The Sistine Secrets (42 page)

Poliziano (Angelo Ambrogini of Montepulciano), 59–61, 87

Polydoros, 111

Pontelli, Bartolomeo (“Baccio”), 3, 10, 11, 304

Porphyry, 142

Porta Pia (gate to Rome), 286
fig
–87

Primavera
(Botticelli), 33
fig
–34

Prisoners in Stone
(Michelangelo), 298
fig

Proverbs 9:1, 168

Pseudo-Phocylides, 67–68, 124, 176

Purgatory
(Dante), 275

putti (angelic figures): number five symbolism of, 226, 227
fig;
obscene gestures by, 136
fig,
177
fig

Rachel
(Michelangelo), 274
fig,
275

Rafanelli, Giovanni, 116

Raphael: coded signature used by, 30–31
fig;
portrait of Julius II by, 106
fig; The School of Athens
by, 15, 31
fig,
119; Seal of Solomon used by, 15

Rashi, 95

Renaissance art: Catholic Church patronage of, 25–26; coded protests and insults in, 29–31; concealing forbidden knowledge in, 31–34; deciphering the “esoteric knowledge” in, 34–37; historic use of codes in, 24–29; “special effects” used in, 37–40

repentance, 224–26

The Republic
(Plato), 52

Riario, Cardinal Raffaele, 18, 89, 91

Riario, Girolamo, 18

Righteous Women/Men (Elect) [Sistine Chapel], 255
fig
–56

Rome: Arch of Titus in, 16
fig;
established as Catholic Church capital, 48; Porta Pia gate to, 286
fig
–87; St. Peter’s Basilica in, 106–7, 112–13, 279–80.
See also
Vatican City (
Città del Vaticano
)

Rome (sacking of) [1527], 241–42

Romulus and Remus, 5, 7

Romulus (Roman Emperor), 49

Rosselli, Cosimo, 14, 17, 18, 21

della Rovere, Cardinal Giuliano, 105–6.
See also
Julius II, Pope

della Rovere clan, 29, 243–44, 294

ruach HaShem
(Divine Wind, or Breath), 34

sacking of Rome (1527), 241–42

Sacred and Profane Love
(Zeri), 30

Sacrifice of Noah
panel (Sistine Chapel), 206–8

St. Peter’s Basilica (Vatican City), 4
fig,
106–7, 112–13, 279–80

Salmon-Booz-Obeth
lunette (Sistine Chapel), 219
fig
–20

Salvadori, Roberto G., 53

“same as-below-so-above” reflection, 142–43

Sarah (wife of Abraham), 94–95

Sarfati, Schmuel, 119, 120, 130

Savanarola, Girolamo, 80–83, 86, 88, 96, 125

Scenes from the Life of Moses
(Botticelli), 220–21

Scholem, Gershom, 189

The School of Athens
(Raphael), 15, 31
fig,
119

Seal of Solomon (Star of David), 14–17, 143

Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) [1962], 156, 289

Separation of Heaven and Earth
panel (Sistine Chapel), 195
fig
–96

Seurat, Georges, 258

seven days of creation, 179

Seven Middot, 179–81, 184, 189

seven symbolism, 16–17, 179–81, 184, 189

Seymour, Charles, 97

Shakespeare, William, 35

Sibylline Books
(forgery), 68, 176

sibyls (Sistine Chapel): Classical world basis of, 170–71; Cumaean, 175–78, 177
fig,
178; Delphic, 171–72
fig,
177; Eritrean, 172–73
fig;
Libyan, 174–75
fig,
177–78; Persian, 173–74
fig,
178

sign language for deaf, 35–36

Signorelli, Luca, 18, 103

simony (Greed), 267–68
fig

Sistine Chapel ceiling:
The Ancestors
panel of, 145–56; “bridging” function of, 305–6; central strip of, 187–212; challenges faced by Michelangelo for, 117, 120–22; completion and triumph of, 123;
Creation of Adam
panel of, 197–201;
Creation of Eve
panel of, 201–2
fig;
creation panels of, 193–202
fig; Drunkenness of Noah
panel of, 190–92, 210–12; faux architectural framework of, 138–43, 146;
The Flood
panel of, 208
fig
–10; “flying bow bridge” scaffold designed for, 118, 287, 290, 305–6;
The Forbidden Fruit
panel of, 202–6; four spandrels (
pennacchi
) of the, 157–67; as
funeral monument
of Julius II, 299–300;
The Garden of Eden
panel of, 69, 202–6, 211–12; Hebrew prophets of, 178–86, 189; influence of Kabbalistic thinking on, 73, 119; initial triptychs (three-panel) design of, 191–92; Jeremiah panel of, 183, 184, 213–21
fig;
Jewish figures depicted in, 124–25, 150–56; Jonah panel of, 183, 183–84, 184, 223–32; Julius II’s plans for, 115–23; major design components of the, 131–32; the “official story” on, 123–28;
Original Sin
panel of, 69, 80; as purposely untitled by Michelangelo, 302–4;
Sacrifice of Noah
panel of, 206–8;
Salmon-Booz-Obeth
lunette of, 219
fig
–20; scaffolding dismantled for public display of, 192; as self-portrait of Michelangelo, 300–301;
Separation of Heaven and Earth
panel of, 195
fig
–96; sibyls of, 169–78; trompe l’oeuil element of, 131, 138, 146, 163, 189; Wikipedia on, 124, 125; Zechariah panel of, 132–35, 136
fig,
158, 181
fig
.
See also
Julius II, Pope; Michelangelo’s works

Sistine Chapel (la Cappella Sistina): “The Bridge” metaphor of, 305–6; cleaning and restoration (1980) of, 290; the Conclave (election of new pope) held in, 296; engraving of (1481), 10
fig;
Jerusalem Temple
heichal
reproduced in, 6, 11–12, 137, 141, 294–95;
The Last Judgment
panel of, 81, 82
fig,
129, 249–58, 262–72, 287; meaning of Michelangelo’s, 296–97; meaning of the pre-Michelangelo, 293–95; original fifteenth-century fresco sabotage of, 17–22, 111–12, 294; original ceiling to floor designs of the, 12–17; public “rehabilitation” announcement on Michelangelo and, 290; as replacement of Jerusalem Temple, 294–95; as self-portrait of Michelangelo, 300–301; typical tourist experience with, 129–30; view from St. Peter’s Cathedral, 4
fig
.
See also
Palatine Chapel
The Sistine Chapel
(Mancinelli), 123–24 Sistine Chapel secret symbolism: ALEF, 216–19; of
The Ancestors
panel, 145–56; central strip, 187–212; of creation panels, 193–202
fig;
of four spandrels (
pennacchi
), 157–67, 184–85; “giving the fig” and obscene gestures, 136
fig,
176–77
fig,
178, 195
fig
–97, 210, 300; of Hebrew Prophets as Seven Middot, 178–86, 189; hidden internal organs painting as, 199–200; image of Zechariah as, 132–36; of Jewish faces depicted, 124–25, 150–56; of
The Last Judgment
panel, 251–58, 262–72; Michelangelo’s self-portrait as, 264; number five, 226, 227
fig,
228–29; number seven, 179–81, 184, 189; oak leaves, 29; of original fifteenth-century fresco sabotage of, 17–22, 111–12, 294; “same as-below-so-above” reflection, 142; Seal of Solomon as, 14–17, 143; serpent and angel as, 205–6; sibyls of, 169–78; Sistine as self-portrait of Michelangelo, 300–301; triangle as, 148–49; untitled status as, 302–4; Wisdom, 197, 199–201; yellow badge, 155
fig
–56.
See also
codes (secret symbols); Kabbalistic thinking; symbolism; Tree of Life (Ten S’firot)

site-specific
artwork, 239 Sixtus IV, Pope: early life of, 7–8; oak life symbolism representing, 29; Palatine Chapel rebuilt by, 10–12; personal agenda of, 20, 22, 25, 48, 293–94; political and religious issues facing, 8–10; rivalry between Medici family and, 17–18, 57

Soderini, Piero, 96, 100–101, 108

“sodomy,” 64, 65–66, 243

Sofia (Wisdom), 197, 199, 201 spandrels (Sistine Chapel): David and Goliath, 158, 162, 166
fig;
Esther and Haman, 158, 160
fig,
162–63, 166–67, 191; Judith and Holofernes, 158, 159
fig
–62, 165, 184–85;
Plague of Serpents,
163–64, 167

“special effects”: environmental encoding of, 37–40;
trompe l’oeuil
(“deceive the eye”), 39–40, 131, 138, 146, 163, 189

Star of David (
Magen David
), 14–17, 143

Stein, Gertrude, 259

successionism
doctrine: described, 11; St. Peter’s pyramid monument illustration of, 298; story of Moses symbolism of, 19

symbolism: of
David
(Michelangelo) as Florence, 99; embedded in post-Sistine Chapel by Michelangelo, 240–41; forbidden knowledge, 31–34; Judaism, Christianity, and Classical world triangle, 86, 148–49;
Kabbalistic meditational device,
14, 34, 35; Middle Path (path of the righteous), 189–90; Mozart’s use of Masonic, 34–35; neck, 304–5; Neoplatonic imagery, 34; of Nicodemus figure, 281; number five, 226, 227
fig,
228–29; number seven, 16–17, 179, 179–81, 184, 189; numbers nine (Truth) and eighteen (Life), 240–41; of oak for della Rovere clan, 29;
opus alexandrinum
(Alexandrian work), 14; Oriental carpet, 35; of
Pietà’s
youthful face, 94–95; of Porta Pia (gate to Rome), 286
fig
–87;
Rachel
and
Leah
as Faith, 275; “same as-below-so-above” reflection, 142–43; Seal of Solomon (Star of David), 14–17, 143; “The Stairway” (Virgin Mary), 77; story of Moses as successionism, 19; Wisdom, 197, 199–201.
See also
codes (secret symbols); Sistine Chapel secret symbolism

Talmud: decree forbidden temple reproduction, 6; on Esther and Haman story, 166–67; flood story in the, 209; forbidden fruit/Tree of Knowledge story in, 203–6; Jonah’s story in the, 223–26; medieval burnings of, 153, 283; “the neck of the world” metaphor for Temple in, 304–5; “Talmudic logic” of, 70; tradition regarding Moses and the, 237–38.
See also
Judaism

Ten S’firot.
See
Tree of Life (Ten S’firot)

Tiferet (“beauty”), 71
fig,
180

Titian, 30

Toklas, Alice B., 259

Tommaso dei Cavalieri, 244–46, 262–63, 264–65
fig,
287

Tondo Doni
(Michelangelo), 102
fig
–3

Torah (Pentateuch): as blueprint of the universe, 139–40; Kabbalah mysticism on the, 14; Middle Path (path of the righteous) found in, 190;
par’shiyot
(weekly read portions) of, 190; tradition regarding Moses and the, 237–38.
See also
Judaism

Torrigiano, Pietro, 74–75

Tree of Knowledge, 203–6