Michelangelo the Last Judgment: A Glorious Restoration [Hardcover]

Loren Partridge (Author), Fabrizio Mancinelli (Author), Gianluigi Colalucci (Author), Takashi Okamura (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

Michaelangelo's "The Last Judgement", painted on the rearwall of the Sistine Chapel, is consider by many to be the artist's greatest work. This lavishly-illustrated volume presents the work in its entirety, as well as in close-up detail.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

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

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 York
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 207 pages
• Publisher: Harry N Abrams; 1ST edition (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810915499
• ISBN-13: 978-0810915497
• Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 10.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,671,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible, detailed look into this masterpiece, January 7, 2003

By 

Brian D., Hodges (Boise, ID) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Michelangelo: The Last Judgement - A Glorious Restoration (Hardcover)

I must admit that for the longest time, my attention and focus, while studying Michelangelo, has been towards the Sistine Chapel. Most of the books I own on him devote numerous text and space to the ceiling, and a moderate take on the Last Judgement. It's not that I didn't appreciate the wall, or regard it as a masterpiece--truthfully, when I saw it in person, it floored me--I just didn't pay very much attention to it.

Boy, was I missing out. After finishing the companion book, Sistine Chapel: A Glorious Restoration, I decided I should pick this one up as well (might as well complete the picture, so to speak).

First of all, this book does not disappoint. The pictures are sumptuous and provide phenomenal detail. The Last Judgement is a very "busy" painting, with Michelangelo including approximately 400 figures, so it is easy to feel overwhelmed. This book systematically breaks the painting down into its various sections, detailing the thoughts (spiritual and secular) behind the depictions, bringing the fresco into focus.

The book also describes the painstaking restoration the wall went through and its glorious results.

After reading this book, I have a renewed vision and appreciation for this work. When I saw it in Rome, the wall stunned, scared and thrilled me all at the same time; this book brought that all back. Simply put, I love this book and consider it to be an important piece to my collection.

Bravo.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great book of art, November 16, 2004

By 

Isabella Valentine - www.IsabellaValentine.com (Bloomington, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Michelangelo: The Last Judgement - A Glorious Restoration (Hardcover)

Anyone can appreciate this book, hundreds of pages of full color glossy photos of zoomed in shots of paintings done on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.... remarkable. Not bad for the price, usually for this type of quality you'd easily spend another twenty bucks... it has wonderful art history, explanations, descriptions, and fantastic imagery that makes you oooh and ahhh...

My only complaint is that the colors are more muted and aren't color-corrected... the representation isn't as close to what I saw in another book (with more vibrant realistic colors). But for the money, this is an excellent value.

If you're willing to dish out extra money, I also highly recommend "Michelangelo: The Vatican Frescoes" which has by far THE BEST quality photos, more closer zoom shots, as well as in-depth descriptions and photos of how they keep up with the color restoration in the chapel itself.

This book is good for the price, it really is. Especially if you are a fan of Michelangelo. This is probably the second best book out there in my opinion. The only one better is the one stated above.

Good luck, hope you enjoy it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars pixelated, September 3, 2010

By 

Michael O. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Michelangelo : The Last Judgement - A Glorious Restoration (Hardcover)

This is a text book, not a painting book, since the reproductions were selected and edited to illustrate the articles' points, as opposed to enhancing our visual experience. The reproduction is poor at its worst, competent at its best. There are actually pixelatd pictures in this book. (I don't know if the editor still has the job, but I know if I made that mistake, I'd be fired.) Many pictures were printed with barely enough resolution (rough grain on many pictures). I also believe there are color correction issues, but I haven't seen the actual work, so I can't be a good judge. Bottom line - @ this price, and considering the subject matter, the reproduction should look better than, say, a monthly magazine (When was the last time you see unintentional/evitable pixelated pictures in National Geographic, Rolling Stones, Vanity Fair...?). I also get the sense that publisher did not coordinate photography and text before hand since there are many digital crops. It almost feels like, well, we got these pictures and these articles, and let's try to make something out of it. It's very lazy and unethical on the part of publisher not to correct resolution issues. Printers always send publishers a mock-up for approval, and these people just have no respect whatever for the integrity of the reproduced image. I bought it on Amazon based on the reviews and I don't want others to make the same mistake. Go to the library or bookstore to look at it before you purchase.