The Franciscans and Art Patronage in Late Medieval Italy [Hardcover]

Louise Bourdua (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0521821584 | ISBN-13: 978-0521821582

Louise Bourdua examines how Franciscan church decoration developed between 1250 and 1400 by focusing on three important churches. She argues that local Franciscan friars were more interested in their personal conception of artistic programs than following models of decoration issued officially from the mother church at Assisi. Lay patrons also had considerable input into the decoration programs. Bourdua demonstrates how archival documentation and art can be combined to extend our understanding of the Franciscan art programs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This pioneering study addresses a burgeoning area of art - historical enquiry with some extremely profitable results."
-Burlington Magazine (UK)

"...an exemplary combination of archival documentation and visual analysis."
-Quaderni d'italianistica

"Bourdua provides a welcome amount of detail about what and how imagery in some Franciscan churches was produced. Scholars have found great difficulty in demonstrating broad conceptions about Franciscan art in Italy because the material is vast but poorly documented. Bourdua's book offers excellent fodder for the debate about Franciscan patronage to continue."
-Jane C. Long, Roanoke College, Sixteenth Century Journal

"The Franciscans and Art Patronage in Medieval Italy is a thoughtfully crafted and pointed study, effectively combining documentary evidence, Franciscan ideals, and art and architecture to support clear conclusions about the inner workings of patronage and production in the Veneto. Information on the history of the Franciscan order and aspects of the Franciscan life is smoothly integrated as necessary, and contributes significantly to the work's relevance to medievalists across the humanities."
-James Vincent Maiello, UC Santa Barbera

"One of the strengths of Bourdua's study is her meticulous mining of useful material from pertinent notarial and ecclesiastical records...[Bourdua's] volume make[s] valuable contributions to Franciscan studies and to the history of late-medieval art in Italy. Even bookshelves sagging under the weight of the 'veritable industry' of books on Franciscan art should make room for [this].
-Anne Derbes, Hood College, Journal of Medieval Studies

Book Description

In this book, Louise Bourdua examines how Franciscan church decoration developed between 1250 and 1400. Focusing on three important churches, she argues that local Franciscan friars were more interested in their own conception of how artistic programs should work than merely following models for decoration issued from the mother church at Assisi. Lay patrons also had considerable input into the decoration programs. The author also demonstrates how archival documentation and art can be combined to extend our understanding of Franciscan art programs.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (February 9, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521821584
• ISBN-13: 978-0521821582
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,562,190 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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