The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Hidden Messages and How He Defied the Pope

published	May 1st 2008 by HarperOne
binding	Hardcover
isbn	0061469041 (isbn13: 9780061469046)
ebook
pages	272
description	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 Chape...more [close] 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. <blockquote> "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 </blockquote> 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. [close]
date added	11-18-07 edit book

find at: Amazon | Half.com | Barnes & Noble | Abebooks | more...

Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Hidden Messages and How He Defied the Pope.

discuss this book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

friend reviews (0)

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

lists with this book

Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 44)

Ryan rated it:

06/13/08

Read in June, 2008

I'm tempted to say that there is a lot to learn from this book. However, it is marred by a procession of errors and mistakes so bad that the editor should be fired and the authors should be embarrassed.

And, I'm not talking about any of the controversial stuff. Before I even get to the Jewish history and so-called secrets, I am distracted by a level of factual inaccuracy that had previously been reserved to just Dan Brown - but he writes novels. That an academic book would be so riddled with...more I'm tempted to say that there is a lot to learn from this book. However, it is marred by a procession of errors and mistakes so bad that the editor should be fired and the authors should be embarrassed.

And, I'm not talking about any of the controversial stuff. Before I even get to the Jewish history and so-called secrets, I am distracted by a level of factual inaccuracy that had previously been reserved to just Dan Brown - but he writes novels. That an academic book would be so riddled with problems is insulting to the reader and the wider public that don't have the ability or interest to fact-check their casual reading.

Here are some examples:

On page 156 the authors state that Pope John XXIII has become a saint. This is false. It is simply mistaken. It is not controversial or secretive, it is simply incorrect. The language is very clear: "Four decades after his death, Pope John XXIII underwent a name change. He is now officially Saint John XXIII..." This is the equivalent of saying that Al Gore is President of the United States: It's just not true. THEN the mistake is REPEATED on page 289!!

On pages 118, 219, and 286 the authors refer to Saint Peter's Basillica in Rome as a Cathedral. It is NOT a Cathedral. A Cathedral is a church that is the seat of a bishop. The pope is bishop of Rome, and his seat is Saint John in Lateran Church (a simple wikipedia search, or any guide book, on the two churches will testify to this fact.)

On page 93 the authors, writing of how Michelangelo somewhat scandalously signed his name to his Pieta sculpture in Rome in 1499 (other sources claim 1501), claim, "He escaped before the Swiss Guardsmen, who most likely would have decapitated any intruder on the spot, could catch him." Well, there are indeed Swiss Guards in Saint Peter's Basilica today, but any high level knowledge of Vatican history would tell you that they arrived first in 1506. When Michelangelo was signing his name to the Pieta, THE SWISS GUARDS WEREN'T THERE YET. To not rely on just Wikipedia for confirmation of this (as the authors of this supposedly academic book sometimes do in one of their shockingly rare citations), i checked two respectable sources: Ross King's acclaimed book Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling, which on 206, tells of Pope Julius II initiating the Swiss Guard in 1506; and the actual Guardia Svizzera Pontificia Rapporto Annuale 2003 (Pontifical Swiss Guard Annual Report 2003), which in a table titled I Commandanti della Guardia Svizzera Ponteficia (The Commanders of the Pontifical Swiss Guard), traces the lineage of their leadership back to one Kaspar von Silenen, who began in 1506!!

Sistine Secrets explores previously ignored or avoided aspects of the history of the Sistine Chapel and of Michelangelo, and it is perhaps likely that the authors bring to us treasure troves of background and knowledge about the Talmud, Kabbalah and Midrash of Jewish culture. But, how can I trust them about those subjects about which I previously knew nothing when on the things that I AM familiar with they are so unattractively mistaken?

Dan Brown we can forgive for his many falsehoods, because he is a novelist. But, that a rabbi and a Judaica expert write an academic book with so much uncontroversial sloppiness - if it is true that Michelangelo was hiding secret messages of Jewish background into his work, certainly tihs book does a great disservice to it. For these reasons, despite great excitement and eagerness to learn at the outset, I found the book to be a great disappointment.

...less

Like this review? yes

1 comments

Rodney rated it:

06/22/08

Read in June, 2008

recommended to Rodney by: Saw it in a bookstore.
recommends it for: Art history majors.

This is a great book for those who want to learn more about the Sistine Chapel. The history at the beginning is a bit slow, but the research is well done. It is very interesting. I can't say that I agree with all the conclusions of authors, but the authors made a good case for their work.

The most interesting aspect of this book is what I learned about Jewish mysticism. I would like to delve into that a bit more.

A disappointment about this book is that most of the illustrations are in bla...more

Like this review? yes

title link
avg rating
small image
med image
large image

The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Hidden Messages and How He Defied the Pope

discuss this book

friend reviews (0)

lists with this book

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 44)

book data (includes all editions)

blog this book

popular shelves

other editions