Patrons, Painters, and Saints Studies in Medieval Italian Painting

These papers investigate the revival of painting and mosaic in Rome in the second half of the 13th century and the contribution of Rome to the birth of modern painting. Their concern is with the interrelationships between pictures and their social, political and religious context. In this way, the early work of Giotto and the development of the Italian altarpiece are reconsidered, with particular attention being paid to questions of structure, setting and patronage. The work of Simone Martini for the Angevin Court at Naples and the promotion of the cult of new saints by visual means is examined within the context of the European politics of canonisation. Finally, Professor Gardner considers the artistic role of the Mendicant orders, in particular the Franciscans and the Dominicans, and their self-promotion by visual images.