A Soul's Journey

Description:

"The Supplicationes variae is an extraordinary manuscript: an anthology of devotional texts and images, dated 1293 and made for use in Genoa, ending with a long series of full-page tinted drawings. This study uses the Supplicationes to explore the intersection of art and religion--not only the manuscript designer's theological premises but also the practical use of the book and its broader social and historical significance. In doing so, it provides a new perspective on Franciscans' impact on the visual arts in late medieval Italy, in particular Saint Bonaventure, whose concepts of humanity, prayer, and salvation inform text and image, style and iconography in the Supplicationes. The manuscript's artists faced the challenge of creating images that convey both complex ideas and vivid emotions; their use of models from Italy, northern Europe, and Byzantium creates a unique hybrid of eastern and western Christian cultures. Incorporating nearly 250 colour illustrations, A Soul's Journey illuminates and enlarges the scope of long-standing questions about the contributions of Byzantine art and Franciscan spirituality to cultural change preceding the Italian Renaissance."--

subjects: Manuscripts,  Liturgy,  Italian Illumination of books and manuscripts,  Art and religion,  History,  Franciscan art,  Byzantine Art,  Italian Devotional literature,  History and criticism,  Medieval Manuscripts,  Manuscrits,  Liturgie,  Enluminure italienne,  Art et religion,  Histoire,  Art franciscain,  Art byzantin,  Littérature de dévotion italienne,  Histoire et critique,  Manuscrits médiévaux,  Liturgics,  Littérature de dévotion,  Biblioteca medicea laurenziana,  Franciscans,  Franciscains,  Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (Florence, Italie)