Miraculous Images in Renaissance Florence

FAIN: FA-54896-09

Megan Holmes
Regents of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1382)

"Miraculous Images in Renaissance Florence" is a book about venerated paintings and sculptures of the Virgin Mary and Christ that were considered to be sites of potent sacred mediation. I examine the manifold cults that sprung up around miracle-working images in Florence, Italy from circa 1250 to 1600, a subject largely neglected in accounts of Italian Renaissance art. I provide a chronological history and a topographical mapping of these sacred images within the city and the surrounding countryside. I also question what it was that distinguished these images from other similar sacred figurations, looking closely at their material and formal properties, the process of enshrinement, and the foundation legends associated with specific image cults. I have been working on this book for six years; the research is completed and most of the chapters are in draft form. I would spend the fellowship year preparing the manuscript for publication.