Medieval History
An earthquake ravages a small town in central Italy. Catastrophic fissures rip through the buildings; desperate cries can be heard from those whose houses are collapsing; others try to attract attention by standing on rooftops and waving their hands but to no avail. Only one home stands firm while the buildings all around it crumble to the ground. Here, the Viadana family kneels in quiet prayer; husband, wife and four sons, all neatly attired and strikingly tranquil amid the chaos, appeal to their local saint, Nicholas of Tolentino.
This compelling image is preserved among the remarkable collection of ex votos at Tolentino, in the Marche region of central Italy: nearly 400 painted wooden boards, dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries, usually about a foot long and orientated horizontally, purchased or commissioned by those who had been granted a miracle thanks to the intervention of St Nicholas.
Ex voto means ?in fulfilment of a vow? and the idea was that when one prayed to the Virgin Mary or to the saints for a miracle one would promise to leave an offering in return for a favour granted. This is why, in Italy and in other Catholic countries, shrines are sometimes bursting with objects and pictures like this one, each recording the miraculous activities of God?s busiest saints.
I have been drawn to thinking about ex votos as part of my project on ?Objects of Devotion: The Material Culture of Italian Renaissance Piety, 1400?1600? funded by a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship. My research reacts against the common misconception of the Renaissance as a secular age, characterised by luxury, individualism, worldliness and scepticism.
Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net
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PLS POST THE FOLLOWING CALL FOR PAPERS FOR COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN FEBRUARY, 2009 (LOS ANGELES, CA) CALL FOR PAPERS: CAA ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Los Angeles, CA, FEB.?09 Session Title: Taking it to the Streets: The Theatre of Public...
Medieval History
Objects of Devotion: The Material Culture of Italian Renaissance Piety, 1400?1600
An earthquake ravages a small town in central Italy. Catastrophic fissures rip through the buildings; desperate cries can be heard from those whose houses are collapsing; others try to attract attention by standing on rooftops and waving their hands but to no avail. Only one home stands firm while the buildings all around it crumble to the ground. Here, the Viadana family kneels in quiet prayer; husband, wife and four sons, all neatly attired and strikingly tranquil amid the chaos, appeal to their local saint, Nicholas of Tolentino.
This compelling image is preserved among the remarkable collection of ex votos at Tolentino, in the Marche region of central Italy: nearly 400 painted wooden boards, dating from the 15th to the 19th centuries, usually about a foot long and orientated horizontally, purchased or commissioned by those who had been granted a miracle thanks to the intervention of St Nicholas.
Ex voto means ?in fulfilment of a vow? and the idea was that when one prayed to the Virgin Mary or to the saints for a miracle one would promise to leave an offering in return for a favour granted. This is why, in Italy and in other Catholic countries, shrines are sometimes bursting with objects and pictures like this one, each recording the miraculous activities of God?s busiest saints.
I have been drawn to thinking about ex votos as part of my project on ?Objects of Devotion: The Material Culture of Italian Renaissance Piety, 1400?1600? funded by a Leverhulme Trust Major Research Fellowship. My research reacts against the common misconception of the Renaissance as a secular age, characterised by luxury, individualism, worldliness and scepticism.
Click here to read this article from Medievalists.net
- Syracuse University Examines ?sex And Power From The Middle Ages To The Enlightenment?
The Ray Smith Symposium in Syracuse University?s College of Arts and Sciences continues its yearlong examination of ?Sex and Power from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment? with a mini residency by Italian Renaissance scholar Michael Rocke. Rocke?the...
- Treasures Of Heaven: Saints, Relics And Devotion In Medieval Europe ? Now At The Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum has begun an exhibition offering visitors a glimpse into the Middle Ages, a time when art mediated between heaven and earth and wondrous objects of gold, silver and precious gems filled churches and monastic treasuries. Relics,...
- The Embodiment Of Devotion: Art, Music And Affect In Late Medieval England Project Receives Funding
Dr Beth Williamson of the University of Bristol has been awarded an Arts and Humanities Research Council Fellowship worth £74,099 to work on a project entitled ?The Embodiment of Devotion: Art, Music and Affect in Late Medieval England?. The project...
- Victoria & Albert Museum Unveils Its Medieval And Renaissance Galleries
London's Victoria & Albert Museum will open a major new exhibition on Wednesday, comprising 10 galleries containing medieval and renaissance art spanning more than 1,000 years. The V&A?s new Medieval and Renaissance Galleries is now home to one of...
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PLS POST THE FOLLOWING CALL FOR PAPERS FOR COLLEGE ART ASSOCIATION'S ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN FEBRUARY, 2009 (LOS ANGELES, CA) CALL FOR PAPERS: CAA ANNUAL CONFERENCE, Los Angeles, CA, FEB.?09 Session Title: Taking it to the Streets: The Theatre of Public...