Siena and the Virgin: Art and Politics in a Late Medieval City State
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Overview
Celebrating the Virgin Mary as both an object of religious devotion and a focus of civic pride, fourteenth-century Sienese artists established within their city a vibrant pictorial tradition that continued into the early decades of the next century. Such celebratory images of the Virgin were also common in Siena's extensive subject territories, the contado. This illustrated book explores late medieval Sienese Marian art - how it was commissioned, created and understood by the Sienese. Examining political, economic and cultural relations between Siena and the contado, Diana Norman offers a new understanding of Marian art and its political function as an expression of Sienese civic ideology.Synopsis
Celebrating the Virgin Mary as both an object of religious devotion and a focus of civic pride, fourteenth-century Sienese artists established within their city a vibrant pictorial tradition that continued into the early decades of the next century. Such celebratory images of the Virgin were also common in Siena's extensive subject territories, the contado. This illustrated book explores late medieval Sienese Marian art - how it was commissioned, created and understood by the Sienese. Examining political, economic and cultural relations between Siena and the contado, Diana Norman offers a new understanding of Marian art and its political function as an expression of Sienese civic ideology.
Library Journal
Because the Virgin Mary was adopted by medieval Siena as patron saint and protector of the city, a significant body of public art with Marian subjects was commissioned from such artists as Pietro and Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Simone Martini, Lippo Memmi, and Duccio. This volume examines 14th-century Marian art from Siena and its surrounding territory, emphasizing the artwork's production and use and incorporating new research into historical records. Aesthetic issues are also discussed, and beautiful reproductions accompany the text. With its scholarly detail and specialized focus, this book will be of interest mostly to academic and research collections.--Kathryn Wekselman, Univ. of Cincinnati Lib. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.