DOI issue:
Nr. 4
DOI article:Recenzje
DOI article:Sarnecka, Zuzanna: "Madonnas and Miracles": Mounting a Late Medieval and Early Modern Exhibition at the University of Cambridge
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.71009#0826
810
Zuzanna Sarnecka
active and multisensory role of devotion. On loan
from the Musee national de la Renaissance
d'Ecouen, the knives came from two sets, distin-
guishable by the ebony and ivory handles.4 The
selection of specific examples allowed to represent
all four voices and the visitors could listen to these
prayers performed by the gentlemen of the St
John's College in Cambridge. The display sought
to underline that whilst words of benediction and
grace were sung collectively, other routine practic-
es were enacted individually. The idea of praying
together was important for the analysis of reading
of devotional texts. Various evidence showed that
books were read not only by the paterfamilias but
also by mothers, who used printed devotional
sources such as the Book of Hours or Giardino di
orazione to instruct their children. Images also en-
couraged empathetic identification with saintly
figures and children would have responded to the
models of ideal piety. They would imitate love and
admiration for Christ as embodied by the Young
John the Baptist in Pinturicchio's painting from the
Fitzwilliam Museum's own collection or in Marco
d'Oggiono's work from the Royal Collection (il. 3).
The next two rooms were dedicated to the Vir-
gin, Christ and other important 'domestic' saints.
In the Renaissance, men, women and children en-
tered into deeply personal relationships with saint-
ly figures. These were characterised by reverence
and awe, but also by affection and familiarity.
Within the Italian Christian home, the Madonna
was the single most important figure and the huge
popularity of images depicting the mother of
Christ is confirmed both by surviving artworks and
by numerous references in household inventories.
Representations of the Virgin ranged widely in
terms of their iconography and even a simple im-
age of her with the Christ Child had numerous var-
iants in the Renaissance.5 The images were in-
formed by theologically discussed dual role of
Mary both a virgin and a mother; the unique posi-
tion unattainable by any other woman.6 The artists
depicted the loving relationship between the Vir-
gin and Christ Child by stressing her role as a car-
ing mother and an educator, while portraying her
also as an intercessor.7 A painting by Pietro di Nic-
4 Flora DENNIS, "Scattered Knives and dismembered
song: cutlery, music and the rituals of dining", Renais-
sance Studies, 24, 2010, pp. 156-184.
5 Marina WARNER, Alone of all her Sex: The Myth and
Cult of the Virgin Mary, London, Weidenfeld & Nicol-
son, 1976; Mirella LEVI D'ANCONA, The Iconography
of the Immaculate Conception in the Middle Ages and
Early Renaissance, New York, College Art Association
of America, 1957; Anna JAMESON, Legends of the Ma-
colo da Orvieto (1430-1484) shows the face of the
Virgin against a golden background to emphasize the
heavenly setting and iconic character ofthe represen-
tation (il. 4). The flickering light of candles against the
gold would have created a particularly suitable aura
for the worship of the Virgin.
Young women often asked the Virgin for interces-
sion during childbirth, and images of the Madonna
embracing her healthy son were commonplace fea-
tures of Italian Renaissance bedchambers. This room,
which was the focal place of the domestic devotion
was reconstructed in the exhibition through a replica
of a fifteenth-century bed, various Marian images and
other devotional artefacts, such as a holy water con-
tainer (il. 5). The display reflected not only a range of
Marian iconography but also the interest in different
materials suitable for conveying the holy in the home.
From the early sixteenth century, tin-glazed earthen-
ware reliefs of the Virgin and Child became increas-
ingly popular, as affordable and visually compelling
counterparts to traditional panel paintings. Madonna
del Molino, a maiolica panel on loan from a private
collector in London, shows how such plaques captured
the intimate and light-hearted spirit with the Virgin
gently touching Christ's naked belly and looking at
him affectionately. To contextualise the reconstruction
of the bedchamber, the room included also a large-
scale reproduction of Vittore Carpaccio's The Dream
of Saint Ursula (c.1495), which depicts a devotional
painting accompanied by a candlestick and an aspergil
displayed prominently next to the saint's bed.
The following room focused on the practices of
prayer and included a reconstructed domestic altar
with an original kneeling stool on loan from the Victo-
ria and Albert Museum (il. 6). This section was one of
the most successful in that it brought together a range
of objects such as devotional jewellery, ceramics,
prints, manuscripts, sculptures and paintings. Against
a background of celebrated works of art such as Lean-
ardo Bassano's Portrait of a Widow at her Devotions
and Federico Barrocci's chalk drawing of Hands
Clasped in Prayer, a humble, wooden rosary was dis-
played. The simple prayer beads from Treviso were in
turn contextualised by a clearly elite example of
a rock-crystal rosary with octagonal beads decorated
with minute scenes painted on glass (il. 7).
donna: As Represented in the Fine Arts, London, Longmans,
1890.
6 Rona GOFFEN, "Mary's Motherhood According to Le-
onardo and Michelangelo", Artibus et Historiae, 40, 1999,
pp. 35-69.
7 Miri RUBIN, "God-bearer and Woman", [in:] Picturing
Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea, ed. T. VERDON, New York,
Scala, 2014, pp. 27-37.
Zuzanna Sarnecka
active and multisensory role of devotion. On loan
from the Musee national de la Renaissance
d'Ecouen, the knives came from two sets, distin-
guishable by the ebony and ivory handles.4 The
selection of specific examples allowed to represent
all four voices and the visitors could listen to these
prayers performed by the gentlemen of the St
John's College in Cambridge. The display sought
to underline that whilst words of benediction and
grace were sung collectively, other routine practic-
es were enacted individually. The idea of praying
together was important for the analysis of reading
of devotional texts. Various evidence showed that
books were read not only by the paterfamilias but
also by mothers, who used printed devotional
sources such as the Book of Hours or Giardino di
orazione to instruct their children. Images also en-
couraged empathetic identification with saintly
figures and children would have responded to the
models of ideal piety. They would imitate love and
admiration for Christ as embodied by the Young
John the Baptist in Pinturicchio's painting from the
Fitzwilliam Museum's own collection or in Marco
d'Oggiono's work from the Royal Collection (il. 3).
The next two rooms were dedicated to the Vir-
gin, Christ and other important 'domestic' saints.
In the Renaissance, men, women and children en-
tered into deeply personal relationships with saint-
ly figures. These were characterised by reverence
and awe, but also by affection and familiarity.
Within the Italian Christian home, the Madonna
was the single most important figure and the huge
popularity of images depicting the mother of
Christ is confirmed both by surviving artworks and
by numerous references in household inventories.
Representations of the Virgin ranged widely in
terms of their iconography and even a simple im-
age of her with the Christ Child had numerous var-
iants in the Renaissance.5 The images were in-
formed by theologically discussed dual role of
Mary both a virgin and a mother; the unique posi-
tion unattainable by any other woman.6 The artists
depicted the loving relationship between the Vir-
gin and Christ Child by stressing her role as a car-
ing mother and an educator, while portraying her
also as an intercessor.7 A painting by Pietro di Nic-
4 Flora DENNIS, "Scattered Knives and dismembered
song: cutlery, music and the rituals of dining", Renais-
sance Studies, 24, 2010, pp. 156-184.
5 Marina WARNER, Alone of all her Sex: The Myth and
Cult of the Virgin Mary, London, Weidenfeld & Nicol-
son, 1976; Mirella LEVI D'ANCONA, The Iconography
of the Immaculate Conception in the Middle Ages and
Early Renaissance, New York, College Art Association
of America, 1957; Anna JAMESON, Legends of the Ma-
colo da Orvieto (1430-1484) shows the face of the
Virgin against a golden background to emphasize the
heavenly setting and iconic character ofthe represen-
tation (il. 4). The flickering light of candles against the
gold would have created a particularly suitable aura
for the worship of the Virgin.
Young women often asked the Virgin for interces-
sion during childbirth, and images of the Madonna
embracing her healthy son were commonplace fea-
tures of Italian Renaissance bedchambers. This room,
which was the focal place of the domestic devotion
was reconstructed in the exhibition through a replica
of a fifteenth-century bed, various Marian images and
other devotional artefacts, such as a holy water con-
tainer (il. 5). The display reflected not only a range of
Marian iconography but also the interest in different
materials suitable for conveying the holy in the home.
From the early sixteenth century, tin-glazed earthen-
ware reliefs of the Virgin and Child became increas-
ingly popular, as affordable and visually compelling
counterparts to traditional panel paintings. Madonna
del Molino, a maiolica panel on loan from a private
collector in London, shows how such plaques captured
the intimate and light-hearted spirit with the Virgin
gently touching Christ's naked belly and looking at
him affectionately. To contextualise the reconstruction
of the bedchamber, the room included also a large-
scale reproduction of Vittore Carpaccio's The Dream
of Saint Ursula (c.1495), which depicts a devotional
painting accompanied by a candlestick and an aspergil
displayed prominently next to the saint's bed.
The following room focused on the practices of
prayer and included a reconstructed domestic altar
with an original kneeling stool on loan from the Victo-
ria and Albert Museum (il. 6). This section was one of
the most successful in that it brought together a range
of objects such as devotional jewellery, ceramics,
prints, manuscripts, sculptures and paintings. Against
a background of celebrated works of art such as Lean-
ardo Bassano's Portrait of a Widow at her Devotions
and Federico Barrocci's chalk drawing of Hands
Clasped in Prayer, a humble, wooden rosary was dis-
played. The simple prayer beads from Treviso were in
turn contextualised by a clearly elite example of
a rock-crystal rosary with octagonal beads decorated
with minute scenes painted on glass (il. 7).
donna: As Represented in the Fine Arts, London, Longmans,
1890.
6 Rona GOFFEN, "Mary's Motherhood According to Le-
onardo and Michelangelo", Artibus et Historiae, 40, 1999,
pp. 35-69.
7 Miri RUBIN, "God-bearer and Woman", [in:] Picturing
Mary: Woman, Mother, Idea, ed. T. VERDON, New York,
Scala, 2014, pp. 27-37.