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| Title: | Approaching Sacred Pregnancy
: The Cult of the Visitation & Narrative Altarpieces in Late Fifteenth-Century Florence |
| Series: | (Bibliotheca Historica 109) |
| Author: | Ira Westergard |
| ISBN: | 9517469500 : 9789517469500 |
| Illustrations: | colour & b/w illus |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Size: | 155x230mm |
| Pages: | 248 |
| Weight: | .518 Kg. |
| Published: | Finnish Literature Society - November 2007 |
| List Price: | 21.99 Pounds Sterling |
| Availability: | In Print |
| Subjects: | Saints & hagiography: History of art & design styles: c1400 to c1600 |
During the late medieval period the Visitation became a familiar subject in works of art. Gradually the story of the meeting between the Virgin Mary and Elisabeth emerged as the focus of devotional practices that culminated in the introduction of a new liturgical feast of the Visitation in 1389, Simultaneously with the dissemination of the new feast across Europe, the Visitation also appeared as a new subject at the centre of altarpieces. Transferred to the authoritative context of the altarpiece, the narrative subject represented a combination of the traditional devotional function of the altarpiece and the visual representation of a story. Some important paintings of the Visitation are analysed in separate case studies. The altarpieces of the Visitation produced towards the end of the fifteenth century highlight the religious and social importance of a cult of the Visitation in late fifteenth-century Florence. The roots of this cult are traced back to late medieval spirituality originating in the environment of Dominican convents. As a Christian mystery the Visitation focused on the pregnancy of the Virgin and the blessing of John the Baptist in his mother's womb. As a visual representation at the centre of an altarpiece, both the mystery and the narrative were presented to the viewer for contemplation.
