Michelangelo the Last Judgment: A Glorious Restoration

Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism

Michelangelo the Last Judgment: A Glorious Restoration Details

Amazon.com Review The outrage that, two decades ago, greeted the plan to restore Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel seems absurd, now that they're on view in all their glory. The 150 absolutely magnificent color plates in this big, beautiful book are eloquent testimony to the project's utter success. Even two small patches of background sky, the "before" picture, gray and streaked, and the "after" picture, blue and clear, are thrilling. Two photographs are used almost as bookends: One of the huge fresco of the Last Judgment after cleaning, and one taken of the whole wall, from the same perspective, before. It is difficult to describe how different the wall is now. Perhaps chief restorer Gianluigi Colalucci expresses it best when he writes, "Today... it is clear how distorting that dark and irregular veil of discoloration had been. It extinguished the colors and confused the forms as it dampened their impact. It revealed only monumentality, and that false, dark melancholy that had a facile hold on the human soul." Colalucci had been the first to touch Michelangelo's ceiling--with a handkerchief dampened with saliva--and discover a deep yellow beneath the soot of centuries, so it seems fitting that he also has the last word in this book. There are two other essays besides his, one by Loren Partridge, an interpretation of the Last Judgment, and one on the history, technique, and restoration, by the late Fabrizio Mancinelli, of the Papal Museums. --Peggy Moorman Read more From Library Journal Michelangelo's "The Last Judgment" completed the decoration of the Sistine Chapel in 1564, and it was the last fresco restored in recent conservation efforts (1990-94). Partridge (Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, LJ 1/97) discusses its historical and iconographic significance separately, summarizing the symbolism in the chapel and the relationship of the figures in the painting. He suggests that we mentally and physically assume the postures and emotions expressed in the painting to fully work through a deep appreciation of its meaning and the artist's intent. To aid this appreciation, the text is illustrated with excellent post-restoration details, a total of 150 color reproductions in all. As a whole, the text and photos showcase the restoration, and reflections at the end of the book by Vatican restorer Colalucci provide fascinating insight into the mind of one working with such a great masterpiece. Colalucci indicates that the restoration opens up a vast area for new interpretation and scholarship, and this book is a step in that direction. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries with art book collections; smaller public libraries might find sufficient its companion on the better-known frescoes, The Sistine Ceiling: A Glorious Restoration (LJ 7/94).?Ellen Bates, New YorkCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more See all Editorial Reviews

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