherhood, acceptance, and individual thought among other ideals that the Church would have found blasphemous. "It's hard to believe that the Sistine Chapel—decorated by Michelangelo, one of civilization's greatest artists, studied by legions of art historians, and seen by tens of millions of visitors—could reveal secrets of such enormous magnitude. And yet it all rings true. This book of astounding revelations is built on careful scholarship, lucid exposition, and it is, above all, compelling reading." — New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Harr "Like the best art historians, the authors give us a fresh context for the times, never hesitating to make contemporary parallels. . . . This is a stimulating exploration that makes familiar masterpieces seem strange and new." — Los Angeles Times "The journey of analysis of the complex images rewards the reader with many profound insights about the artwork and the complex nature of Michelangelo's ideas. . . . Fascinating and engaging." — The Jewish Press *Some images that appear in the print edition of this book are unavailable in the electronic edition due to rights reasons * Five hundred years ago Michelangelo began work on a painting that became one of the most famous pieces of art in the world-the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Every year millions of people come to see Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling, which is the largest fresco painting on earth in the holiest of Christianity's chapels; yet there is not one single Christian image in this vast, magnificent artwork.The Sistine Secrets tells the fascinating story of how Michelangelo embedded messages of brotherhood, tolerance, and freethinking in his painting to encourage "fellow travelers" to challenge the repressive Roman Catholic Church of his time."Driven by the truths he had come to recognize during his years of study in private nontraditional schooling in Florence, truths rooted in his involvement with Judaic texts as well as Kabbalistic training that conflicted with approved Christian doctrine, Michelangelo needed to find a way to let viewers discern what he truly believed. He could not allow the Church to forever silence his soul. And what the Church would not permit him to communicate openly, he ingeniously found a way to convey to those diligent enough to learn his secret language."-from the PrefaceBlech and Doliner reveal what Michelangelo meant in the angelic representations that brilliantly mocked his papal patron, how he managed to sneak unorthodox heresies into his ostensibly pious portrayals, and how he was able to fulfill his lifelong ambition to bridge the wisdom of science with the strictures of faith. The Sistine Secrets unearths secrets that have remained hidden in plain sight for centuries. Five hundred years ago Michelangelo began work on a painting that became one of the most famous pieces of art in the world-the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Every year millions of people come to see the largest fresco painting on earth in the holiest of Christianity's chapels; yet there is not one single Christian image in this vast, magnificent artwork. This book tells how Michelangelo embedded messages of brotherhood, tolerance, and freethinking in his painting to encourage "fellow travelers" to challenge the repressive Roman Catholic Church of his time. Authors Blech and Doliner reveal what Michelangelo meant in the angelic representations that brilliantly mocked his papal patron, how he managed to sneak unorthodox heresies into his ostensibly pious portrayals, and how he was able to fulfill his lifelong ambition to bridge the wisdom of science with the strictures of faith.--From publisher description The Shocking Secrets of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel Artwork The recent cleaning of the Sistine Chapel frescoes removed layer after layer of centuries of accumulated tarnish and darkness. The Sistine Secrets endeavors to remove the centuries of prejudice, censorship, and ignorance that blind us to the truth about one of the world's most famous and beloved art treasures. Some images that appeared in the print edition of this book are unavailable in the electronic edition due to rights reasons.