The Cult of the Virgin Mary in Medieval Italy

Art, Devotion, and Liturgy in Orvieto

Inbunden, Engelska, 2025

Av Sara Nair James, Sara Nair (Mary Baldwin University) James

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Late medieval Italy witnessed the widespread rise of the cult of the Virgin, as reflected in the profusion of paintings, sculptures, and fresco cycles created in her honor during this period. The cathedral of papal Orvieto especially reflects the strong Marian tradition through its fresco and stained-glass window narrative cycles. In this study, Sara James explores its complex narrative programs. She demonstrates how a papal plan for the cathedral to emulate the basilica of S. Maria Maggiore in Rome, together with Dominican and Franciscan texts, determined the choices and arrangement of scenes. The result is a tour de force of Marian devotion, superior artistry, and compelling story-telling. James also shows how the narratives promoted agendas tied to the city's history and principal religious feasts. Not only are these works more interesting, sophisticated, and theologically rich than previously realized, but, as James argues, each represents the acme in their respective media of their generation in central Italy.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2025-07-24
Mått183 x 259 x 23 mm
Vikt880 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
Antal sidor360
FörlagCambridge University Press
ISBN9781009526401

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Keramik, mosaik och glaskonst inom Kultur
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Preface; Acknowledgements; Introduction; Part I. History and Context: Orvieto and the Cult of the Virgin: 1. Defining Orvieto 1190–1370: turmoil, popes, spiritual matters, and a new cathedral; 2. The cult of the virgin and the early veneration of Joseph; 3. The portrayal of Mary and the holy family: artistic precedents; Part II. The Orvietan Setting and the Artists: 4. The cathedral and its artistic programs 1291–1372; 5. Ugolino di Prete Ilario; Part III. Ugolino's Frescoes of the Life Of the Virgin: 6. Joachim, Anna and the Childhood of Mary; 7. A new vision of the holy couple; 8. The infancy of Jesus: incarnation and hypostatic union; 9. The Egyptian sojourn and divine portents; 10. Out of Egypt, into Jerusalem: disappearance, discovery and divine revelation; Part IV. Mary's Transition from Earthly Mother to Heavenly Queen: 11. Gateway to heaven; 12. Prophecy, fulfillment, witness and theology; 13. The Beatific Vision; Part V. Appendix: Bibliography; Index.

'The fact that Vasari attributed the beautiful but still under appreciated trecento frescoes in the Orvieto Cathedral by Ugolino di Prete Ilario to the great Ambrogio Lorenzetti is testimony to their extraordinary aesthetic virtues and their importance to the artistic legacy of Siena, which Sara James's book brings out so well. The synthetic character of her work not only gives the frescoes a context by incorporating the magnificent stained-glass window, but it gives a nice balance between theology and aesthetics, liturgy and art. Sara James makes a huge contribution to the history of art in her work on Orvieto.' Paul Barolsky, University of Virginia