The Visual and the Visionary: Art and Female Spirituality in Late Medieval Germany [Hardcover]

Jeffrey F. Hamburger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 1998

The Visual and the Visionary adds a new dimension to the study of female spirituality, with its nuanced account of the changing roles of images in medieval monasticism from the twelfth century to the Reformation. In nine essays embracing the histories of art, religion, and literature, Jeffrey Hamburger explores the interrelationships between the visual arts and female spirituality in the context of the cura monialium, the pastoral care of nuns. Used as instruments of instruction and inspiration, images occupied a central place in debates over devotional practice, monastic reform, and mystical expression. Far from supplementing a history of art from which they have been excluded, the images made by and for women shaped that history decisively by defining novel modes of religious expression, above all, the relationship between sight and subjectivity. With this book, the study of female piety and artistic patronage becomes an integral part of the general history of medieval art and spirituality.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

What do objects of art mean to a nun who has sworn off objects in a vow of poverty? Sometimes they mean everything, according to Hamburger (art history, Univ. of Toronto). Much attention has been given to the portrayal of women in art; Hamburger instead addresses women's use of art. He explores the changing role of art in female spirituality during the Middle Ages in Germany with specific regard to the pastoral care of nuns and shows that art objects had myriad purposes for these women. In addition to predictable purposes (playing a role in the experience of the Mass), art could serve as an aid to intuitive experience, as a type of rebellion by privatizing worship, or simply as something to be created and sold for purposes as mundane as supplementing endowments or purchasing prayer books. Hamburger's well-executed work is highly recommended for academic libraries.?Nadine Dalton Speidel, Cuyahoga Cty P.L., Parma, OH
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jeffrey F. Hamburger is Professor of Art History at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Nuns as Artists: The Visual Culture of a Medieval Convent and The Rothschild Canticles: Art and Mysticism in Flanders and the Rhineland Circa 1300.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Zone (October 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0942299450
• ISBN-13: 978-0942299458
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 7.6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,354,790 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.