Today the chalk drawing for the painting Christ on the Cross for Vittoria Colonna resides in the British Museum, but what visitors view is not what was given her by Michelangelo.
The original drawing given to her for his last painting had horrifyingly ominous and grotesque demonic, human and animal faces hidden in the swirls of chalk surrounding Christ's body.
Michelangelo's Last Painting is an epic tale of international intrigue and conspiracy at the highest levels. The story spans over 400 years and exposes a chilling revelation discovered in the faces of the original chalk drawing and then concealed in a secret book of the Jesuit religious order and in the painting, which is lost.
The terrifying revelation is an ancient curse, which explains attempts to exterminate the Jewish people since the time of Abraham.
Richard Arenell and Sao Damrey, lovers, notable art experts, and glamorous members of the fine art glitterati, have been given a mission by a powerful and shadowy Asian software mogul and art collector. To find and secure, by any means possible, the painting of Christ on the Cross, which is now rumored to have been found after being lost for centuries.
As their lives are changed so will yours of what is real and what is fiction in Michelangelo's last painting and its warning for the future.
"A cliff-hanger, a thriller, a suspense story...the pace of the story to search out the truth is exciting. Can see it as a movie-- a better movie than Dan Brown's DaVinci Code. Bravo!
-Roberta Rubin Owner, The Book Stall, Winnetka, Illinois Publishers Weekly Best Independent Bookstore in the United States for 2012
"In Boemi's first novel, art scholars and lovers Richard Arenell and Sao Damrey rely on clues passed down from Italian Renaissance artist, poet, and engineer Michelangelo to combat the genocidal demon... track down a mysterious Renaissance painting. Boemi mixes scriptural adjurations with history. As the quest for the missing masterpiece heats up, growing fears that "something ominous" looms seem justified...the action is fast and furious--" - Publishers Weekly "What is most intriguing about Michelangelo's Last Painting is its time span of over four hundred years, exposing a chilling revelation...raising the theological dialogue of 'good vs evil.' Added to the intrigue of Michelangelo's drawing...is a romance between notable art experts and lovers Richard Arenell and Sao Damrey...As for the author's passionate belief in the meaning behind Michelangelo's last painting...it is a frightening possibility that Boemi has put before his readers in a unique plot to consider." - Bookpleasures (Canada) "Last but not least is "Michelangelo's Last Painting, Its Chilling Revelation," which sounds... like the "DaVinci Code." - Wall Street Journal = Michelangelo's Last Painting, Its Chilling Revelation has won the Silver Medal as a finalist for the Ben Franklin Book Award for 2013
