Visions of Holiness: Art and Devotion in Renaissance Italy (Issues in the History of Art)

This volume of 13 essays is a contribution toward a new comprehensive understanding of art and devotion that encompasses a body of evidence drawn from social and religious history. It takes us back to late medieval and Renaissance Italy, when painted images rose to an entirely novel prominence. It is a collection of studies that examine relations between images, the faithful, and the faith, and in so doing offer glimpses of ideas and beliefs that were to have a long history. In sum, this volume provides an introduction to an important and expanding field of historical scholarship and directs the reader to a wealth of relevant sources. The contributors have provided fascinating discussions that work together to enhance our understanding of what were "visions of holiness."