Publisher's Synopsis
The Sistine Chapel ceiling is the largest fresco painting on earth in one of the holiest places in the Christian world. Millions flock to see this work every year, but what the public does not know is that Michelangelo, encoded subversive, revolutionary ideas within this great work of art. Why does the flowing cape of God form a cross-section of a human brain? Why is Eve made from Adam’s side rather than his rib? In The Sistine Secrets two top scholars reveal the secret messages of protest that Micahelangelo hid in his Sistine Chapel masterpiece-right under the nose of the pope. This fascinating book shows how Michelangelo embedded messages of brotherhood, tolerance, and freethinking in one of his greatest works to encourage ‘fellow travellers’ to challenge the repressive Roman Catholic Church of the time. All of this was hidden in plain view in one of the Vatican’s most sacred sites. Relying on recent breakthroughs in our understanding of Michelangelo’s work and the uncovering of an underground movement of interfaith freethinkers and Kabbalists in Renaissance Florence, authors Blech and Doliner reveal the shocking nature of the Sistine Chapel ceiling’s many hidden messages. Professor Benjamin Blech is an internationally recognised author and lecturer and is recipient of the American Educator of the Year award. He has published a wide and varied number of scholarly publications, including 11 books. Roy Doliner’s studies span the spectrum of the humanities: languages, comparative religion, art history, Italian and Roman history and Judaica and he is specialist on the Renaissance in Rome. He is often a docent for scholars and international visitors to Rome and the Vatican museums.
