Set In Stone: The Face In Medieval Sculpture
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Set In Stone: The Face In Medieval Sculpture
The faces on many medieval heads are often extremely generalized, but some depicted actual people. This exhibition includes portrait heads from the third through the early sixteenth century, demonstrating the changes in stone portraiture that occurred over time. The tender image of the young princess Marie de France carved in marble that dates to 1381, from the permanent collection, is a particular highlight. Her elegantly coiffed head was once adorned with real jewels.
Faces in medieval sculpture are explorations of human identity, marked not only by evolving nuances of style but also by ongoing drama of European history. The eighty-one sculpted heads featured in this beautifully illustrated volume provide a sweeping view of the Middle Ages, from the waning days of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. Each masterful sculpture bears eloquent witness to its own history, whether it was removed from its original context for ideological reasons or because of changing tastes.
In the late 1970s the handsome New York stockbroker and connoisseur retreated into the Appalachian Mountains, taking his sublime collection of medieval and Renaisance sculpture with him. Some 50 years later, it is being offered in New York
The rough surface of European limestone and sandstone sculptures was usually concealed by paint, gilding, inlaid glass, or semi-precious stones. A plain white surface like those of classical Greek and Roman marble sculptures was considered the most desirable finish, so marble was rarely decorated. In actual fact, these classical sculptures would probably have originally been painted, but by the time they were rediscovered in post-classical times, the paint had worn away.
Drawing on extensive unpublished archives, Norman reconstructs the circumstances surrounding the commission of Marian art in the three most prestigious locations of fourteenth-century Siena: the cathedral, the Palazzo Pubblico, and the hospital of Santa Maria della Scala. She analyzes similarly important commissions in the contado towns of Massa Marittima, Montalcino, and Montepulciano. Casting new light on such topics as the original site for the reliquary tomb of Saint Cerbone, patron saint of Massa Marittima, and the identity of the patrons of the Marian frescoes in the rural hermitage of San Leonardo al Lago, the author deepens our insight into the origins and meaning of Sienese art production of the late medieval period.Siena, Florence, and Padua: Art, Society, and Religion, 1280-1400 by Diana Norman (Editor)Call Number: Oversize N6913 .S53 1995ISBN: 0300061250Publication Date: 1995-02-22Contents:v. 1. Interpretative essays -- The essays contain discussions of the politics and the economics of the cities during the 14th century; the major practitioners of painting, sculpture and architecture; the significance of communal and familial patronage of art in the three cities; the relation of art to the religious belief and devotional practice and to the broader intellectual ambience of the cities; and the impact and significance of various historiographical traditions.v. 2. Case studies. -- This second volume focuses on major works of art produced in Siena, Florence or Padua or executed by artists associated with the three cities. The case studies include discussions of the evolution of two important building types (town halls and cathedrals); the devotional and liturgical contexts of pre-eminent 14th-century altar-pieces; interpretation of the major fresco cycles in the Arena Chapel, Padua, and the Sala dei Nove, Siena; the significance of sculpted representations of the body; and the distinctive impact of familial or specifically female patronage.Medieval Architecture, Medieval Learning: builders and masters in the age of Romanesque and Gothic by Charles M. Radding; William W. ClarkCall Number: Oversize NA390 .R33 1992ISBN: 0300061307Publication Date: 1994-09-28The eleventh and twelfth centuries witnesse