5 comments about Caravaggio.

1. My library contains many various volumes on the subject of Caravaggio--fiction, biography, fictionalized biography and photo surverys of his works--but if I were allowed only one book on this most extradordinary painter and his life I'd take "Caravaggio" by John T. Spike. In this weighty large-format picture-book Mr. Spike has given us the most complete look at the artist and his works currently available, presented in graceful depth so as to engage any interested reader and art enthusiast regardless of the nature of his commitment. It's unusual to find such an authoritative colaboration of art historical expertise and first quality illustration as we have here, a book to read, study and savor.



2. My husband and I just came back from Italy and we had to have a Caravaggio book. His painting in Vatican museum was especially memorable! I picked this book and it is very good. I agree with the earlier comments that some (not "many") pictures are poor quality (too red), but many photographs are very good, nice size for an art book and very important - it is an interesting and detailed research.



3. Great book on the greatest of all Italian painters. Glorious plates. And the text is a pretty good bio.



4. The reproductions are excellent. The binding is fine and the cover handsome. The writing is solid academically. I would have liked the book to have had more information on the artist and his life. Much is left to be done in the study of Caravaggio. His life still seems to be quite mysterious. His probable use of optics and mirrors in his work is touched on and needs further exploration. This book provides a good introduction to Caravaggio and his paintings in a handsome package.



5. 
   the quality of the research and the color of the paintings are outstanding.
   Also the CD-ROM has an unbelievable amount of information on the artist's
   works and their provenance.
   Dr.John T. Spike's 20 years of research is shared with the reader and is so readable and engaging.

3 comments about Michelangelo (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists).

1. A book intended for ages 4-10, the book attempts to introduce the artist and his paintings. A very dry attempt at that, but it is a great spring board to start. A very simple book with cartoons to atract young readers. Samples paints with breif explainations of each work. I have used this book only as an introduction. I do follow up with more books that give a deep explaination. This book is an inexpesive way for children to experience various paintings and engage their natural curiosity to investigate further. To introduce the artists and his works of art this is an average book for the young.



2. "One of the things that made Michelangelo such a great artist was his ability to give a special energy and strength to the people he painted and sculpted," p.29

   The young reader will learn about Michelangelo's beginnings in a city near Florence, the brief time he spent as a baby with a family of stonecutters, his years of study at the workshop of Ghirlandaio, his years under the patronage of Lorenzo de' Medici and his years working for Pope Julius II.

   Michelangelo did things on a grand scale. His "David" of Goliath fame is 16 ft., 10 in. in height and took 2.5 years to complete. His "Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel" is 5800 sq. ft. in area and took 4 years to complete. The young when doing an art piece are frequently never able to complete it within the allotted time, regardless of the length of the allotted time. It seems there is a reluctance on the young's part to feel it is complete, because it seems there is always some additional work required. They share Michelangelo's art ethic and will appreciate his dedication.

   My favorite sculpture in the book is Michelangelo's "Pieta," sculpted in 1498-1499. There is both an expressed fragility to Jesus' body and an overwhelming gentle strength in Mary's holding of him. It gives testimony to Michelangelo's complete oneness with the roughness and hardness of marble. The marble was putty in his hands.

   Venezia's illustrations are humorous. His narrative is delightfully entertaining. His approach brings the artist within reach of the young. His portrayal of Pope Julius II in the Sistine Chapel offering unsolicited comments on Michelangelo's work jokingly brings to the fore the conflict that existed between the two.

   The size of the book is perfect for smaller hands. It enables the young to have art within their grasp. Venezia gives the locations of the paintings and as result if the child lives near one of the museums or will be near one on vacation, she/he would be able to see the original.

   This is the 11th in Venezia's "Getting to know the World's Greatest Artist" series. He also has a similar series on composers. Venezia's back cover illustration ties back to the subject. "Mike found it easy to relate to Michelangelo's painting the Sistine Chapel ...".

   The price of the book is well worth paying. The book contains the following: Michelangelo's sculptures (5), chapel ceiling fresco (1), chapel wall fresco (1), marble relief (1), dome from building plan (1), and sculptures unfinished (2), Venezia's illustrations (7), Others' sculptures (2), frescoes (2) and gilt bronze panel (1).




3. I read this to my pre-k and she loved it. We read this AFTER we saw David in Florence. I wish we had read it before as it would have built up the excitement of seeing the statue, but no matter, it was fun for her to learn about how Michelangelo grew up to become one of the most famous artists in the world. It also made us both appreciate his works of art. There was just enough text to tell his story, but short enough to not lose a child's attention. We are reading the others in the series.

5 comments about Michelangelo's Notebook.

1. It's not very often that I actually can't get through a book, but this one I just had to put down. I can't speak much to the quality of the whole story since I didn't finish, but the the writing style is so bad, I couldn't take anymore. If you read the first few chapters, you will see what I mean. He starts of the book by describing the novel's heroine in physical detail, because (of course) she just happens to be a nude model for art classes in her spare time. Which is completely unrelated to the rest of the story. It comes off like a dirty, but also totally cheesy, porn romance novel. I mean, he seriously spends several sentences talking about the color of her nipples, and even compares them to seashells. The whole book goes on like this. I read about 100 pages and then had to stop.



2. I have a feeling Paul Christopher was as bored writing this book as I was reading it. He seemed to just end it with no real effort to wrap up any loose threads or explain why any of the events happened or what reason there was for the string of murders. But then, maybe that was par for the course since none of the characters seemed to have any real motive for anything they did, whether it was killing someone, having sex with someone, or anything else.
   
   All that being said, it was still better than Davinci Code.



3. This book looked like a winner-then I read it! The author indulges himself by going off on too many tangents with too many subplots and too many superfluous characters so that when the book comes to an end, you feel like you only got part of a story. The ending was boring, and didn't tie into anything. To me, this is a Dan Brown wannabe. Save your money.



4. I read about this book in one of the back pages of The Last Templar (one of those advertisment pages for new books). I was happy that there's more books in the Dan Brown/Ray Khoury genre as I like the intrigue of "lost treasure" books. Although the protagonist in this book sounds like a fun girl, the action was a bit too much. The author uses at least one flashback every 3-4 chapaters to set up future events. For some reason, it felt like a lot of flashbacks which frequently were difficult to put together.
   
   This isn't a bad book if you're interested in the genre that Dan Brown brought us (actually, Dan Brown is mentioned directly in the text of this .. found that interesting). It's a fast read but won't leave you thinking for days after you finish.



5. The first few paragraphs after the prologue (a detailed description of the main characters nude body) put a pretty low expectation of this book in my mind. But it got a little better within the first few chapters. It seemed to set up an interesting premise with the discovery of the notebook page and a few murders. But sadly the plot went nowhere, and I mean nowhere. Aside some pointless although entertaining flashbacks of WWII everybody just sat around surfing the web finding stuff out (when they are not having sex). I did not know you could find these super deep dark secrets using google. The author also goes into very detailed descriptions of the surroundings that get old really fast. It is half of the book. The final showdown was a big mess, you don't really know what happens because everybody fumbles around in the dark. Lame lame, story skip it. This gets 2 stars because it was an easy fast read.

5 comments about Michelangelo.

1. While browsing through a local bookstore I chanced upon Michelangelo by Diane Stanley. What a beautiful book! Not only were the pictures captivating, but the information was excellent. Michelangelo's famous picture of the creation of the moon and stars that graces the Sistene chapel is on the cover. My children were enthralled as I read how Michelangelo spent many hours dissecting human cadavers at a local morgue, becoming so familiar with the human body that he was able to make his works come alive with breathtaking detail. I will look for more books by this same author. Children(and adults)will read this book over and over. A great addition to your home library!



2. Award-winning author Stanley presents a stunning picture book biography of true Renaissance man Michelangelo Buonarroti, who came to master the arts of sculpting, painting and architecture in fifteenth and sixteenth century Italy. Stanley blends information about Michelangelo and his life as an artist with historical detail to set the scene, and then introduces a fascinating cast of personalities that include his first master Domenico Ghirlandodaio, the Warrior Pope he offended, and his contemporary Leonardo Da Vinci, who was Michelangelo's envy and rival.
   Stanley reproduces and discusses Michelangelo's greatest works (David, the Sistine Chapel, the Pieta) then adds details such as fresco painting techniques and the gruesome necessity of dissecting cadavers to study anatomy. Quotes from Michelangelo's own letters enrich the text; it is a tragedy that he destroyed many of his personal papers before his death.
   A full-page illustration to exemplify the narrative compliments each page of text; the text pages are decorated with period coins, coats of arms, stonecutting tools, portraits, sketches and reproductions. The illustrations are an unusual mix of paintings which feature scanned images of Michelangelo's works of art, including drawings and sketches, sculpture and paintings.
   Stanley's paintings (which show the housing, dress and goods of the poverty stricken as well as the palace-dwellers) seem flat when paired with Michelangelo's dimensional artwork, and the contrast is a bit awkward. Her paintings imitate the style of the times in color, layout and subject, while still following the narrative. A richly-hued historical map of Italy explains the government of the time as well as the layout of the country, while the author's note opposite gives a defines the Renaissance. Bibliography & permissions are provided; the absence of a timeline and glossary may disappoint teachers.



3. Born March 6, 1475 in the little stonecutter's village of Caprese, about fifty miles east of Florence, and left in the care of a nurse, Michelangelo "fell asleep to the odd lullaby of chisel striking stone. Years later he remarked that his love of sculpture must have come to him along with his foster mother's milk." From an early age, Michelangelo wanted to become an artist. His father, ashamed that his son wanted to enter such a lowly profession, tried to literally beat the idea out of him, but the headstrong and determined child would not give in, and in 1488 was apprenticed to the famous painter, Domenico Ghirlandaio. After only one year his unrivaled talent was noticed by Lorenzo de'Medici, a great and generous art lover and patron. He brought Michelangelo into his palace and treated him as one of his sons, encouraging his art. But upon Lorenzo's untimely death, Michelangelo was sent back to his father's house, and cast in the role of family breadwinner, "a role he would play for the rest of his life." And so it was that the difficult and disagreeable, perfectionist Michelangelo's greatest masterpieces, The Pieta, David, and the paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, were commissioned works by patrons and popes..... Diane Stanley's intriguing biography takes the reader on a compelling and suspenseful journey as she details the life and times of the greatest artist of the Renaissance. Her easy to read and engaging text is rich in history, art, drama, and anecdotes, and complemented by her ingeniously creative and innovative illustrations. Together word and art captures the essence of the arrogant and tormented artist, and brings Michelangelo and the Renaissance to life on the page. Perfect for youngsters 9-12, Michelangelo is a well researched and spellbinding introductory biography, and another marvelous addition to Ms Stanley's superb series.



4. With popular culture grabbing my daughter's attention so powerfully, it was nice to have some high brow material that could compete with the Disney genre. My favorite part was when my girl asked, "Why doesn't God just stretch his finger a little more like this [stretched her finger] to touch Adam?" The whole book is a single bed time reading for a parent to a child. It reads a bit like a cliff hanger with the reader along for the ride through Michaelangelo's challenges and accomplishments.



5. Michelangelo is an interesting look into the life of Renaissance superstar artist, Michelangelo Buonarroti from birth to death. Born in Italy March 6, 1475, Michelangelo was destined to become an artist and knew this is what he wanted from a young age. He was raised in various homes, by a nurse in the village of stonecutters and later in the home of the ruler of Venice, Lorenzo Medici who recognized his talent and brought him to live with him as his own sons. At the age of thirteen he begged his father to become a lowly artist's apprentice working in fresco for the time of three years. His true love was though not painting, but sculpture. Michelangelo eventually created some of the worlds' most famous art artworks including the sculpture of David and the painting inside the Sistine Chapel and worked on countless commissions for several popes and rulers trough out Italy. Many interesting facts that children will be sure to pick up on, including Michelangelo's work with corpses to study the human form and his feud with another Renaissance superstar Leonardo Da Vinci, keep this book interesting and exciting.
   Stanley's interesting illustrations are unique. She combines photographs of true artwork (it is hard to copy a master!) with her own paintings to create a visually stimulating illustration. This book would be good for any adult that is wanting a "more than basic" but easy reading book about the life of Michelangelo.

5 comments about Michelangelo (XL Series).

1. I received this book yesterday, and it is certainly a monumental work, weighing close to 20 pounds and superbly produced. But potential buyers should be aware that while this book is labeled as a definitive, complete guide to Michelangelo's work, its real focus are the paintings and drawings. There is probably no better book for the Sistine Chapel ceiling and the Last Judgment, with scores of extraordinary closeups of every part of each painting. The foldout of the creation of Adam is a joy to behold. Readers may or may not like the fact that probably 40% of the book is on Michelangelo's drawings, given that these are mostly preliminary sketches for sculptures or paintings, as opposed to complete drawings in their own right, as in the case of Leonardo Da Vinci. The book also covers Michelangelo's architecture very well.
   But obviously many readers will buy this book because they want to see Michelangelo's sculptures, and this book is surprisingly, disappointingly weak in this area. Of course, the David gets its due and there is also good coverage of the Vatican Pieta and, oddly, the Bacchus. But many of the other sculptures, such as the Moses and the Risen Christ, get only one large and one small picture, despite the fact that the book, at over 700 pages, has space to spare. By contrast, the "Complete Michelangelo" by William Wallace provides multiple views of each and every piece of sculpture.
   But most incredible, indeed inexplicable, of all, is that this book (unlike Wallace, or any other Michelangelo book that I know of) fails to provide any large pictures at all of what are, next to the David, the most iconic and powerful of Michelangelo's sculptures: his four "prisoners" in Florence. Having seen these in person, I can easily understand why artists for centuries have looked in awe at these amazing "unfinished" sculptures which show figures struggling to emerge from the marble-which is exactly what Michelangelo felt he was doing when he took his chisel to the rock. How on earth, in a book of this size and ambition, can the omission of these sculptures be explained? Indeed, no explanation is provided, and the only illustration of these four sculptures, which have so influenced modern art, is four tiny, poor quality pictures in the second section of the book that is a complete catalog of all of Michelangelo's sculptures. By contrast, the Wallace book has a four page foldout that shows the four sculptures next to each other.
   In short, this book is fantastic for the paintings and drawings and a very disappointing missed opportunity for the sculptures. One can only wistfully imagine what would have been if the sculptures had been photographed as carefully and as thoroughly as the Sistine Chapel paintings. By all means get this book--and overall I am glad that I did, despite its high cost--but adjust your expectations and don't expect that this one book will suffice to fully cover all of Michelangelo's genius.



2. This massive book is stronger on the paintings than on the sculptures. And after all, Michelangelo is one of the greatest (to me the greatest) sculptors of all time. Still, this impressive book is certainly worth purchasing. Try to find a copy of the William E. Wallace book published in 1998 to enjoy magnificent plates on the sulptures. You might still find copies online from remainder booksellers.



3. Wonderful inside and out. No further commentes are necessary: by all means, buy it !!



4. this book is extraordinary for the paintings; the drawings are documented, but its print quality is rather low, even the quality of paper they are printed on is inferior... and THIS IS A VERY DISAPPOINTING BOOK FOR THE SCULPTURES



5. Excellent pictures of the frescoes, inadequate coverage of sculptures. This book is unrivaled for the sheer size of its reproductions. It is so huge that it is a bit difficult to read--one has to rest it on a table. Not suitable for reading in bed, to say the least. But the quality of the printing and colors in the main part of the book is first class. Its coverage is especially fine on the paintings. It comprehensively covers the Sistine Chapel with huge-size foldout prints of every fresco. There are fine close-ups of important areas, which are an amazing 2/3 of life size. One can examine these fresco details from a foot away--never before possible--instead of from 60 feet away with a craned neck. This can be breathtaking.
   
   The sculpture photos are good too, but not numerous. I had been expecting several photos of each sculpture from various angles. Bacchus, Pieta, and David are well shown in multiple views but this is not the case for most works.
   
   The text is on the whole well written and interesting.
   
   The authors have extreme views on authenticity. This leads them to exclude very important sculptures because, it appears, the authors consider them unproven to be authentic. For example, the Santo Spirito wooden crucifix is shown only small, poor quality, and in black and white. (A far better, color, picture, can be found, free, in Wikipedia.) Even the Madonna and Child bas-relief that is his first work, the one selected to adorn the cover of the 100,000 euro La Dotta Mano book, and, worst of all, the four Slave sculptures, some of his most iconic works, are also relegated to poor quality black-and-whites at back of the book, as all are judged suspect by these authors.
   
   Some paintings receive the same relegation: the Manchester Madonna (which is clearly at least in part by Michelangelo) is hardly visible in a tiny, dark, picture, and the Entombment.
   
   A book claiming to be comprehensive should have a more detailed and thorough section on questioned works. Opinions change over the years and some of these will be authenticated later. In some cases it seems that the authors are among few people who dispute authenticity.
   
   The book has a very large number of drawings, but the coarser paper in that section of the book, and the low contrast and low resolution and small size (even in this monster book) of their printing, makes them hard to see clearly. This section is a strange contrast to the wonderful beauty of the fresco reproductions in the first section of this book. It would have been better by far to show fewer drawings at a larger size, and illustrate the sculptures properly.
   
   Nevertheless, this is an outstanding book for the frescoes and pretty good for the sculptures that are shown.

5 comments about Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling.

1. I found this an excellent read. It's pretty much a straight forward story of Michelangelo. It seemed to have updated information compared to "The Agony and the Ecstacy" and much less drama.



2. A master sculptor, who becomes a painter, to continue with his quest and passion as a sculptor. King's accounting of the painting of the sistine chapel ceiling is filled with details of day-to-day situations arranged and contrived by the artist. Micelangelo must use real world problem solving skills to deal with the realities of his times in his performance in completing a task of incrediable challenges. King convincingly clarifies and disarms some of the myths surrounding the work and working process. Clearly King has done his research and gives an insightful accounting of the life and times of Pope Julius II and his relationship with Michelangelo and other artist, architects and politicians. The warrior Pope maintains a love and support of the arts throughout his career with a special display of admiration and love for the artist, Michelanglo. He does all this while managing some strategic manuevers in an era of difficult and trying political arena. For anyone interested in the Renaissance art and artist of the time this approach to learning is a pleasant read. As for me, I am looking into what else Mr. King has to offer.



3. If you have come this far, you really should go ahead and get this book and read it. Make sure you have some time set aside, because once you start you will not want to put this book down. This is the third Ross King art history book I have read. It meets my two criteria for an Amazon review: Is it worth the time? Is it worth the money? Yes and yes. It is highly readable, factual and entertaining. It provides insight into the works of Michaelangelo, which constitute some of the great cultural artifacts of civilization. At the same time, King sticks to his subject - The Chapel Vault- thus he has little discussion of early Medici years, many of the great sculptures, the Last Judgement and even the architecture of St Peter's. This is focused on this special period and task. The events of Julius II's reign and his military campaign are the core of discussion - one is tempted to wonder what aesthetic motives drove this man. We are made aware of Raphael working across the way and Bramante and his group fishing for influence. The point of view is decidedly in favor of Michaelango's side in controversies, but evidence is somewhat balanced. Whatever happens in your reading program, do not miss this one.



4. This is one of the finest historical books I have read. It is well researched and insightful, as well as occasionally funny. King has an amazing way of bringing historical figures to life and placing them in context. I read it as I travelled Italy and finished as we visited the Vatican and Sistine Chapel. Perhaps that brought it to life more for me. I recommend this book to anyone who is even mildly interested in Michelangelo or art. It is a great read.



5. We saw the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican and I wanted to know more about the person and the era that it was created. This book helped fill in the gaps of my knowledge.

2 comments about Magnifico: The Brilliant Life and Violent Times of Lorenzo de' Medici.

1. Sometimes, it seems to me that it would take a committee to produce an adequate biography of Lorenzo de' Medici. He was a many-sided jewel of a man, flashing his facets in so many directions that no single author could be the master of all of them. He was a sportsman, diplomat, political boss, essayist, poet, musician and connoisseur of all the arts. On the personal level he was a dutiful husband and loving father of a large family; he also had a reputation as man with a voracious appetite for extra-marital sex. Some 2,000 of his letters survive, along with more than 20,000 addressed to him by people from all over Europe: ambassadors, popes, princes, dukes, kings and their consorts, as well as friends and ordinary people from all walks of life. The sheer volume of material by and about Lorenzo is overwhelming.
   
   Doing justice to such a complex and many-sided life in a single volume intended for the general reader would be a tall order for any writer, and I suspect that scholars of Renaissance history in general and the Medici in particular will look down their noses at this effort. Most of the author's sources are in English, thus ignoring much of the voluminous biography available in Italian; he makes very little use of archival materials (only two such sources are cited, both available on-line), and worst of all, for scholars at least, he doesn't use footnotes. Although there are some notes annoyingly appended to the bottom of some pages, and other notes hidden at the back but not indicated in the text, many sources for the "facts" (if they are indeed facts) presented are undocumented and may leave even the general reader wondering where the information came from.
   
   But despite these criticisms (which may not matter to most readers) this is a very well written and absorbing narrative. Unger is especially good at telling the various dramatic stories that punctuate Lorenzo's life. He emphasizes the political side of Lorenzo, however, perhaps to the detriment of the many other aspects of his life. I would have liked to have read more about Lorenzo's poetry and other literary works; seen more attention to his patronage of music, and perhaps read more about his complicated love-life, commented on by many of his contemporaries.
   
   



2. 
   No one volume life of Lorenzo can ever be comprehensive because he is a significant figure in too many areas. He is a major figure in Florentine, Italian and European political, diplomatic and cultural history. In the history of art, indeed, he may be said to be of global importance. He was himself a poet of skill, eminent in the literature of his time. Yet his cultural significance is his legacy to posterity. To the people of his city and time, however, his main importance was political and diplomatic; and that is the role most completely explored in this book.
   
   This is not an unreasonable choice since his political role consumed most of Lorenzo's time. He worked endlessly to buttress and expand his family's de facto control of Florence, modifying the voting and political systems at least twice to do so (always to concentrate more power in his hands while careful to observe the old republican forms). He was equally active in trying to expand Florence's influence in Italy and beyond. These efforts were strenuous and stressful, especially in the early years of Lorenzo's primacy, for there were many who sought to challenge his ambitions and those of Florence.
   
   Indeed, his first decade or so of power was fraught with a seemingly endless series of revolts and conspiracies, internal and external, culminating in the murderous Pazzi conspiracy that resulted in Lorenzo's wounding and the death of his beloved brother. There were also wars, especially after the Pazzi plot, with great danger for the regime and for Lorenzo personally. He not only survived all of this, he increased both his power and prestige because of the brilliant political and diplomatic outcome that he personally brought about. For the rest of his life he was both highly adroit and greatly influential in Italian affairs, to the point that many of his contemporaries credited him with keeping the intense rivalries of the various regimes from causing the peninsula to implode. The book's author believes that, if Lorenzo had lived (he died at the early age of 43), he might have been able to prevent the French invasion of Italy and the innumerable disasters that followed. It is a kind of tribute to Lorenzo that this wholly improbable notion cannot be totally ignored.
   
   The book covers all of this in some detail and does a good job of describing what these monumental efforts cost Lorenzo in terms of stress and energy. Note that leaders of the day had to do much of their work personally as there were no significant administrative agencies or personal staffs to carry out their intentions for them. The tasks of governing were immense and consuming; and Lorenzo was personally beset every day by dozens of citizens seeking his opinion, his favor or his fiat. Note too that Lorenzo had also to run the far flung Medici banking business, one of the two major roles in which he performed poorly (the other was trying to educate his son Piero in how to rule: Lorenzo's constant efforts and advice were ignored and Piero remained an arrogant and ultimately unsuccessful fool). These enormous demands on Lorenzo make his cultural impact even more astonishing.
   
   The book also sketches Lorenzo's role in some of the arts, primarily literature, architecture, painting and sculpture. The author does this well but just enough to whet the appetite. And other arts are mostly untouched (e. g. music, philosophy).
   
   The book is clearly aimed at the educated general reader and is almost entirely based on printed works written in English or translated into that language. There is little, if any, research into contemporary documents or archives. The book is primarily an able retelling and contains no unexpected insights or research finds. Its prose style is clear and reasonably fluid, if not enchanting. The book is marred, however, by a significant number of the sorts of typos, omissions and other printing errors that should be caught by a competent publisher's staff. The author was poorly served in this respect.
   
   Overall this is a worthwhile, if necessarily incomplete, portrait of an amazing man. In Lorenzo's day the word magnifico ("magnificent") was a term of polite respect accorded to prominent leaders. Only with Lorenzo did it in his own time become part of his personal identity and it has remained so to this day. This book suggests why.

5 comments about The Agony and the Ecstasy: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo.

1. This is one of the best books ever written. It transports you into the life of one of the greatest men to ever live. Although the book is fairly long and can be difficult to read, the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti is such a fascinating tale that you will never tire of this book. The reader will empathize with Michelangelo's passion for sculpting and the pain of his servitude for various popes and kings. Please forgive the cliche, but this book is "a must read". It is a necessity for as many people as possible to know the life of the man who is responsible for some of the most breathtaking pieces of art in existence.



2. I bought this for friends who are in Rome for a year at The Vatican. She is a tour guide and he works with the Seminary at The Vatican so it seems like the perfect gift. It's huge! But made me yearn to read it again- high school was a LONG time ago.



3. A wonderful biography of an amazing artist. Truly well written. Not only does the writer tell the story of Michelangelo but he also provides a glimpse of Italy in that period. This is a must read.



4. If you are planning a trip to Italy, read this book before you go. Everything Michelangelo will mean so much more to you. A big, fat, thick book, but worth every minute of your time. One of those books that you tend to read more slowly near the end, because you don't want it to end.



5. This book is fantastic if you want to immerse yourself in the daily life and culture of an artist in Italy living 500 years ago. The insight into the artistic process is very well written and you get a true sense of what artists were subjected to by way of maintaining themselves in the world. Read it to get yourself into the mind of an artist.
   
   That said, it is a biography, so there are no shocking twists or big reveals like you will find in great fiction. I don't know why other reviewers seem to fault the book for this. Yes, it can seem rather banal compared to modern fiction, but it's not modern fiction. Is it the best written book in the world? No. It could have done with some more editing for one. It's still a good read.

5 comments about The Angel Inside: Michelangelo's Secrets For Following Your Passion and Finding the Work You Love.

1. Liked the way the author put the Important things needed in life using the Michelangelo ....
   This is a quick read is a good refresher if you have lot of self help books...this would refresh ur memory fast...
   
   Good one....



2. Very inspiring book! Will help you acknowledge that you DO have a passion and some keys to help you find what it is. I will read it over again!



3. This is a good, easy and pleasent book to read. The message is simple yet important. I recomend it to all who enjoyed Who Moved My Cheese.



4. The Angel Inside by Chris Widener was an enjoyable treat. Not a novel reader per se, I found this easy and fast read ... a pleasant surprise and a welcome break from the fast pace of life and the must reads of self improvement. It was hard to put down and I will pick it up again the next time I need to abscond from the `Salt Mine' and the unrelenting `Chore Master' of the `Fast Lane' Life! Will be on `Gift List' for almost every occasion! Dr. D. P. Gatten



5. I agree with the person who said: "This is a good, easy and pleasent book to read. The message is simple yet important."

5 comments about The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages in the Heart of the Vatican.

1. This work got lots of press -- that it doesn't deserve. The best feature is the innovative fold out book jacket that turns into the entire ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Other than that, it is written for biblical scholars, not those interested in the ontology of the painting. Very few pictures, generally very poor quality. Not casual reading.



2. Like the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (and the Last Judgment fresco on the wall at the alter end), this book is wonderful at many levels.
   
   First, it will help people understand a lot about one of the great philo-Semitic periods of history. Together with Britain in Victorian times, surely wonderful to see the Italian Renaissance and the period of Lorenzo di Medici (The Magnificent) was a time of great interest in Jewish learning on the part of non-Jews and a sense of Jewish-chic.
   
   Second, a great deal of Kabbala theory will be found here. The first author being a professor of Talmud at Yeshiva U., he also presents quite a drosh on Talmudic and Midrashic issues as they touch on the images in Michelangelo's work.
   
   Third, an enormous amount of "insider" history of the period esp, about the papacy and Italy is presented. To call this "juicy" would hardly do it justice! Vast amount of historical fact (all right, call it "gossip").
   
   Finally, this is a book about great, if familiar art. It will help you enjoy Michelangelo's entire work (not just the Vatican masterpieces). There are many hidden messages within Michelangelo's work and many of these are based on his grasp of Jewish sources. If not all the observations seem convincing to all, a great many surely do.
   
   Highly recommended for people who love the real stories within history. By the way, the writing is as good as the best New Yorker articles.



3. I would like to tell Rabbi Bleich and Mr. Doliner that the naked men
   on the cover are inappropriate.I don't care if it's "art". There is no excuse for such a lack of tzniut (modesty). How do I bring such a book into my home? I have to glue a piece of cardboard over the cover???



4. 
   The book is a "Michelangelo Code" of sorts, but like Dan Brown's novel, it offers no documentary evidence and nary a footnote to back up its claims.
   
   As someone who has led many a tour in the Sistine Chapel, the first thing that struck me about the book was how the claims of Blech and Doliner revolve around the most frequently asked questions by visitors to the chapel.
   
   Why is there so much Old Testament imagery in a Christian chapel, many query as they see the cycle of Moses on the walls and Genesis, painted by Michelangelo across the ceiling.
   
   The authors declare that Michelangelo changed his original commission from the Twelve Apostles requested by Pope Julius II to the Genesis cycle out of a secret sympathy for Jews. But Pope Sixtus IV, the uncle of Julius, had already hired the finest painters in Florence 25 years earlier to decorate the lower panels with the stories of Moses paralleling the life of Christ.
   
   As art historians and theologians know, the point of these images was to represent the seamless flow from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the fulfillment of God's covenant with man through the coming of Christ. As a consecrated chapel where the Pope would celebrate the Eucharist some 40 times a year, the theme of God's plan for man's salvation starting from the origins of our need to be saved was an apt choice for the ceiling.
   
   But for Michelangelo, the subject of Genesis offered the possibility of accomplishing a feat never done before: Painting a narrative 60 feet off the ground and making it readable from the floor through his unique sculptural painting.
   
   Doliner and Blech insist that Michelangelo learned about Kabala, a form of Jewish Gnosticism, in the garden of Lorenzo de Medici in Florence, when at 15 the young artist went to study sculpture there.
   
   They hypothesize that Pico della Mirandola was the origin of Michelangelo's interest in Kabala.
   
   Pico, a philosopher and humanist, had formed a syncretistic theory of all ancient thought from Plato to the Arab writings of Averroes to Kabala and the Bible. Like Thomas Aquinas' "Sententiae," Pico dreamed of defending his thesis before an international congress of scholars, but many of his theses were condemned as heretical and ultimately Pico retired to Florence.
   
   Pico, at the time Michelangelo met him, was closely tied to Giacomo Savonarola, the famed Florentine Dominican preacher. By then Pico had already recanted his heterodox theories.
   
   The authors overlook that Michelangelo was a third order Franciscan, like his hero Dante, as well as the fact that while Michelangelo never mentioned Pico, he often recalled the sermons of Savonarola throughout his life.
   
   But what they conspicuously neglect is that Michelangelo was taking a hammer and chisel into his hands for the very first time and embarking on the greatest love affair of his life, with the art of sculpture. Michelangelo's messages would not be interesting to us if his art were not so powerful, and that richness of his works comes from the ceaseless practice of his art. We honor him today for his extraordinary talent, which he knew was God-given.
   
   So how do Doliner and Blech turn him into a propagandist with crypto-Jewish sentiments and an anti-papal agenda?
   
   Drawing on Dr. Frank Meshberger's 1990 article in the Journal of American Medicine, where he proposed that the cape of God in the creation of Man was shaped like a cross-section of the human brain, the authors seize on the idea, speculating that it is the right side of the brain, which according to Kabala contains secret God-given knowledge.
   
   Even if Meshberger's theory were correct, one would only have to look at the Gospel of John 1:1, "In the beginning there was the Word," a source with which Michelangelo was certainly more familiar, to find the idea of God as Logos.
   
   Many tourists over the years have wondered why God, in the creation of the sun and moon, is so prominently featured from the back.
   
   In the hands of these authors, the tired old tour guide joke that this was the origin of the term "mooning," becomes the basis of their anti-papal theory. They claim that Michelangelo made God "moon" the Pope, because he was so angry about having to paint the chapel instead of work on the sculptural commission he had been promised.
   
   From here they extrapolate that Michelangelo was disgusted with the corruption of the papal court, as well as the Church's treatment of the Jews and added figures making other obscene gestures at the Pope. Besides the fact that these other gestures are nowhere to be seen, it is ironic that two writers purporting to be familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures missed the most obvious scriptural reference to God's "back parts," when Moses in Exodus 33 asks to see God's glory and is denied because no one can see God's face and live.
   
   God, to show his favor of Moses, allows him to look upon His "back parts." The Christian understanding of this event is that in the Old Testament man cannot see God, but with the Word made flesh, everyone could finally look upon God's face.
   
   This theological point, which justifies Christian art, explains why Christians have a visual culture and why Michelangelo could dare to paint God.
   
   The reason why Doliner and Blech have a chapel to study is because the people who gathered in that space and the man who painted it believed that God descended among men as Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, and in that space during the Mass, we could relive the encounter with the living God.
   
   Ultimately, the authors claim that Michelangelo, gainfully employed and greatly respected within the Vatican walls, was betraying the trust placed in by the Pope and theologians of the court, to advertise his own interests on the walls of the Sistine Chapel.
   
   It is perhaps not surprising that this idea occurred to co-author Roy Doliner, who despite a lack of any formal education in art history or theology has been able to earn a living giving tours at the Vatican Museums. He hangs his own agenda on isolated images from the chapel without any consideration of the chapel's meaning and function as a whole.
   
   The book is redolent with anti-papal sentiment, despite lip service paid elsewhere by Blech to Pope John Paul II and the "good Pope John XXIII."
   
   According to these authors, the Pope, his court and the endless stream of theologians, historians, saints and philosophers who have meditated on the chapel, were blind to this "code"; only the wisdom of Doliner and Blech could see to the mind and heart of Michelangelo. Gnosticism at its best.
   
   In the end, Doliner and Blech's interpretation of the chapel mirrors others that see the chapel as a sort of Protestant manifesto, and is only slightly more plausible than another recent theory that the chapel contains encrypted messages from aliens.
   
   Gender studies, psychologists, gay activists and thousands of others have seen themselves reflected in the ceiling and have co-opted Michelangelo for their own agendas over the years.
   
   Bottom line: If everyone can find him or herself reflected in the ceiling of the chapel, it makes Michelangelo pretty universal. And isn't that the definition of Catholic?
   
   * * *



5. This book is very interesting because it goes into the culture and background of why Michelangelo spurned the pope with his art. I recommend it.