Italian Altarpieces 1250-1550: Function and Design

by Eve Borsook (Editor), Fiorella Superbi Gioffredi (Editor)

Since the 1960s, the Italian altarpiece has attracted unprecedented and scholarly attention, bringing liturgical, social, and technical considerations to bear on the subject. The eight contributors to this book provide an impressive synopsis of the different approaches developed in order to
enlarge and deepen our knowledge of paintings in terms of their historical functions. In nearly all the contributions there is an overwhelming concern with reconstruction, and much new material is presented concerning the historical significance of a specific category of painting. This volume is the
result of an international symposium held in July 1988 at the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance at Villa I Tatti in Florence.

306 pages, Hardcover

First published November 17, 1994