In 2012, art historian Erwin Panofsky's (1892-1968) thesis on Michelangelo— thought to have been destroyed in the Allied bombings—was found safe in a Munich archive. Illustrated throughout, Panofsky's text provides a compelling analysis of Michelangelo's artistic style and deftly compares it with that of Raphael, situating both Renaissance masters in the broader context of Western art. Offering an overview of Panofsky's thought, Gerda Panofsky's introduction discusses the history of the manuscript and the significance of its rediscovery.