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.

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

Arts & Photography

Blech, Benjamin

Doliner, Roy

Graphic Design

HarperOne

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.

History & Criticism

First Edition. First Printing. Small tear to top of DJ. Some edge wear creasing to DJ. Some spotting to edges

The thin line

Crown, Publishers

Irina Markov, an anti-Bolshevik spy who is the confidante of spies--some who work for Russia, some for the United States--learns of Stalin's plans to annex Eastern Europe after World War II and to assassinate FDR, if necessary

Twelfth of April

Random House Value Publishing

I segreti della Sistina. Il messaggio proibito di Michelangelo

BUR Biblioteca Univ. Rizzoli

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Doliner, Roy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Doliner, Roy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Doliner, Roy. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

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

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

The thin line

Twelfth of April

I segreti della Sistina. Il messaggio proibito di Michelangelo