7. Trecento Glass, Brunelleschi's Mirror, and Alberti's Window. Chapter Summaries -- Brief History of Glass -- 2. Stained Glass: Duccio, Simone Martini, and Taddeo Gaddi -- Brief History of Colorful Glass -- Duccio's Window for the Cathedral of Siena -- Simone Martini's Windows in the Chapel of Saint Martin -- Taddeo Gaddi's Stained Glass in the Baroncelli Chapel -- Conclusions on Trecento Stained Glass: A Network of Glass -- 3. Gilded Glass: Nicola Pisano, Simone Martini, Orcagna, and Paolo di Giovanni Fei -- The Glittering Gold of Mosaics and Cosmati -- The Revival of Verre feglomise -- Nicola Pisano's Area of San Domenico and Sienese Pulpit -- Simone Martini's Maesta and Saint Louis of Toulouse -- Orcagna's Tabernacle for Orsanmichele -- Paolo di Giovanni Fei and Lorenzo Monaco -- Conclusions on Gilded Glass: Harnessing Divine Light and Fiery Rays -- 4. Transparent Glass from the East: Beruni, Hunain, and Alhazen -- Glass Reliquaries from the Holy Land -- Revealing and Concealing -- Rock Crystal Reliquaries from the East -- Beruni on Glass vs. Crystal -- Hunain, Visual Theory, and Transparent Glass -- Conclusions on Transparent Glass from the East: Shaping Renaissance Visuality -- 5. Transparent Glass in the West: Pietro Lorenzetti, Naddo Ceccarelli, and Others -- Reliquaries with Glass: The Case Studies -- Reliquaries by Naddo Ceccarelli and Bartolo di Fredi in Context -- Relic Windows: Precedents and Influences -- Relic Windows in "An Age of Vision" -- Pietro Lorenzetti's Reliquary Tabernacle in Context -- Relic Windows, Mirrors, and Eyeglasses -- The Black Death and Windows to Another World -- Conclusions on Transparent Glass in the West: Seeing Glass through a Renaissance Lens -- 6. Verre Fglomise Reliquaries: Pietro Teutonico and Tommaso da Modena -- Verre Eglomise Reliquaries -- The Franciscan Connection -- Windows to Relics and a Mirror for the Divine -- The Beatific Vision and Viewing God Through a Glass Darkly -- Tommaso da Modena's Reliquary and Ugo da Panciera's Treatise on Perfection -- Conclusions on Verre figlomise" Reliquaries: Reflections of God -- 7. Conclusion: Giotto, Brunelleschi, Alberti, and the Network of Glass -- Through Giotto's Eyes -- Illusionistic Architecture and Glass Vessels: Pietro Lorenzetti and Taddeo Gaddi -- Trecento Glass, Brunelleschi's Mirror, and Alberti's Window.
Summary:
With the invention of eyeglasses around 1260 near Pisa the mundane medium of glass transformed early modern optical technology and visuality. It also significantly influenced contemporaneous art, religion, and science. References to glass are found throughout the bible and in medieval hagiography and poetry. For instance, glass is mentioned in descriptions of Heavenly Jerusalem, the Beatific Vision, and the Incarnation. At the same time, a well-known Islamic scientific treatise, which likened a portion of the eye's anatomy to glass, entered the scientific circles of the Latin West. Amidst this complex web of such glass-related phenomena early modern Italian artists used glass in some of their most important artworks but, until now, no study has taken a comprehensive look at this important phenomenon. 'Seeing Renaissance Glass' explores how artists such as Giotto, Duccio, Nicola Pisano, Simone Martini, and others, employed the medium of glass, whether it be depictions of glass or actual glass in the form of stained glass, gilded glass, and transparent glass, to resonate with the period's complex visuality and achieve their artistic goals. 0Such an interdisciplinary approach to the visual culture of early modern Italy is particularly well suited to an introductory humanities course as well classes on media studies and late medieval and early Renaissance art history. It is also ideal for a general reader interested in art history or issues of materiality.
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.