The Sistine Chapel: Paradise in Rome

The Sistine Chapel: Paradise in Rome is a concise, informative account of the Sistine Chapel. In unpacking this complex history, Ulrich Pfisterer reveals the remarkable unity of the images in relation to theology, politics, and the intentions of the artists themselves, who included such household names as Botticelli, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Through a study of the main campaigns to adorn the Sistine Chapel, Pfisterer argues that the art transformed the chapel into a pathway to the kingdom of God, legitimizing the absolute authority of the popes. First published in German, the prose comes to life in English in the deft hands of translator David Dollenmayer.

Ulrich Pfisterer is professor of art history at the Institut für Kunstgeschichte at the Lugwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. David Dollenmayer is a prizewinning literary translator and emeritus professor of German at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts.