Published on the occasion of an exhibition held at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England, March 7 - June 4, 2017. Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-191) and index.
Contents:
Introduction -- Family life -- The Madonna, Christ and the saints -- Practices of prayers -- Miracles and pilgrimage -- Reform and renewal.
Summary:
Madonnas and Miracles exposes a hidden world of religious devotion in the Italian Renaissance home. Challenging the idea of the Renaissance as an age of increasing worldliness, it shows how religion remained a powerful force that coloured every aspect of daily life. Across the length and breadth of Italy, houses were filled with decorative objects and works of art with spiritual significance, designed to aid members of the family in their devotional lives. A wide range of religious activities, from routine prayers to extraordinary experiences such as miracles and exorcisms, took place within the home, where they were adapted to key moments in the life-cycle, including birth, marriage, sickness and death. This illustrated publication explores a variety of devotional objects and images, from luxury items to everyday household goods. Bringing together jewellery and ceramics, manuscripts and printed books, sculpture and paintings, the book offers a vivid encounter with Renaissance spirituality and domesticity. The result is a new vision of a period in which the material world was charged with sacred power. Exhibition: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, UK (Spring 2017).
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.