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Rare and welcome are the occasions when the fruit of mature and thoughtful psychoanalytic exegesis are brought to bear on major works of our cultural heritage in a way that deepens and enriches not only our understanding of an artistic genius and his work, but also at, another level, our understanding of ourselves and our human condition. Oremland offers us such a meaningful and profoundly searching exploration into the masterwork of Michelangelo—the Sistine chapel, with its magnificent panorama of frescoes that are uniquely and magnificently human and religious. Oremland's sensitive and probing analysis achieves a delicate balance between a psychoanalytic hermeneutic and a respectful interpretation of religious themes. The text is accompanied by 123 graphic illustrations on which to feast the eyes as well as the mind.
Oremland's account reflects the sophistication and well-nuanced quality of his thinking as he grapples with the complexities and level of implication and significance embedded in the monumental accomplishment of one of the greatest painters of the 16th century, if not all time. His tapestry is woven of several interlocking strains. One is the methodological concern that brings into focus the complex issues of the legitimacy and verifiability of a psychoanalytic interpretation based on the kind of materials that are available in the study of an historical figure—a kind of study very different from the living interpersonal experience of the analyst and analysand, yet in some ways very similar. With elegance, and in sensible, yet nuanced terms, Oremland presents us with an understanding of the psychoanalyst's efforts to probe and understand both the work and the worker. The task is never simple and is fraught with pitfalls aplenty.