Secrets, Frescoes, and a Thriller Built on Stone: Upon This Rock and the Legacy of Michelangelo

What connects a mysterious death in modern-day Orvieto with a 16th-century papal conspiracy? In David Eugene Perry’s novel Upon This Rock, the answer lies buried beneath cathedrals, frescoes, and centuries of spiritual intrigue — the same artistic and religious legacy now on full display in Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition, in San Francisco through September 14.

Upon This Rock has been described by Tales of the City author Armistead Maupin as “an elegant twisty thriller about a couple who investigate a mysterious suicide.” Lambda Literary Award–winner Fenton Johnson calls it “the gay Da Vinci Code but a lot better.”

Now in a newly released second edition, the novel includes a map of Orvieto, a cast of characters, and updates. It’s also the subject of a screenplay adaptation currently being shopped.

Set in the stunning hilltop town of Orvieto, the story weaves together real history and fictional mystery, much of it inspired by the same forces that shaped the Sistine Chapel. The cover image comes from frescoes by Luca Signorelli in Orvieto’s Duomo — dramatic depictions of the Resurrection and Last Judgment that Michelangelo personally studied before beginning his own Last Judgment in the Vatican.

One of the novel’s most moving scenes — and one grounded in documented fact — takes place on the deathbed of Pope Clement VII. In Upon This Rock, Clement, a central figure, summons his childhood friend Michelangelo, whom he had grown up with in the house of Lorenzo de’ Medici in Florence. There, in a deeply emotional moment, Clement commissions Michelangelo to paint a Resurrection scene for the Sistine Chapel — a final act of faith and artistry as the Church reels from the aftermath of the Sack of Rome. Tragically, Clement dies in 1534 before the work begins. His successor, Pope Paul III, honoring the commission but altering its meaning, changes the subject to The Last Judgment — the massive and iconic fresco that still dominates the Sistine Chapel’s altar wall.

“A richly atmospheric, genre-blending mystery that balances historical depth with modern intrigue… relatable humanity in a plot dense with papal history, ecclesiastical politics, and esoteric symbols. Perry deftly intertwines timelines (alternating between present-day Orvieto and the post–Sack of Rome papacy of Clement VII), offering readers a blend of rich history and contemporary suspense.”
— Kirkus Reviews, June 2025

“Upon This Rock is a satisfying, smart, and soulful read. It’s perfect for fans of Dan Brown who wish Robert Langdon had better fashion sense and a husband, or for anyone who loves Italy, history, and a dose of spiritual mystery with their aperitivo. It’s for readers who appreciate good writing, complex characters, and stories that unfold like cathedrals—beautiful, intricate, and full of hidden chambers.”
— Literary Titan, May 2025

Just as Upon This Rock uncovers the hidden politics behind religious art, Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition invites you to experience that very art — at eye level. No crowds, no time limits, no neck strain. This powerful installation, produced by SEE™ Global Entertainment and Martin Biallas, presents full-scale reproductions of Michelangelo’s ceiling and Last Judgment frescoes, allowing visitors to appreciate every detail in a way the Vatican itself never could.

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Plan Your Visit:

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
1111 Gough Street, San Francisco

Free on-site parking (first come, first served)

June 21 – September 14, 2025
Open Tuesday – Sunday, 10:30am – 5:00pm
(Last entry at 3:30pm)

Duration: 60 to 90 minutes

Tickets start at:
$26 adults | $16 children
$18 students & military | Kids 4 and under: FREE

Wheelchair accessible | All ages welcome

Get tickets: chapelsistine.com/exhibits/san-francisco

This summer, walk among Michelangelo’s masterpieces in San Francisco — then follow the trail they inspire in Upon This Rock. Whether you start with the frescoes or the fiction, one thing is certain: the writing’s on the wall.

From Papal Drama to Artistic Triumph: The Untold Stories Behind The Last Judgment

“Genius is eternal patience.”
– Michelangelo

From 1508 to 1512, under duress from Pope Julius II, Michelangelo created one of the greatest masterpieces in art history: the Sistine Chapel ceiling. He considered himself a sculptor — and said so, loudly — but was compelled to paint. Their relationship was famously stormy. Julius demanded. Michelangelo resisted. Genius was the result.

But did you know that The Last Judgment, the massive fresco on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel — painted two decades later — was also the product of papal pressure and personal history?

It was Giulio di Medici, Michelangelo’s childhood friend and devoted patron, who commissioned the work after becoming Pope Clement VII. Originally, he asked Michelangelo to paint The Resurrection. But Clement died in 1534 before work began. His successor, Pope Paul III, a savvy patron of the arts, kept the commission alive but changed the subject to The Last Judgment — a sweeping and powerful vision of heaven, hell, salvation, and damnation.

Michelangelo, now older and more introspective, poured his soul into the fresco. In one haunting moment, he even painted his own face into the scene — on the flayed skin of St. Bartholomew, held limply by the saint’s outstretched hand. It’s a chilling self-portrait: raw, vulnerable, and almost confessional. Here is the image:

But not everyone approved. After Michelangelo’s death, the Church — now under pressure from the Council of Trent and the growing Counter-Reformation — found the nudity scandalous. Pope Pius IV ordered that the offending bits be covered. The task fell to painter Daniele da Volterra, who added strategically placed loincloths and fig leaves to the nude figures, earning him the derisive nickname Il Braghettone — “the breeches-maker.”

The result is a work layered with drama, both divine and human — from childhood friendships and papal rivalries to artistic defiance and religious reform.

Now, for a limited time, you can experience these masterpieces up close — in a way the Vatican will never allow.

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition
St. Mary’s Cathedral, 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco
June 21 – September 14, 2025

This breathtaking exhibit — produced by SEE™ Global Entertainment and Martin Biallas — brings Michelangelo’s frescoes to eye level. No crowds. No time limits. No craning your neck 60 feet in the air. Just you and the art.

Come see the glory, the controversy, the genius — reimagined in San Francisco.

Visitors are encouraged to share their photos and social media posts with the following hashtags: #SEEGlobalSF #SistineChapelExhibit

Plan Your Visit:

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
1111 Gough StreetFree on-site parking (first come, first served)

June 21 – September 14, 2025Open Tuesday – Sunday, 10:30am  – 5:00pm (last entry at 3:30pm)

Duration: 60 to 90 minutes

Tickets start at $26 adults / $16 children
Students & military: $18 | Kids 4 and under: FREE
Wheelchair accessible
All ages welcome

Get tickets: chapelsistine.com/exhibits/san-franciscohttps://chapelsistine.com/exhibits/san-francisco/

“I am not a painter.” – Michelangelo

These were the reluctant words of the man who would go on to create what is widely considered the greatest artistic achievement in history: the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

In 1508, Michelangelo was compelled—some say coerced—by Pope Julius II to undertake the monumental task of painting the chapel’s ceiling. Despite viewing himself primarily as a sculptor, not a painter, Michelangelo spent five grueling years suspended high above the Vatican floor, painting 33 breathtaking frescoes that changed the world of art forever.

From the Vatican to San Francisco: A Masterpiece Reimagined

Over 500 years later, most visitors to the Vatican encounter Michelangelo’s masterpieces in less-than-ideal conditions—massive crowds, strict time limits, no photography, and frescoes so high above it’s difficult to appreciate the details. That was the experience of Martin Biallas, CEO of SEE Global Entertainment, a decade ago.

Inspired and undeterred, Biallas returned with a mission: bring the Sistine Chapel down to earth—literally.

Drawing on his background in immersive exhibits, Biallas and his team licensed high-resolution images of the chapel’s frescoes and developed a proprietary technique to reproduce them on canvas, mimicking the texture and look of true frescoes. The result? A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view Michelangelo’s work up close, in vivid detail, and with no time limits—or neck strain.

Visitors are encouraged to share their photos and social media posts with the following hashtags: #SEEGlobalSF #SistineChapelExhibit

What You’ll Experience:
Visitors to Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition will be awed by the scale and clarity of these reproductions. Unlike the original frescoes, which soar 60 feet overhead in the Vatican, the exhibit places them at eye level, allowing guests to admire the intricacy of each scene and better understand the narrative power of Michelangelo’s vision.

To enhance the experience, guests can download a smartphone audio guide app. Simply point your device at a fresco, and the app identifies key figures and explains their significance—turning the exhibit into both an artistic and historical journey.

Art, Drama, and Legacy:
The stories behind the art are as powerful as the images themselves. Michelangelo worked in solitude, even hurling bricks at a disguised Pope who tried to sneak a peek before the work was done. To perfect his anatomical accuracy, the artist studied cadavers in the morgue. And despite his protests that he was “not a painter,” his ceiling frescoes have endured as some of the most lauded paintings in history.

Twenty years after completing the ceiling, Michelangelo returned to the Sistine Chapel to paint The Last Judgement, a massive wall fresco containing over 400 figures—including a hidden self-portrait. In it, the prophet is seen dragging Michelangelo’s soul upward toward heaven—a reflection of the artist’s inner turmoil and hope for salvation through his work.

To round out your visit, the exhibition includes a short, 10-minute documentary that shares fun facts about Michelangelo and his process. Featuring a humorous narrator and an animated Michelangelo character, it’s an engaging way for all ages to connect with this Renaissance genius.

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Plan Your Visit:

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel: The Exhibition
Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption
1111 Gough Street
Free on-site parking (first come, first served)

June 21 – September 14, 2025
Open Tuesday – Sunday, 10:30am  – 5:00pm (last entry at 3:30pm)
Duration: 60 to 90 minutes

Tickets start at $26 adults / $16 children
Students & military: $18 | Kids 4 and under: FREE
Wheelchair accessible
All ages welcome

Get tickets: chapelsistine.com/exhibits/san-francisco

Come see the art that changed history—from a new perspective.

Media Contacts:
David Perry / (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com 
Lauren Macmadu / (415) 350-1884 / lmacmadu@ybca.org

YBCA Announces Bold Fall Season Celebrating Bay Area Art, Resistance, and Cultural Legacy

Two new powerful exhibitions—Bay Area Then and MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy— open honoring Bay Area legends and the legacy of Filipino resilience in SoMa

June 17, 2025 – San Francisco, CA: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) proudly announces its Fall 2025 season, a dynamic lineup of exhibitions, performances, and community events. Opening August 1, Bay Area Then and MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy headline the season, each spotlighting the region’s creativity, activism, and restless imagination. 

Bay Area Then showcases work by 21 artists who forged a new creative legacy for the Bay Area in the 1990s. With monumental wall installations, stunning photographic portraiture, and a labyrinthine passage that culminates in an outdoor stage, the exhibition pulses with the electrifying energy of the era.

Including both new and historical works by artists whose influence is still notable today, Bay Area Then features Nao Bustamante, Carolyn Castaño, Bill Daniel, Sergio De La Torre and Chris Treggiari, Beatrix Fowler, Mike “Dream” Francisco, Johanna Jackson, Chris Johanson with Ajax Oakford, Arnold Kemp, Margaret Kilgallen, Josh Lazcano, Alicia McCarthy, Barry McGee, Ruby Neri, Manuel Ocampo, Eamon Ore-Giron, Gina Osterloh, Rigo 23, Spie One, and others. The exhibition is organized by guest curator Eungie Joo, who has worked with many of these artists since the late 1990s, and was recently honored as an Art Basel Awards Medalist for her rich curatorial practice. 

“Bay Area Then is a stirring and timely reminder that the Bay Area has always revived and regenerated itself,” said Mari Robles, CEO of YBCA. “This region is home to artists who push culture, and I can’t wait to gather such legendary San Francisco artists in our galleries, especially since many launched their careers at YBCA.” 

Opening concurrently, MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy boldly celebrates the culture, contributions, and presence of the Filipino community in the South of Market (SoMa) neighborhood and Bay Area. Presented by SOMA Pilipinas in collaboration with YBCA, and inspired by the Filipino term for collective resistance, MAKIBAKA brings together contemporary artworks alongside community-held objects, memories, and movements. 

“MAKIBAKA: A Living Legacy is a reclaiming of our shared story, one woven from generations of defiance, of holding ground, and building home in the face of racism and displacement. It honors the beauty and resilience of our culture and lineage of resistance. In this moment of  rising authoritarianism, it stands as both a celebration and a call—to remember, to resist, and to keep creating and fighting for the future we deserve,” said Raquel Redondiez, SOMA Pilipinas Director.

The exhibition showcases remarkable intergenerational creative expression which defies easy categorization. The exhibition is timed to coincide with beloved community festivals, Pistahan and the Parol Lantern Festival, both returning to YBCA this fall. MAKIBAKA, co-curated by SOMA Pilipinas and Trisha Lagaso Goldberg, features artists including Erina Alejo, Kimberly Acebo Arteche, England Hidalgo, Johanna Poethig, Weston Teruya, Lucille Tenazas, Jenifer Wofford and more. 

“I am thrilled to present these powerful exhibitions at YBCA,” said Robles. “I’m so proud to continue our partnership with SOMA Pilipinas, hosting their show alongside annual events Pistahan and the Parol Lantern Festival this fall. Both MAKIBAKA and Bay Area Then demonstrate YBCA’s commitment to supporting the Bay Area’s artistic communities and its fierce creative voice.” 

YBCA’s fall season will also feature an exciting lineup of performances at the Blue Shield of California Theater at YBCA. Acclaimed companies such as Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Diaspora Arts Connection, Lamplighters Music Theatre, ODC/Dance Company, and Smuin Contemporary Ballet will return to the stage at YBCA. Public programs and artist talks tied to the exhibitions will be announced soon.

YBCA programs are made possible in part by Blue Shield of California, the City and County of San Francisco, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, James R. Lilienthal Trust, California Arts Council, Yerba Buena Partnership, Meridee Moore, Beard Family Foundation, Schwab Charitable Fund, Gaia Fund, David and Carla Crane Foundation, Andrew Skillman and Lydia Choy Charitable Fund, Amy and Hannah Eliot, Maria Kim, Tides Foundation, Wayee Chu and Ethan Beard, Amanda Minami, Klau Family Fund, Peter Rigano and Cody Hicks, Harvey and Leslie Wagner Foundation, Robert and Junko Kenmotsu, The San Francisco Foundation, and YBCA Members.

For more information visit www.ybca.org.

About YBCA:
Opened to the public in 1993, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) was founded as the cultural anchor of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens neighborhood. Our work spans the realms of contemporary art, performance, film, civic engagement, and public life. By centering artists as essential to social and cultural movement, YBCA is reimagining the role an arts institution can play in the communities it serves. For more information, visit ybca.org.

YBCA is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11:00am to 5:00pm. General admission is $10, and $5 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased in person or reserved in advance at ybca.org. Admission is free every Wednesday and on the second Sunday of each month. 

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Arnold J. Kemp
Stage, 2024
cut and sanded plywood, 40 parts
variable dimensions

Ruby Neri
The White Mare, 2024
acrylic on canvas
84 x 72 x 1 1/4 inches
(213.4 x 182.9 x 3.2 cm)
(RN 24.009)
Photo: Jeff McLane

Courtesy of the Artist and David Kordansky Gallery

Carolyn Castaño
Chondua (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta), 2023