Italian Altarpieces, 1250-1550: Function and Design - Hardcover

"The probing of history and the unraveling of style beautifully merge as part of a single investigation....The volume stands as both a summation of work done to date nad a charting out of new directions."--Choice

Since the 1960s, the Italian altarpiece has attracted much scholarly attention, bringing liturgical, social and technical considerations to bear on the subject. The eight contributors to this book provide a synopsis of the different approaches developed in order to enlarge and deepen knowledge of paintings in terms of their historical functions. Patronage, morphology, religious meaning, visual appearance, reception and spatial setting are all discussed. In several cases, new light is shed on paintings that until a few years ago, were dealt with only as elements within a history of pictorial style. In nearly all the contributions there is a major concern with reconstruction, and much new material is presented concerning the historical significance of a specific category of painting.