The Sistine Chapel: paradise in Rome

Abstract

"'The Sistine Chapel: Paradise in Rome' is a scholarly yet accessible history of the Sistine Chapel. Through a study of the main campaigns to adorn the chapel, Ulrich Pfisterer argues that art transformed the chapel into a pathway to the kingdom of God, legitimizing the absolute authority of the popes"--Provided by publisher.

Contents

Prologue at the door of heaven -- Paradise in contention: the "foremost chapel in the world" and Sixtus IV -- Triumphal gate and entrance hall to the city of God: Michelangelo's ceiling frescoes and Julius II -- Tabernacle, Solomon's temple, and the heavenly Jerusalem: Raphael's tapestries and Leo X -- The gate to eternity: Michelangelo's Last judgment, Clement VII, and Paul III -- Epilogue in purgatory: art history and the myth of the Sistine Chapel.