Overview

This fascinating and richly illustrated book accompanies The Medieval Body, the third in a series of vanguard exhibitions that places medieval masterpieces within a contemporary context. The title of the exhibition refers to both a literal thread of figuration that runs throughout the works in the presentation, as well as the complex and often shifting symbolism of the human body in the medieval period. For thinkers and artists of that time, the human body served as a rich source of religious and philosophical significance, one that was in a constant state of flux between idealism and disfigurement. While the early Middle Ages reserved representations of suffering bodies to the margins of their world, the later Middle Ages displayed wounded bodies in the most central spaces of public life. The crucified body of Christ and the wounded bodies of saints assumed important positions as they were displayed on altars, in processions, and on the exteriors of churches. The Medieval Body tells a unique story about the human form as both a physical entity and a recognizable metaphor. Presenting works spanning the course of a thousand years, this exhibition offers insight into the body as an essential imagemaking tool with far-reaching implications for the development of art in the European Middle Ages. AUTHORS: Jana Gajdošová is a specialist at Sam Fogg in London. Her work has been published in Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, Speculum, and GESTA. Matthew Reeves is a director at Sam Fogg and leads its team of medieval specialists. He has coauthored publications including Late Medieval Panel Paintings Vol. II: Materials, Methods, Meanings; Maiolica before Raphael: Italian Ceramics before 1500 and Late Medieval and Renaissance Textiles. 82 colour illustrations

Full Product Details

9781739885007

Table of Contents

Reviews

This Frist Art Museum exhibition catalogue is the first comprehensive study of the art of medieval Bologna. That city hosted the oldest European university, where thousands of students supported a thriving book industry. Beautifully illustrated legal manuscripts dominated the market, and medical treatises and other textbooks were also commissioned. Bologna became one of the largest cities in Europe, with new construction culminating in the Basilica of San Petronio, one of the largest churches in the world. Mendicant religious orders vied for authority via church construction, monuments such as the Arca of San Domenico, and scriptoria that produced sumptuous choir and devotional books. . . . This volume addresses all of this along with questions of attribution and dating, showing the close connection among artists, friars, and the university in creating a vibrant intellectual culture that weathered the bubonic plague through the 1400s. The illustrations are beautiful. . . . Highly recommended. -- Choice

"""This Frist Art Museum exhibition catalogue is the first comprehensive study of the art of medieval Bologna. That city hosted the oldest European university, where thousands of students supported a thriving book industry. Beautifully illustrated legal manuscripts dominated the market, and medical treatises and other textbooks were also commissioned. Bologna became one of the largest cities in Europe, with new construction culminating in the Basilica of San Petronio, one of the largest churches in the world. Mendicant religious orders vied for authority via church construction, monuments such as the Arca of San Domenico, and scriptoria that produced sumptuous choir and devotional books. . . . This volume addresses all of this along with questions of attribution and dating, showing the close connection among artists, friars, and the university in creating a vibrant intellectual culture that weathered the bubonic plague through the 1400s. The illustrations are beautiful. . . . Highly recommended.""-- ""Choice"""

Author Information

Jana Gajdošová is a specialist at Sam Fogg in London. Her work has been published in Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, Journal of the British Archaeological Association, Speculum, and GESTA. Matthew Reeves is a director at Sam Fogg and leads its team of medieval specialists. He has coauthored publications including Late Medieval Panel Paintings Vol. II: Materials, Methods, Meanings; Maiolica before Raphael: Italian Ceramics before 1500 and Late Medieval and Renaissance Textiles.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available