Sayonara, Michelangelo: Sistine Chapel Restored and Repackaged - Hardcover

In the early 1980s Nippon TV struck a deal with the Vatican: in return for several million dollars to underwrite the cost of cleaning and restoring the one of the West's most renowned works of art, the Japanese TV network would own exclusive rights to images of the restored Sistine Chapel ceiling. This book recreates the history of the ceiling, from its creation in a 16th-century Renaissance world dominated by Rome, to its restoration and repackaging in a late 20th-century secular world. More than just a history, this book presents a new image of Michelangelo as a rational, colourful artist, rather than the tortured, impulsive genius portrayed by art historians (and Charlton Heston). This interpretation is interwoven with the story of Japan's growing dominance in the world marketplace.