The Sistine Secrets

The latest restoration of Michelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel has lifted the dirt and darkening that built up on them across the centuries. Benjamin Blech's book carries that work further, looking past the surface to the bias, suppression, and plain misunderstanding that have obscured what the paintings actually show.

Blech aims to set aside the prejudice, censorship, and ignorance that have distorted how people read this widely known set of images, and to get at what they truly mean.