Confraternities and the visual arts in Renaissance Italy

"Confraternities and the Visual Arts in Renaissance Italy: Ritual, Spectacle, Image is the first book to consider the role of Italian confraternities in the patronage of art. Eleven interdisciplinary essays analyze confraternal painting, sculpture, architecture, and dramatic spectacles by documenting the unique historical and ritual contexts in which they were experienced. Exploring the evolution of devotional practices, the roles of women and youths, the age's conception of charity, and the importance of confraternities in civic politics and urban design, this book offers new approaches to one of the most dynamic forms of corporate patronage in early modern Italy."--BOOK JACKET.