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Juan Martínez Montañés was one of the most important sculptors and altarpiece architects of the Spanish Golden Age. The restoration of the Santa Clara church in Seville has presented a unique opportunity to study the main altarpiece, crafted by Montañés between 1621 and 1623. He was also in charge of the polychromy and gilding, believing that delegating these procedures to others would diminish the quality of his work. This conviction led to a well-known lawsuit with the renowned contemporary Spanish painter Francisco Pacheco. Ultimately, the painter and sculptor Baltasar Quintero performed the polychromy of this altarpiece, but under the strict conditions of Montañés. Various non-invasive analytical techniques, such as CT, UVF, XRF, and digital microscopy, were employed to study wood treatment and polychromy. Additionally, three samples were prepared as cross-sections and analysed by SEM-EDX. The results revealed Montañés’ meticulous woodwork, anticipating its long-term preservation. Consistent with Montañés’ commitment to maintaining the superior quality of his work, the analysis showed an absence of a ground layer in the flesh areas, while the gilding was executed with high-quality gold. The pigment palette corresponds to the treaties and documents of his time, and the extensive areas of later retouches were accurately located. These new data provide a deeper understanding of both the technique and the high standards of one of the most important and globally recognised sculptors.

Painted polyptych altarpieces appeared on high altars in late Duecento in the churches of mendicant orders. They were characterized by a special manner of organizing visual material by juxtaposing single half-figures with each other and arranging them in rows and columns, allowing no room for narrative elements, widely used at that time in panel painting. Such narrative-free character of main altarpieces would be preserved throughout the whole period of their popularity. However, polyptychs created in late Trecento integrated narrative scenes and even entire cycles into the structure of the altarpieces, which required new approaches to composition and to the use of pictorial space. The article examines the role of narrative content in altarpieces of late Trecento and discusses the origins and development of this new style. Живописный алтарный полиптих, предназначенный для главного храмового алтаря, сформировался во второй половине XIII века в Италии в церквах нищенствующих орденов и использовал особый способ организации визуального материала путём сопоставления фигур между собой и выстраивания их в ряды по вертикали и по горизонтали, в рамках которого почти не было места для повествовательных элементов, которые в это время широко использовались в других типах живописных произведений на досках. Такой «анти-нарративный» характер алтарный образ будет сохранять на всём протяжении своего существования. Однако произведения, созданные с середины до конца XIV века, демонстрируют уникальные решения, нацеленные на интеграцию повествовательных сцен и даже циклов в структуру алтарного полиптиха, что потребовало новых конструктивных решений и композиционных подходов. Автор статьи анализирует эти решения, роль нарративных элементов в алтарных полиптихах второй половины треченто и задаётся вопросом о причинах появления новых решений.

Juan Martínez Montañés was one of the most important sculptors and altarpiece architects of the Spanish Golden Age. The restoration of the Santa Clara church in Seville has presented a unique opportunity to study the main altarpiece, crafted by Montañés between 1621 and 1623. He was also in charge of the polychromy and gilding, believing that delegating these procedures to others would diminish the quality of his work. This conviction led to a well-known lawsuit with the renowned contemporary Spanish painter Francisco Pacheco. Ultimately, the painter and sculptor Baltasar Quintero performed the polychromy of this altarpiece, but under the strict conditions of Montañés. Various non-invasive analytical techniques, such as CT, UVF, XRF, and digital microscopy, were employed to study wood treatment and polychromy. Additionally, three samples were prepared as cross-sections and analysed by SEM-EDX. The results revealed Montañés' meticulous woodwork, anticipating its long-term preservation. Consistent with Montañés' commitment to maintaining the superior quality of his work, the analysis showed an absence of a ground layer in the flesh areas, while the gilding was executed with high-quality gold. The pigment palette corresponds to the treaties and documents of his time, and the extensive areas of later retouches were accurately located. These new data provide a deeper understanding of both the technique and the high standards of one of the most important and globally recognised sculptors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes a multidisciplinary study on a typology of altarpiece that predominated in the Canary Islands during the 18th century: the laminated altarpiece. Three examples preserved in churches in Icod de los Vinos, in Tenerife, are analyzed, and this typology is linked to the local painter Cristóbal Afonso. In addition to the structural characteristics, the deterioration that these works usually show today is analyzed. The study seeks to better understand this typology and its development in other locations in Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera, and Fuerteventura. [Extracted from the article]

This paper constitutes an encompassing account of the Madonna of Orsanmichele in all its historical instances. As source of the first miracle ever recorded in the city-state of Florence, in 1292, the Orsanmichele Madonna generated a cult that lasted centuries. Considering the extravagant artistic commissions on the site of the granary-turned-church, Orsanmichele became a place of religious worship, and, more importantly, grown into being equated with the political and spiritual identity of Florence. The panel by Bernando Daddi and the tabernacle designed by Andrea Orcagna have generated, I argue, a parallel cult – one revering the exquisite artistic draughtsman ship of the painting and that of its monumental shrine. In this paper I aim to present the dialogue between the Marian cult located at Orsanmichele, starting in the thirteenth century, and the artistic patronage prompted by the popularity of the miracle-making image of the Virgin. My study represents a critical re-visitation of the prominent book by Megan Holmes, The Miraculous Image in Renaissance Florence, published in 2013.

Copyright of Philostrato is the property of Epiarte, S.L. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Expresión Gráfica en la Edificación is the property of Universidad Politecnica de Valencia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Virtual Archaeology Review is the property of Virtual Archaeology Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This essay seeks to shift our perspective when addressing the question of the impact of the Council of Trent on art. Rather than focusing on the artistic treatises that emerged in the wake of the council, it turns to a different type of text: the records from visitations, regular church inspections that functioned as an important tool of Catholic reform. This analysis looks at apostolic visitation records in the Vatican archives between 1564 and 1630 to show how ecclesiastical visitors chiefly judged image decorum—and the definition of images themselves—according to function instead of form, giving priority to issues related to ritual use, such as conservation, consecration, and location. The functional definition of terms such as altarpiece and icona in the visitation records also reminds us to carefully consider the art historical vocabulary used in scholarship today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservar Património is the property of Associacao Profissional de Conservadores-Restauradores de Portugal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Atrio: Revista de Historia del Arte is the property of Atrio. Revista de Historia del Arte - Universidad Pablo de Olavide and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Santander. Estudios de Patrimonio is the property of Santander Estudios de Patrimonio and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 1544, two secondary artists from the archbishopric of Toledo commissioned Juan de Juni to create the main images for the altarpiece in the small town of Renera (Guadalajara). The commission allows the catalog of the Frenchman to be expanded in his early years in Valladolid and, above all, to relate him to Alonso Berruguete and to the sculpture focus of Toledo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Conservar Património is the property of Associacao Profissional de Conservadores-Restauradores de Portugal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Imafronte. Revista de Historia del Arte is the property of Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Patroni Regni Svecie – The Patron Saints of SwedenThis article presents the Swedish “national” patron saints – patroni regni svecie – as they emerged in liturgy and art from the latter part of the 14th century onwards. The author follows their development from the first written evidence in 1371 when they were first considered as a group, then consisting of SS. Erik, Sigfrid, Henrik and Eskil – all from the missionary period. By 1396, four more saints had already been added, SS. Botvid, David, Elin (Helena) and Birgitta. Each of them represented one of Sweden’s seven dioceses (the diocese of Strängnäs had two, Eskil and Botvid). St Olof was not officially one of the Swedish patron saints, but occurs frequently among them in altarpieces and mural paintings: in fact, the Norwegian national saint had had a dominant position in Sweden since the 12th century. In the middle of the 15th century the patron saints were still celebrated separately, each in their city and on their special day. But in 1474 an important decision was made at a council in Arboga: the introduction of a shared celebration for all the patron saints, Festum Patronorum Regni Sueciae. This evidently led to a large increase in the number of images of them: the article traces this development, and considers for instance local preferences and differences between the dioceses. A special rhythmical office was written for the new feast, in which St Ansgar, the first missionary in Sweden, was included among the patroni regni svecie. Special attention is given to the image of St Ansgar, the “apostle of the North”, whose portrait is strangely uncommon in Sweden, and the author gives several examples of images that in fact may be interpreted as St Ansgar. At the end of the 15th century, St Katarina of Vadstena and Bishop Brynolf of Skara were added to the patroni.

This paper discusses how interpretation of an artwork can contribute to intensifying heritage tourism experiences, based on an examination of the altarpiece of the former convent of Santo António do Carmo of Olinda, which was designed to promote Catholic triumphalism. The objective is to present the first level of artwork interpretation and highlight the importance of disseminating information about works of art, thereby providing a fuller understanding of their potential role in enhancing heritage tourism’s value. This qualitative, exploratory study included on-site visits and documentary research on the altar’s interpretation. The results suggest that interpretation about artistic objects is important, including key elements such as artistic movements (i.e. chronology), materials used, functions, artwork commissions, artistic affiliations and a brief corresponding description. The findings support the conclusion that interpretation makes tourist attractions more appealing and contributes to tourism development, as well as promoting interest in heritage and strengthening its value.

El aprecio que se tuvo por los tejidos islámicos desde el Medievo es patente en la pintura religiosa. A través de estas líneas se analiza la pervivencia de motivos ornamentales en el Renacimiento, en concreto, el uso de letras árabes a partir del estudio de tres escenas de las puertas del retablo mayor de la catedral de Valencia pintadas por los Hernandos. En ellas los maestros copiaron un tejido nazarí con una inscripción cuya traducción ha pasado inadvertida hasta este momento y que plantea distintas hipótesis sobre su utilización en la obra. The appreciation of Islamic textiles since the Middle Ages is evident in religious painting. The aim of this paper is to analyze the survival of ornamental motifs in the Renaissance, specifically, the use of Arabic letters from the study of three scenes of the doors of the main altarpiece of the cathedral of Valencia painted by the Hernandos. In them the Masters copied a Nasrid fabric with an inscription whose translation has gone unnoticed until now and that raises different hypotheses about its use in this masterpiece.

The lack of thorough studies of the significant number of examples of applied brocade found in the last two decades in Spain, originated in 2009 a European PhD thesis with Honours. This investigation presents an analysis and classification of the patterns, making procedures and combinations of materials of the applied brocades of the wooden altarpieces of the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Northern Spain. Further studies have focused on the use of other analytical techniques that have completed the previous results and more recently, are being examined patterns of applied brocades belonging to the altarpieces sited in the other two provinces of the Basque Country.

In the scope of a joint research project by the University and the Museum of Art and History of Fribourg dedicated to the study of local sculpture production in the 16th century, up to 460 altarpieces, reliefs and single sculptures have been examined by a research group. On behalf of chosen examples, the article describes the methods and techniques used by medieval sculptors and painters to imitate textile. It also submits evidence of the phenomenon of applied decorations in relief made of stamped paper found sporadically within the examined corpus alongside with the traditional applied brocade made of tin foil.

On 18 October 1483, and as a testamentary wish, Juan de Antezana and his wife, Isabel de Guzmán, founded a hospital in Alcalá de Henares to provide free care to the sick without resources. To do so, they conceded their own houses, located on the main street of the town, where the hospital still stands. The future Saint Ignatius of Loyola resided at the hospital between 1526 and 1527, taking care of the sick people there. However, his time in Alcalá de Henares was not easy, as he was pursued by the Spanish Inquisition and even imprisoned. In 1527, the Jesuit saint left Alcalá de Henares to move to Salamanca and Paris. In 1622, Pope Gregory XV canonised Ignatius of Loyola, along with Philip Neri, Teresa of Ávila and Isidore the Farmer. In the mid-seventeenth century, and to commemorate the canonisation, the directors of the Antezana Hospital decided to convert the room that the saint occupied during his stay into a chapel in his honour, commissioning an elegant gilded wooden altarpiece, in the middle of which Diego González de Vega made a magnificent portrait of the saint in 1669. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integrated safeguard plan has as main objective to develop a multidisciplinary approach on the preservation of altarpieces integrated in chapels, located in Alentejo. This project conjugates historical-artistic and technical-material research as a way to establish strategies of preventive conservation and communication of the patrimonial values of these temples. Since information accessibility is the key for a proficient communication plan, we present a reflection about the benefits of an interdisciplinary study and how that information can be applied into promoting the heritage's valuing and preservation. The historical and artistic valuing of the religious buildings, must consider their functional reality, because the integrated heritage is directly related with the utilization of that space. Concerning the tangible-intangible duality that characterizes religious buildings, we intend to analyse how the influence of their religious functions has determined (or not) the preservation of the artistic pieces which are inside them

Copyright of Philostrato is the property of Epiarte, S.L. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

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.

In his will, dating from 1490, the nobleman Francesco Scottivoli from Ancona ordered his heirs to erect a chapel in his memory at the church of San Francesco delle Scale, and have it adorned with a painted altarpiece, executed in 1508 by a painter of Greek origin residing in Ancona. In the late 18th-century a full-scale renovation of the church resulted to the dissolution of the Scottivoli chapel and the removal of the painted altarpiece, which was subsequently lost and has been considered missing ever since. This article aims to identify the long-missing Scottivoli altarpiece and determine the identity of its creator based on the re-evaluation of previously published sources and the discovery of unpublished archival and visual material. In light of this new information, this study interprets the Scottivoli altarpiece within the context of the intense cross-cultural transfer that took place in the multicultural contact zone of the early modern Eastern Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas.

The altarpieces became fundamental pieces in the composition of the internal spaces of the churches. Its earliest manifestations refer us to resources found to spread devotion to Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), from the earliest years after his canonization. Despite the wealth of literature on Franciscan images in recent decades, the analysis focused on iconography brings a limitation in understanding the importance of altarpieces in the construction of a specific visuality in the 13th Century. From the idea that the potency of the image in the altarpieces is presented in the articulation between the object and the place for which it is intended - the altar, the consideration of the liturgy is present. The altarpiece of Pisa, given its format and content (which identifies it to a series) and its specificity (the scenes are dedicated to the theme of miracles next to the tomb of Francis and the altar) enables us to develop this reflection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the early modern period the Jesuit Order, like few others, developed a complex programme for the application of fine art in religious practice. A key place in this programme is occupied by representations of the order's main patrons St Ignatius of Loyola and St Francis Xavier, both of whom were an essential presence in any of the order's churches. Devotional images (based on widespread prototypes of the vera effigies, i.e. 'true likeness' of the saints) and altar paintings presenting them in more or less established scenes from their lives were used to spread and strengthen the reverence in which they were held. It is worth noting that although the primary function of altarpieces was to visually complete the liturgical space, some of them acquired the reputation of devotional and miraculous images. With regard to this function these images were staged within the sacred space as objects of cult veneration, promoted with the aid of devotional prints and print reproductions, or painted copies. This phenomenon illustrates the problem of the status of religious images in the early modern era in an especially apt form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue Roumaine d'Histoire de l'Art. Serie Beaux-Arts is the property of G. Oprescu Institute of Art History of the Romanian Academy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Gothic painting in the Catalan-speaking lands evolved over a dense fabric left by 13th century art, which had gradually shed its Byzantine legacies. By the year 1300, the Byzantine model had clearly become a thing of the past, murals were still the primary technique and panel and miniature paintings were beginning to gain ground. Over the magnificent backdrop of the reign of Jaume II, the second quarter of the 14th century became a golden age for the Catalan Gothic and a foundational period for the subsequent painting tradition. The workshop of Ferrer Bassa, who was cognizant of the culture of Giotto and his Tuscan colleagues, received commissions from the court, while the art cultivated in Pisa and Siena was being interpreted by several studios of extraordinary interest in the Kingdom of Mallorca. The Italianising profile of painting survived the bubonic plague (1348), although painters like Destorrents, the Serra brothers, Valldebriga and Llorenç Saragossa were taking numerous of its aspects in new directions. In the last few decades of the 14th century, the expectations of local studios grew and the number of centres capable of producing quality painting multiplied. Barcelona remained prominent with Lluís Borrassà, Guerau Gener, Joan Mates and Jaume Cabrera, but it lost its hegemony as Valencia summoned an indisputable series of leading figures, including Pere Nicolau, Gherardo Starnina, Marzal de Sax, the Gonçal Perises, Miquel Alcanyís and Jaume Mateu, who gave prominence to the international Gothic, which was also practised by the schools and studios in Castellón, Morella, Tortosa, Tarragona, Lleida, Girona, Perpignan and Mallorca. Based on the latest and most significant contributions to the subject, this article will survey the most famous painting from a highly creative period, which takes us from 1300 until the early decades of the 15th century.

Title in English: Gestures of Gift Giving in 16th Century Denmark. – The article deals with body language and gestures in depictions of donors in 16th-century Danish art, especially concerning donations to churches after the Lutheran Reformation in 1536. The transition from the medieval, Catholic Church into a Lutheran Church introduced a new understanding of gift giving in a Christian context. Gift giving is typically a matter of reciprocity, as expressed in the phrase “do ut des” (I give so that you may give). In the Middle Ages lay people who gave gifts to churches/God could expect prayers and liturgical intercession in return. The Lutherans claimed that humans cannot give God anything. The gift relation between God and humans remains one-sided, since God gives and man receives. Did this changed understanding of gift giving lead to a change in the gestures in portrayals of donors in art? The traditional gesture of kneeling and praying in front of a religious scene had since the 15th century been a manifestation of the social status and piety of the donor, while the introvert look of the donor might inspire the beholder to imitation. After the Reformation, Danish donors were typically depicted in the traditional gesture of prayer but with a significant change: they now turned their back on the religious scene and looked out at the beholder. Their gesture indicates that they no longer prayed in order to receive something from God, but to thank him for the worldly gifts and the gift of faith he had bestowed upon them.