Experiencing La Verna at Home

Italian Sixteenth-Century Maiolica Sanctuaries and Chapels

Datos Bibliográficos

ID3209380
AutoresZuzanna Sarnecka (0000-0002-7832-4350, Institute of Art, autor de correspondencia)
Año2019
Volumen11
Número1
Páginas6
Fecha de publicación2019-12-20
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaReligions (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel11010006
OpenAlexW2996380125
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas14

The present study describes the function of small-scale maiolica sanctuaries and chapels created in Italy in the sixteenth century. The so-called eremi encouraged a multisensory engagement of the faithful with complex structures that included receptacles for holy water, openings for the burning of incense, and moveable parts. They depicted a saint contemplating a crucifix or a book in a landscape and, as such, they provided a model for everyday pious life. Although they were less lifelike than the full-size recreations of holy sites, such as the Sacro Monte in Varallo, they had the significant advantage of allowing more spontaneous handling. The reduced scale made the objects portable and stimulated a more immediate pious experience. It seems likely that they formed part of an intimate and private setting. The focused attention given here to works by mostly anonymous artists reveals new categories of analysis, such as their religious efficacy. This allows discussion of these neglected artworks from a more positive perspective, in which their spiritual significance, technical accomplishment and functionality come to the fore

Aesthetics · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Cartography · Geography · Incense · SAINT · Visual arts · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Renaissance and Early Modern Studies · Visual Culture and Art Theory