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This article investigates the ideological implications of Pope Gregory the Great's beard for Catholic reformers of the sixteenth century. It argues that the portrayal of Gregory as clean-shaven, with a "moderate" beard, or with a long bushy beard (all representations that are to be found in sixteenth-and seventeenth-century Roman art and scholarship) take us to the heart of interlocking Catholic Reform debates on the "Romanness" of the Roman church and the vexed question of how to evaluate late antique and medieval Christian tradition for the Christian present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peter Paul Rubens's Rockox Triptych is generally thought to represent the incredulity of Saint Thomas, even though the side wound that presented Christ's famously distrustful disciple with proof of the resurrection is nowhere to be seen. This article explores the significance of the missing side wound. Drawing attention to the circulation of skeptical philosophy within the artist's milieu, it argues that he conceived of the painting as an epistemic dilemma that would both elicit doubt and suggest how it might be set aside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay investigates the visual language of Guercino's monumental altarpiece of St Petronilla for St Peter's (1623), through which he constructs an authoritative image of her sanctity deeply intertwined with the art and fabric of the renewed church, particularly as it pertains to Michelangelo's legacy at the site. The saint's body, almost in tandem with the sculptor's Pietà, circulated throughout the old and new basilica during its gradual demolition and reconstruction. Guercino's imagery consolidates references to Petronilla's relics, her cult and the statue in the configuration of the saint suspended at her grave. A hitherto unnoticed portrait of Michelangelo underscores these associations and renews his exemplarity as a sacred artist in the service of the papacy. The evocations of Michelangelo's sculpture and person, the body of Petronilla, together with the altarpiece's setting and architectural imagery, encourage an interpretation of the altarpiece as a microhistory of St Peter's basilica itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reprint of the article "The History of a Motif" by Julius Lange and translated by Karl Johns, which appeared in the 1888 issue of the periodical "Nordisk Tidskrift for vetenskap, konst och industri," is presented. The article discusses the development of an artistic motif. It explains the need to view every aspect of art history as a history of motifs. Also mentioned is the demise of the motif in the presentation of figures including knights, saints or princes in the seventeenth century.

The article offers information on a painting "Consecration of Saint Augustine" that was commissioned from Jaume Huguet in 1463, and is currently at view in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona. It mentions that panel shows the imposing figure of the saint in elaborate vestments presented full face, enthroned before a cloth of honour and flanked by a press of full-length figures, two of whom, symmetrically arranged, place a bishop's mitre upon his head.

The interface between verbal and visual modes of artistic expression is demonstrated in the work of the poet Antonio Bruni and sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Bruni published verse on Apollo and Daphne and the bronze Urban VIII, epitomizing their poetic effects. Conversely, his ode on the transverberation of Saint Teresa by an angel creates a dramatic mise-en-scène that antecedes the amorous conceits, bodily forms, and celestial staging in Bernini's sculpture of the ecstatic mystic within the multimedia Cornaro Chapel. Both Bruni and Bernini exemplified a new poetica sacra, applying lyrical tropes to religious truth, presented vividly to the senses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the interpretation by scholar Carl Axel Nordman and art historian Olga Alice Nygren of the late-medieval polychrome wood sculpture of the crowned Lokalahti Saint Anne with the Virgin and Child in Finland in mid-20th century. Also cited are the oral tradition in the study of medieval imagery during the period, and Nygren's study on the representation of saints in medieval art in Finland.

Through an examination of the miracles of Anthony of Padua painted by Girolamo da Treviso in the Saraceni Chapel (1525–26), this essay demonstrates the complex ways in which monochrome painting would have created meaning for diverse audiences. It is argued that the use of grisaille in the chapel, by visually evoking marble relief, did many things at once: it presented both established and lesser-known miracles as reliable evidence of Anthony’s saintly power, ‘carved’ in immutable stone; it conjured the specific thaumaturgical context of burial shrines, with elevated marble tombs; and it activated the paragone to produce sensations of both intimacy and distance, and to foster both comprehension and confusion. Taking as a case study visual hagiography – a form of pictorial narrative that addressed multiple audiences and engaged dynamically with both visual and textual precedents – this essay sheds new light on the semantic operations of grisaille in Renaissance visual culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on the philosophical significance of reappropriation of 14th century painter Giotto di Bondone work in Hegel's contemporaries and, in turn, its echo in modern painting and criticism. It mentions Giotto's work advanced a heuristic, naturalistic and sacred synthesis whose mysterious or polysemous transcendence would soon be dissolved in the calculative rationalizations of modernity; and also mentions Giotto painting is linked with modern saints and aesthetics.

Painted in 1508, Raphael's "Saint Catherine of Alexandria" is animated by innovative pictorial techniques using light, shadow, and color. Yet scholars have scarcely discussed its dazzling palette or sought to explain the image's meaning. I argue that Raphael's "Saint Catherine" exemplifies the artist's thematic interpretation of divine revelation in optical terms. Aristotelian theories of vision illuminate new dimensions of Raphael's engagement with scientific and theological sight. From this examination, new criteria for identifying the painting's patron emerge. By reframing the "Saint Catherine" within the rubric of contemporary optics, color's role as an allegory for Raphael's subject comes increasingly to light. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Łódzkie Studia Etnograficzne is the property of Polish Ethnological Society / Polskie Towarzystwo Ludoznawcze 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.)

The article offers information on the works of painters Jusepe de Ribera and the depiction of the martyrdom of Saint Bartholomew in them. Topics discussed include a painting by artist Anthony van Dyck, the Viceroy Emmanuel Philibert of Sicily, and the Spanish Empire in Europe. Also mentioned is the European religious and political hegemony.

The article focuses on the auction of a drawing of Hindustan saint Yogi made by artist Willem Schellinks. Various topics discussed include drawings made by him in 17th century, his artistic relations, asceticism in art, ascetics of European travelers between 16th-17th century and history of Indian miniatures.

This article examines five miniatures in the "Hours of Catherine of Cleves" (completed 1442), each containing representations of jewelry in the margins, which operate on two different levels. First, they demonstrate Catherine of Cleves's adoration of five female saints. I argue that the fictive jewelry may be understood as simulated ex-votos designed to secure the aid and protection of the saints. Second, the images establish strategic alliances with each saint. As a final dimension, I explore how the vitae of these saints may have had resonances for the duchess that help explain the focus placed on them in the manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circa 1515-1520, Josse van Cleve painted a St Jerome in the Wilderness (Muskegon Museum of Art) in which the saint is shown kneeling before an exemplar of the Aracoeli Madonna. Somewhat later, a follower of Barent van Orley introduced a version of the Madonna del Popolo into a representation of the Procession of Pope Gregory the Great (Brussels, Musées royaux des Beaux- Arts). This phenomenon of displaying Byzantine icons in Flemish religious pictures must be investigated in the context of a new pursuit of historical authenticity during the period, something typical of the Italian Renaissance. It also served to legitimize devotion to the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary, a cult recently established in the Netherlands that relied strongly on 'true portraits', believed to have been painted by Saint Luke. Josse van Cleve's Muskegon panel may have been ordered by a member of the Antwerp Confraternity of the Seven Sorrows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines Cyprus and Italy during the thirteenth century, focusing upon similar aesthetics presented in their art. Particular focus is given to religious depictions of icons and saints in these works. Additional topics discussed include the links between Apulia, Italy, and the Holy Land, stylistic and thematic linkages in church buildings in the regions and the works of artists including Rinaldo da Taranto.

This article examines Lucas Cranach's renderings of two non-extant silver gilt reliquaries made in the likeness of St. Eligius from the electoral Heiligtum in Wittenberg. The significance of Eligius's dual roles as both a metalworker for the Merovingian kings and as the bishop of Noyon bestowed the prince-electors in Wittenberg, most notably Frederick the Wise, with the ability to cleanse their treasury of all sin associated with indulgences. To explain the prominent place given to Eligius's image in the collection, the article investigates his connection to French royalty, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV's valorization of his cult, the meaning attributed to his image in vernacular legends, and the evolving administrative role of bishops across the Middle Ages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article suggests that a Gothic statue of St. Wenceslas once stood in front of Prague's Old Town Bridge Tower in a location where a miracle associated with the translation of the saint's body occurred. Consequently, the statue complemented the east façades sculptural program but was also set away from it in order to signal the saint's significance here. This location in turn encouraged the viewers below to interact with the statue in a very intimate way, and also to make a link between this canonized Bohemian ruler and Emperor Charles IV. The emperor's own statue on the façade, fashioned with the symbols of St. Wenceslas, leaned out of its architectural niche in order to look down at the saint-king and to emphasize the link between the two rulers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palm-size and often laminated, Catholic holy cards depict a saint and usually represent that man or woman during the significant moment in their sainthood. On the back of these cards is either a brief biography of this saint or a prayer to this figure. Yet the iconography of these images seems to link back to the larger illuminated religious manuscripts of the Middle Ages. Many of the more traditional saints of modern holy cards are represented in biblical or medieval garments and may also be represented in a symbolic or allegorical landscape. Some saints are portrayed with animals or even fantastic creatures. Other iconographic elements might include florid borders, golden halos, flames and other images that reinforce the modern Catholic holy card as the descendant of the medieval illuminated manuscript. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims at analyzing the relationship between painting "St. Michael the Archangel," of painter Maerten de Vos and its replica on a canvas installed at Iglesia de San Pedro church in Lima, Peru. Various topics discussed include art aspects of the painting, religious relations of the painting and its virality.

Bishop of Urbino Giovanni Pietro Arrivabene selected the foreign saints Thomas Becket and Martin of Tours as patrons for his burial chapel.Montefeltro court artist Timoteo Viti decorated the chapel with the saints' images, including a fresco of Saint Martin exorcising a demon from a cow. This article argues that the chapel's unusual, allegorical iconographic program condemns Cesare Borgia's campaigns to dominate Central Italy. It also proposes that the kneeling figure in the altarpiece's lower right register portrays the bishop's heir. Finally, the accomplishment of the Arrivabene chapel demonstrates Timoteo Viti's artistic independence from his famous colleague and collaborator, Raphael. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthony van Dyck's early paintings of Saint Sebastian allowed the painter to propose an analogy between the martyrdom of the saint and the practice of posing models in the studio. He used disguised self-portraiture to identify not with the artist but, rather, with the model. On the one hand, Van Dyck's Sebastian paintings declare the young painter's commitment to life study. On the other, his self-depiction as both martyr and model allowed him to allegorize his specific position within the studio of Peter Paul Rubens. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article focuses on the development of portrait busts of saints beginning in the early Renaissance. The category of the portrait bust, which emerged slightly before 1440, is characterized by its reference to--and at times even integration of--the death mask of the recently deceased saint. As such, these images must be seen in dose relation to traditional head and bust reliquaries. The particular group of busts showing the features of the Florentine archbishop Antonino Pierozzi is here analyzed through hitherto obscure written sources, and the proliferation of Pierozzi's bust is then related to that of other saints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, through a close reading of a little-known painting of the temptation of Saint Anthony, I propose that every convening of images inspired by the viewing of a picture is a unique "event," a transformation that occurs during the act of perception, in which various images can be seen as an assemblage generated by one picture. The analysis of such assemblages provides insight into the making and reception of the image, as well as the potential variance between the artist's making and viewer's reception. Further, such analysis reveals a structure of "thresholds" within the picture, a structure that refers to inherent principles of representation and mimesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late seventeenth-century murals in the camarín of the colonial Church of the Conception in Tabí, Yucatán, include an unusual image of Saint Michael and a dragon in the birth chamber of the Virgin Mary. The murals of the camarín served as a backdrop for the miracle-working statue of the Virgin, which had emerged from the nearby cenote in the early seventeenth century. This study argues that the mural imagery and statue responded to the use of the cenote before and after the arrival of the Europeans: the Virgin as Inmaculada addressed local concerns of orthodoxy and also connected this remote town to broader post-Tridentine doctrines in New Spain. The visual material offers a means of analyzing strategies of evangelization and the complexities of reception within the community of Tabí and more broadly in colonial Yucatán. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews the exhibition "Michael Landy: Saints Alive" at the National Gallery in London, England from May 23, 2013 to November 24, 2013.

The article discusses the relationship between the writings of the Catholic saint Teresa of Avila and the sculpture "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa" by Gianlorenzo Bernini. According to the author, the sculpture is often taken to be a literal interpretation of her writings but in fact minimizes her subjectivity as expressed in her own account of her experiences. It is suggested, however, that Teresa's ability to communicate with God despite the authoritative gaze of Church officials is represented in the dynamism of the sculpture group. Other topics include the Counter-Reformation, mysticism, and the relationship between the body and the soul.

Copyright of Logos: A Journal, of Religion, Philosophy Comparative Cultural Studies & Art (08687692) is the property of Logos 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 Ars Bilduma is the property of Ars Bilduma 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.)

Saint Augustine (354-430 CE), a native North African, lived during the time Rome ruled the Mediterranean region. Augustine's mother was a devout Christian. His non-Christian father was a local official whose political influence enabled Augustine to acquire an esteemed education from reputable institutions. Traveling internationally, Augustine led a fascinating life, and his cultural experiences helped develop his worldly, judicious concepts. With a synthesis of academic scholarship and theological conviction, Saint Augustine became a renowned Christian intellectual. In his book The Confessions of Saint Augustine, he not only shares his social, educational, and theological development, but also he clearly identifies himself as an African. Nevertheless, people today think of Saint Augustine as a European theologian, including many African Americans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses medieval artistic depictions of the stigmata allegedly received by St. Francis of Assisi as a means to explore mimesis, or the imitation of Jesus Christ, during this period. Particular emphasis is given to a panel painting depicting the saint by 13th century Italian artist Bonaventura Berlinghieri entitled "Saint Francis and Scenes from his Life and Afterlife." The author specifically evaluates the representational abilities of both the painting and contemporary texts on Francis' life, concluding that both support the miraculous nature of Francis and his body. Broadly, the article addresses the theme of medieval depictions of saints' lives and their alleged spiritually instructional capabilities.

Copyright of Acta Historiae Artis Slovenica is the property of Scientific Research Centre of Slovenian Academy of Sciences & Arts 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 Acta Historiae Artis Slovenica is the property of Scientific Research Centre of Slovenian Academy of Sciences & Arts 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 this article the author offers observations on how people's experiences in the late middle ages were impacted by the ritual objects that they came in contact with. Particular focus is given to images portrayed in a mid-fifteenth century woodcut of Saint Anthony including a badge worn by a pilgrim and lead badges of Saint Anthony worn by livestock. According to the author, these badges symbolized accomplishment and protective power. Several other artworks are explored including the oil painting "Enchantress," by Dosso Dossi and the woodcut "St. Christopher and St. Anthony," by Ludwig Maler.

Painting can only be thought in relation to the image. And yet, with (and within) painting what continues to endure is the image of painting. While this is staged explicitly in, for example, paintings of St. Luke by artists of the Northern Renaissance-e.g., Rogier van der Weyden, Jan Gossaert, and Simon Marmion-the same concerns are also at work within both the practices as well as the contemporaneous writings that define central aspects of the Italian Renaissance. The aim of this paper is to begin an investigation into the process by which painting stages the activity of painting. This forms part of a project whose aim is an investigation of the way philosophy should respond to the essential historicity of art (where the latter is understood philosophically). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between 1608 and 1611, the Sienese artist Ventura Salimbeni painted two groups of Sienese saints and beati in the choir of Siena cathedral. To date, the two paintings have received surprisingly little attention from scholars. By considering the identities of the nineteen Sienese saints and beati portrayed in the paintings and by relating these figures to the location of the paintings within Siena Cathedral, the article interprets the images in terms of both their civic and religious significance. It is argued that these portrayals of nineteen Sienese saints and beati were an important contribution to a much broader reassertion of Sienese civic identity, especially through the representation of the 'civic pantheon' of Sienese ' santi cittadini', in the period between, roughly, 1580 and 1640. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traces of Byzantine period wall painting belonging to a single scene are attested on the concave-curving hillside of 4.20 m. width at Yarikdag Mevkii on the road to Knidos within the borders of Hizirsah village located 5 km. away from Datça. This painting is framed with a black border and has survived almost intact in the upper half while it is entirely chiseled off in the lower half, and thus indefinable. The scene comprises five figures the middle one of which is the enthroned Virgin with child Christ sitting on the left side of her lap. Her halo is flanked with the inscription HƟЄ? TOKOΣ. She is flanked with the archangels Michael and Gabriel and then saints Demetrios and Polyeuktos, all depicted standing and facing. Above the figure of the Virgin is a half-moon shaped aureole with a hand stretching toward the figure of the Virgin. The names of the angels and the saints are given in writing next to their haloes. This depiction of Virgin Theotokos is the type of Hodegetria. Enthroned Virgin with child Christ in her lap assumed the title of Theotokos at the Council of Ephesus and thereafter, depictions of her flanked with saints, angels and donors started to increase. The Hodegetria depiction at Datça is one example of such crowded compositions. With the introduction of feasts related with the Virgin as of the sixth century, depictions of the Virgin were given some epithets - the first epithet is protector and the second one is mediator. The Virgin Theotokos composition, at Datça, in the role of the Hodegetria flanked with the angels and saints contains some evidence regarding the mediator role of the Virgin although it is difficult to speak sharply as the lower half of the scene is entirely damaged. The most important evidence at hand is the partially legible inscription above the archangel Michael who stretches his hand toward the Virgin and the child Christ: "Accept the requests of us… (archangels)…" This depiction can be dated to the middle of the eleventh century according to its technique and stylistic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glazing scheme of the chapter-house at York Minster contains the best preserved ensemble of narrative glass of its period in England, and is the only one to survive in any of the great polygonal chapter-houses. Although it is frequently mentioned in general works on the Minster and its glass, there has been no sustained attempt to reconstruct the sequence of the panels or to consider the iconography of the scheme in relation to its setting. This study aims to highlight the significance of the scheme as a whole by focusing on just one of its seven windows: that in the north-west corner, which features a life of St Katherine of Alexandria. Using unpublished antiquarian sources alongside textual versions of Katherine's vita, it outlines a possible sequence for the window's disordered panels. It then goes on to analyse the window and its iconography within the context of the chapter-house, considering how it constructs its own particular version of this highly popular narrative. The results suggest that the scheme as a whole is a high-status product which employs complex narrative strategies. It is an important testament to the sophistication of glazed narratives in the period as well as to the ambitions of York's chapter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents abstracts related to art and religion including the early photographs of Purgatory during the 13th century, the mural paintings decorated in the Chapel of Saint Procopius, and the issue of the Utraquist symbol.

Images of saints from Kurpie: sculptures and crosses were the focus of historians' of art and anthropologists' interests, and were considered an important achievement of folk art. Nowadays, when only few examples of the old masterpieces remained, and many have been replaced with coarse sculptures made of plaster, it is hard to call it art anymore. Nevertheless it is even more interesting to describe their functioning in the religious context. Numerous catholics from Kurpie have special kind of religious sensibility, which means that they are always ready for a miracle, and used to understand some events of everyday life as an activity of the sacred. Holy images display a revelation to common people. Moreover they are a kind of revelation themselves - depicted saints are thought to be alive and active. The images are believed to show the true appearance of the saints and to disclose the mysteries of the invisible. Holy images are temporal elements of the eternal world, given to people to bring them safety and stability. The owner has to take good care of the image and he or she cannot change it - if repainted the original colors and forms have to be preserved. The images should look unchanged. Holy images express waiting for a miracle, which is a sign of God's presence, and are a glance into the eternal life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the revisionary quality of the traditional portrayal of martyrdom art in the Pre-Raphaelites. The traditional non-Roman Protestant martyrdom art illustrates political and economic martyrdom and has represented the art for the sake of aesthetic martyrdoms. The traditional Catholic portrayal of martyrdom art involves the portrayal of nude martyrs, including Saint Agatha and Saint Sebastian, the portrait of Christian priest who are wounded and exhausted, and the deposition of Jesus Christ.