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19 pages, 2049 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nursing Enlightenment and a Grudge—Reinventing the Medieval Virgin’s Benevolent Breasts

by Cristina M. Guardiola-Griffiths

Religions 2022, 13(4), 326; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel13040326 - 06 Apr 2022

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This article expands upon the function of an adulterous episode in Chapter X, Book II of Alfonso Martínez’s Corbacho. The tale of adulterous deception may use, parodically, Madonna lactans imagery to reveal women’s sinful nature, the extent to which may be understood through [...] Read more.

This article expands upon the function of an adulterous episode in Chapter X, Book II of Alfonso Martínez’s Corbacho. The tale of adulterous deception may use, parodically, Madonna lactans imagery to reveal women’s sinful nature, the extent to which may be understood through an expression of inverted forces. That is to say, the import of Marian lactation in artistic and literary representations helps to fully address women’s particularly evil ways. A final consideration will be given to a particular image of Marian lactation, which represents the hagiographic legend of St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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16 pages, 2747 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Musical Epigraphies of Antiphon Salve Regina by Cristóbal de Morales: The Walls of the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora del Pueyo, Villamayor de Gállego, Zaragoza

by Montiel Seguí

Religions 2022, 13(2), 169; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel13020169 - 14 Feb 2022

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Abstract

In 1990 a publication by Pedro Calahorra reported a unique musical notation of a Salve on the walls of the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora del Pueyo in Villamayor de Gállego, Zaragoza. The contributions offered in this article have enhanced research in this area [...] Read more.

In 1990 a publication by Pedro Calahorra reported a unique musical notation of a Salve on the walls of the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora del Pueyo in Villamayor de Gállego, Zaragoza. The contributions offered in this article have enhanced research in this area through a revised study of this musical epigraphy. The analysis of the palaeography of notation reveals the dating of the work and, therefore, a possible collation with the Spanish polyphonic sources belonging to the white mensural notation, determining that it is the Salve Regina in four by Cristóbal de Morales. This study aims to recognize musical epigraphies as historiographic-musical sources of information capable of intervening in the reconstruction of a musical past, so they must be restored, preserved, catalogued and displayed like any historical document, regardless of their physical support. The Salve Regina written on the walls of the Villamayor de Gállego sanctuary is the witness of a Christian tradition of devotion to the Virgin Mary. Within the Rite of Salve this chant was the most popular in the Iberian Peninsula during the Renaissance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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23 pages, 17618 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Abraham Bids Farewell to Hagar and Ishmael: Continuity and Variation of the Iconographic Type

by Rafael García Mahíques

Religions 2021, 12(12), 1107; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12121107 - 16 Dec 2021

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Abstract

In traditional Christian artistic visualization, the episode of Hagar and Ishmael in the desert has given rise to various iconographic types: “The feast for the weaning of Isaac and Sara’s protests,” “Abraham bids farewell to Hagar and Ishmael,” “Hagar and Ishmael in the [...] Read more.

In traditional Christian artistic visualization, the episode of Hagar and Ishmael in the desert has given rise to various iconographic types: “The feast for the weaning of Isaac and Sara’s protests,” “Abraham bids farewell to Hagar and Ishmael,” “Hagar and Ishmael in the desert” and “Divine salvation for Hagar and Ishmael”. This study looks into the continuity and variation over time of the second of these types: “Abraham bids farewell to Hagar and Ishmael,” the one most depicted out of this entire biblical topic or episode. Since the Byzantine Octateuch in the East (11th century.) and the Canterbury Hexateuch (ca. 1025–1049) in the West, this iconographic type has remained into the Late Modern period, with some variations over time. This study is exclusively iconographic or descriptive; it only verifies the codification of the type in order to set out an analytical basis prior to future hermeneutic or iconological studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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29 pages, 8242 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Engraving and Religious Imagery in the Modern Age: Between Verisimilitude and the Suggestion of Non-Existent Realities. Analysis of Some Cases Elaborated in Spain

by María José Cuesta García de Leonardo

Religions 2021, 12(12), 1096; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12121096 - 10 Dec 2021

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Abstract

The didactic importance of the religious image can be appreciated in the use of engraving and its power to disseminate, especially in the urban society of the Modern Age, in connection with the printed book. Such images will use their evocative power to [...] Read more.

The didactic importance of the religious image can be appreciated in the use of engraving and its power to disseminate, especially in the urban society of the Modern Age, in connection with the printed book. Such images will use their evocative power to suggest, based on observable realities, a reality that never existed, but which is convenient to create: The image will be able to construct this reality and convince observers of its undoubted existence. Some examples elaborated in Spain will be analyzed, as well as their inventors or the engravers who followed the instructions of the previous ones. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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19 pages, 11224 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Humility: Virgin or Virtue?

by María Elvira Mocholí Martínez and María Montesinos Castañeda

Religions 2021, 12(11), 1019; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12111019 - 19 Nov 2021

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Abstract

This paper considers Marian iconography in which the Virgin is depicted sitting on the ground, known as the Virgin of Humility. The creation of this Marian type coincides with Saint Thomas’s systematization of the virtues, which resulted in a decline in the importance [...] Read more.

This paper considers Marian iconography in which the Virgin is depicted sitting on the ground, known as the Virgin of Humility. The creation of this Marian type coincides with Saint Thomas’s systematization of the virtues, which resulted in a decline in the importance of the virtue of Humility. The combination of both cultural traditions has led to a correspondence between the virtue of Humility and the images of the Virgin of Humility. The genesis of this latter type is based on the textual sources and part of the visual representation of Humility, which was replaced during the 14th and 15th centuries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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21 pages, 7074 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Transit of Mary Magdalene’s Soul in Catalan Artistic Production in the 15th Century

by Elena Monzón Pertejo

Religions 2021, 12(11), 1009; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12111009 - 16 Nov 2021

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Abstract

There are a great many studies on the figure of Mary Magdalene in different areas of knowledge. Nevertheless, there is a gap as regards the image of this character in Catalonia, and specifically regarding the visual representation of her soul at the moment [...] Read more.

There are a great many studies on the figure of Mary Magdalene in different areas of knowledge. Nevertheless, there is a gap as regards the image of this character in Catalonia, and specifically regarding the visual representation of her soul at the moment when she died. This text aims to analyze this matter based on two Catalan altarpieces: the Altarpiece of Saint Mary Magdalene from Perella (Bernat Martorell, 1437–1453) and The Death of Mary Magdalene (Jaume Huguet, 1465–1480). The analysis has been carried out based on the postulates from the tradition of studies on iconography and iconology: the relationships between image and text, the history of the iconographic types and the magnetic power of images. The basic hypothesis is that the representation of Mary Magdalene’s soul in the 15th Century in Catalonia is visually borrowed from the iconographic type of the Dormition of the Mother of God. To test this, comparative analyses have been made of the visual representation of the two women and also of the textual sources, such as the canonical and extracanonical gospels, a variety of medieval legends and different hagiographies or vitas and sermons from the period. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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19 pages, 8420 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Saint Agnes of Bohemia: A Thirteenth-Century Iconoclast and the Enduring Legacy of Her Convent as a Sacred Space for Religious Art

by J. David Puett

Religions 2021, 12(10), 826; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12100826 - 01 Oct 2021

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Abstract

Refusing to accept her expected role of becoming an item of negotiation in an arranged marriage to strengthen a political alliance, Agnes of Bohemia (1211–1282), daughter of King Přemysl Otakar I of Bohemia and Queen Constance of Hungary, chose to use her royal [...] Read more.

Refusing to accept her expected role of becoming an item of negotiation in an arranged marriage to strengthen a political alliance, Agnes of Bohemia (1211–1282), daughter of King Přemysl Otakar I of Bohemia and Queen Constance of Hungary, chose to use her royal dowry to finance construction of the first hospital, convent, monastery, and church in Prague committed to the teachings of Saint Francis. Her youth was influenced by nuns providing her education, by a strong familial precedent in the support of churches and convents, and by religious contemporaries. Joining the fledging Franciscan movement, this remarkably well-educated and deeply committed woman entered as abbess of the convent in 1234, dedicating her life to poverty without endowment, devotion, and service to the sick and poor. Agnes was beatified by Pope Pius IX in 1874 and canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1989. Her legacy remains in Prague today with the Gothic convent she constructed now serving as a premiere museum devoted to the Medieval and Renaissance religious art of Prague and Central Europe. Thus, the original goal of building a sacred space for sisters in order to foster spiritual mediation has now been redirected to provide the public the opportunity to become immersed in ecclesiastical reflection viewing the works of artists such as Master Theodoric, the Master of Vyšší Brod, the Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece, and others. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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24 pages, 77433 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hybridity in the Colonial Arts of South India, 16th–18th Centuries

by Simona Cohen

Religions 2021, 12(9), 684; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12090684 - 26 Aug 2021

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Abstract

This study examines the multiplicity of styles and heterogeneity of the arts created on the southern coasts of India during the period of colonial rule. Diverging from the trajectory of numerous studies that underline biased and distorted conceptions of India promoted in European [...] Read more.

This study examines the multiplicity of styles and heterogeneity of the arts created on the southern coasts of India during the period of colonial rule. Diverging from the trajectory of numerous studies that underline biased and distorted conceptions of India promoted in European and Indian literary sources, I examine ways in which Indian cultural traditions and religious beliefs found substantial expression in visual arts that were ostensibly geared to reinforce Christian worship and colonial ideology. This investigation is divided into two parts. Following a brief overview, my initial focus will be on Indo-Portuguese polychrome woodcarvings executed by local artisans for churches in the areas of Goa and Kerala on the Malabar coast. I will then relate to Portuguese religious strategies reflected in south Indian churches, involving the destruction of Hindu temples and images and their replacement with Catholic equivalents, inadvertently contributing to the survival of indigenous beliefs and recuperation of the Hindu monuments they replaced. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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20 pages, 8100 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Incarnation of the Word: Andrea Della Robbia’s Annunciation and Adoration Altarpieces at La Verna

by Stephanie R. Miller

Religions 2021, 12(8), 624; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12080624 - 10 Aug 2021

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Abstract

On the mountainous crest of the Apennines are several buildings comprising the monastic site of La Verna where St. Francis received his stigmata in 1224. Described in 1493 as another Jerusalem in the West, the monastery’s Chiesa Maggiore, Santa Maria degli Angeli, and [...] Read more.

On the mountainous crest of the Apennines are several buildings comprising the monastic site of La Verna where St. Francis received his stigmata in 1224. Described in 1493 as another Jerusalem in the West, the monastery’s Chiesa Maggiore, Santa Maria degli Angeli, and the Chapel of the Stigmata house its most prominent images, Andrea della Robbia’s five altarpieces (c. 1476-c. 1493). This essay explores the beholder’s experiences before Andrea’s earliest two altarpieces at the Observant Franciscan monastery, the Annunciation and Adoration. The history and function of this monastery are considered in light of the themes of these altarpieces and their theological significance. Of relevance are the inscriptions on the altarpieces, which rather than simply identifying the accompanying images, propose interesting interpretations and influences for the altarpieces and which suggest interactive involvement between beholder and the altarpieces in the monastic spaces. Taken together, these works reveal a sensitivity to the specific needs of the Franciscan audience, context, and location and an awareness of Renaissance devotional practices. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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21 pages, 6614 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Retooling Medievalism for Early Modern Painting in Annibale Carracci’s Pietà with Saints in Parma

by Livia Stoenescu

Religions 2021, 12(8), 609; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/rel12080609 - 05 Aug 2021

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Abstract

Annibale Carracci (1560–1609) drew on the Italian Renaissance tradition of the Man of Sorrows to advance the Christological message within the altarpiece context of his Pietà with Saints (1585). From its location at the high altar of the Capuchin church of St. Mary [...] Read more.

Annibale Carracci (1560–1609) drew on the Italian Renaissance tradition of the Man of Sorrows to advance the Christological message within the altarpiece context of his Pietà with Saints (1585). From its location at the high altar of the Capuchin church of St. Mary Magdalene in Parma, the work commemorates the life of Duke Alessandro Farnese (1586–1592), who is interred right in front of Annibale’s painted image. The narrative development of the Pietà with Saints transformed the late medieval Lamentation altarpiece focused on the dead Christ into a riveting manifestation of the beautiful and sleeping Christ worshipped by saints and angels in a nocturnal landscape. Thus eschewing historical context, the pictorial thrust of Annibale’s interpretation of the Man of Sorrows attached to the Pietà with Saints was to heighten Eucharistic meaning while allowing for sixteenth-century theological and poetic thought of Mary’s body as the tomb of Christ to cast discriminating devotional overtones on the resting place of the deceased Farnese Duke. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religion and Art in the Renaissance)

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