Synopses & Reviews
This book evaluates the Amalfitan art production in terms of moral, economic, and social structures.
Review
"Drawing on a rich array of material and textual evidence ... this book is a brilliant contribution ... which foces us to reevaluate our attitudes toward the art and culture of southwestern Italy. This is a must-read for anyone interested in patronage studies and cultural history--a fine and scholarly work with extensive notes and bibliography."
Sixteenth Century Journal
Synopsis
An important trade center in the Medieval Mediterranean, Amalfi and the surrounding region of southern Italy sustained strong art production and patronage from the eleventh through to the thirteenth centuries. Merchant patrons realized a wide variety of religious and residential complexes that were evocative of Byzantine, Islamic, Western, and local traditions. With the rise of the Angevin kingdom, a demise of this eclectic art tradition took place and by the fourteenth century, Amalfitan painting and sculpture reflected compromises between local and Neapolitan styles, demonstrating the erosion of its autonomy.
About the Author
Jill Caskey is associate professor of fine art at the University of Toronto. A recipient of fellowships and grants form the Getty Grant Program, the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, and the Fulbright Commission, she is also a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome. She received the Founders' Award from the Society of Architectural History in 2000.
Table of Contents
Introduction: the art of mercatantia: medieval commerce and culture in southwest Italy; 1. The experience and politics of mercatantia; 2. Amalfitans at home: residential architecture and its Mediterranean syntheses; 3. Private and public in Amalfitan religious space; 4. Amalfi and the new metropolis: the decline of the art of mercatantia.