The Body of Christ in the Art of Europe and New Spain, 1150-1800

Some 75 paintings, sculptures, illuminated manuscripts, prints, and textiles are featured, including works by Sandro Botticelli, Carlo Dolci, Albrecht Durer, Bernardino Luini, Peter Paul Rubens, Jacopo Tintoretto, Paolo Veronese and Francisco de Zurbaran. The works range from intimate and private devotional pieces as small as three inches high to altarpieces and church furnishings. The Body of Christ focuses on two aspects: the meaning of the subject matter within the Christian culture of the period (specifically that of the Catholic Church), and how these symbolic images of Christ were used - or intended to be used - in religious practice, particularly from the late Middle Ages through the iconoclastic controversies of the sixteenth century. The Body of Christ is divided into four thematic sections. "The Word Made Flesh" includes images of the Madonna and Child, the Annunciation, Nativity, and Adoration. "Suffering and Triumph" illustrates the Passion and the Resurrection of Christ. "The Eucharistic Body" explores the explicit correlation between Christ's body and blood, and the bread and wine of the Mass. "The Visionary Body" presents devotional experiences and miracles, and saints, religious, and lay persons experiencing visions of the image of Christ.