Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
This book offers the first English-language examination of art commissioned by religious women in fifteenth-century Rome. Detailed photographs show readers the impressive array of paintings commissioned by oblates for their living quarters, Tor de'Specchi. The book focuses primarily on the sensual and corporeal, as earthly, divine, and demonic figures occur throughout the imagery. The book uses formal analysis, theories of vision and anthropological models to explore the disciplinary and educational purposes of the images, as well as their relationship to important papal projects at the Vatican.
Synopsis
In the fifteenth century, the Oblates of Santa Francesca Romana, a fledgling community of religious women in Rome, commissioned an impressive array of artwork for their newly acquired living quarters, the Tor de'Specchi. The imagery focused overwhelmingly on the sensual, corporeal nature of contemporary spirituality, populating the walls of the monastery with a highly naturalistic assortment of earthly, divine, and demonic figures. This book draws on art history, anthropology, and gender studies to explore the disciplinary and didactic role of the images, as well as their relationship to important papal projects at the Vatican.