Michelangelo hid secret code in Sistine Chapel, new book says
Rabbi, Vatican tour guide claim ceiling of chapel, which renaissance artist worked on for four years in early 16th century, is actually a 'bridge' between Roman Catholic Church, Jewish faith
According to "The Sistine Secrets: Unlocking the Codes in Michelangelo's Defiant Masterpiece", the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which the renaissance artist worked on for four years in the early 16th century, is actually a "bridge" between the Roman Catholic Church and the Jewish faith.
Jewish symbols? The Sistine Chapel (Photo: Ablestock)
The book, The Telegraph reported, is the work of Rabbi Benjamin Blech, an associate professor of Talmud at Yeshiva University in New York, and Roy Doliner, a tour guide at the Vatican.
Scanning through the arrangement of figures on the vast 14,000 square foot ceiling, the authors have found shapes that correspond to Hebrew letters.
For example, the book states, the figures of David and Goliath form the shape of the letter gimel, which symbolizes g'vurah, or strength, in the mystical Kabbalah tradition.
"There are so many layers of meaning on meaning, and most of it is from the Jewish tradition," Doliner said on an American television program, The Telegraph reported.
Rabbi Blech added that all the figures in the nine scenes on the ceiling are Jews.
"He emphasizes only Old Testament figures in the entire ceiling, and what he was trying to say was: Why have we ignored our true roots?" he said.
'Dan Brown syndrome has struck again'
According to the report, the authors believe the entire Sistine Chapel, which they say is built to the same proportions as the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, is a "lost mystical message of universal love" which was intended to be decoded.
The two believe Michelangelo picked up his knowledge of Judaism while at the court of Lorenzo de Medici in Florence.
They also say there are several attacks on Pope Julius II, who commissioned the work, embedded in the painting. Disgusted with papal corruption, they think Michelangelo painted the prophet Zechariah in the pope's likeness.
Behind him, one angel is "making an extremely obscene hand gesture at the back of his head."
According to the The Telegraph, critics of the new book point out that there is no record in Michelangelo's extensive and well-preserved writings of any secret code in the ceiling.
Marco Bussagli, an art history professor at Rome's La Sapienza university, said the revelation of "anti Catholic and anti-Christian" messages on the roof "suggests that the Dan Brown syndrome has struck again."
Brown is the author of "The Da Vinci Code", a controversial book which claims Jesus was secretly married to Mary Magdalene.
