Some Books about Sistine - Happy Sistine Reading!

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 Preface

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. The Sistine Secrets unearths secrets that have remained hidden in plain sight for centuries.

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Editor's introduction
Michelangelo Buonarroti achieved such renown in his lifetime that he was widely known and celebrated as Il Divino, or the Divine One. In 500 years, his fame has scarcely diminished. Michelangelo is generally recognized as one of the greatest artists of all time, a universal genius in all fields of visual creativity-sculpture, painting, and architecture-as well as a widely admired poet.

Accessible to readers-useful to specialistsMuch has been written on Michelangelo. By 1970, the number of scholarly books and articles exceeded 4,000, approximately a tenth in English. In the past 25 years, the literature has grown exponentially, with a notable increase in English-language publications. This five-volume series reproduces some 100 articles in English, selected from a broad range of books and journals. The collection is both accessible to the general reader and useful to the specialist, offering a representative sample of old and new commentary on the artist and his work.

Close to 100 photographs in each volumeThis collection also presents the artwork which illustrated the books and articles from which it is drawn-some 500 black-and-white photographs in all.

Offer scholarship and creative thinkingThese volumes introduce the reader to a wide range of scholarship and some of the best minds in the discipline, including Johannes Wilde, Erwin Panofsky, Charles de Tolnay, Rudolf Wittkower, Edgar Wind, and James Ackerman. The volumes offer easy access to an immense and widely scattered literature, much of it difficult to locate. The collection will be especially useful to scholars, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. As journals become prohibitively expensive, and as materials are increasingly moved to storage facilities, this collection will prove a welcome addition to general and specialized art libraries.

The career of a geniusArticles are arranged chronologically with separate volumes covering the artist's early life and works, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, commissions associated with San Lorenzo, the tomb of Julius II and other Roman projects, and a final volume devoted to drawings, poetry, and miscellaneous studies. Spanning his entire 89-year life, the articles explore Michelangelo's prodigious creativity as an artist, thinker, and poet. The sheer quantity of what has been written on Michelangelo can be intimidating; most students have little sense of how to approach or effectively utilize the vast literature. By presenting a varied introduction to a great artist, this collection is a handy reference tool for a wide array of topics, problems, and literature. Individual volumes available:

Vol. 1 Life and Early Works
544 pages, ISBN 0-8153-1823-5

Vol. 2 The Sistine Chapel
616 pages, ISBN 0-8153-1825-1

Vol. 3 San Lorenzo
496 pages, ISBN0-8153-1826-X

Vol. 4 Tomb of Julius II and Other Works in Rome
488 pages, ISBN 0-8153-1827-8

Vol. 5 Drawings, Poetry, and Miscellaneous Studies472 pages, ISBN 0-8153-1826-8.
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The story of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel..
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A comprehensive study of Michaelangelo's Sistine Chapel creations describes its recent restoration, features a double gatefold that illustrates the entire ceiling, and includes a history of the artist and the chapel..
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A gloriously illustrated new exposition of the symbolism of the renowned fresco cycle..
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Eros, art, and gorgeous blasphemy...

Adrianna Borgia, survivor of the Borgia court, presents Michelangelo with the greatest temptations of his life while struggling herself with soul-threatening desires and heresies. Her growing passion for the painter Raphaela Bramante mirrors the sculptor's damnable interest in a castrato in the Sistine choir and in the ideas of secular humanism. Claimed as the epitome of Christian inspiration, Michelangelo's ceiling is revealed as a coup of Eros upon religion, a gorgeous blasphemy and a paean to forbidden love in the very heart of the Church. .
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Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel - the great glory of Vatican art and one of the most treasured masterpieces of Western painting - provide a visual feast for art lovers in this magnificent, affordable new book. Presenting a complete survey of the restored Sistine Chapel frescoes from Creation scenes to The Last Judgment, this book includes a new text by a prominent American art history scholar. The stunning photographs, previously published by Abrams in two separate volumes, show brilliant details as well as large, overall views. There is no other one-volume work on the Sistine Chapel offering such a clear, concise introduction to this perennially popular subject..
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