women, art, and spirituality: the poor clares of early...

Women, Art, and Spirituality: The Poor Clares of Early Modern Italy situates the art made between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries for the Franciscan nuns in its historical and religious contexts. Evaluating its production from sociological and intellectual perspectives, this study also addresses the discourse between spirituality, devotional practices, and aesthetic attitudes as formalized in the construction and decoration of the women's convents and in their didactic literature. Based on a range of sources, it integrates important primary texts, such as Saint Clare's rule, poetry composed by the nuns, financial records, and family history in the analysis of paintings, sculpture, and architecture commissioned by the order. Also synthesized in this groundbreaking study are recent theoretical developments in anthropology, women's studies, history, and literature with traditional iconographical and social approaches of art history.

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Cambridge University Press978-0-521-49602-5 - Women, Art, and Spirituality: The Poor Clares of Early Modern ItalyJeryldene M. WoodFrontmatterMore information

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WOMEN, ART, AND SPIRITUALITY






WOMEN, ART, AND SPIRITUALITY

THE POOR CLARES OF EARLY MODERN ITALY

JERYLDENE M. WOOD

University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign

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© Cambridge University Press 1996

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permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 1996First paperback edition 2011

A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication dataWood, Jeryldene.

Women, art, and spirituality : the Poor Clares of early modernItaly / Jeryldene M. Wood.

p. cm.Includes bibliographical references and index.

isbn 0—521—49602—01. Poor Clares — Italy — History. 2. Art, Franciscan — Italy —History. 3. Poor Clares — Spiritual life. 4. Women — Italy —

History — Middle Ages, 500—1500. 5. Monasticism and religiousorders for women — Italy — History—Middle Ages, 600—1500.

6. Spirituality — Italy — History. i. Title.bx4363.i8w66 1996

271' .973—dc20 95—44522 cip

isbn 978-0-521-49602-5 Hardbackisbn 978-0-521-29489-8 Paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication,

and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.






To my parents






CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS page IX ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii

Introduction 1 1. "Clara, Claris, Praeclara" 11 2. Within the Walls 34 3. Piccarda's Convent 65 4. A Network of Nuns 86 5. Vision and Ecstasy 121

Epilogue 145

APPENDICES 159

NOTES 207

BIBLIOGRAPHY 2 5 9

INDEX 2 6 9

Vll






ILLUSTRATIONS

1. 2. 3. 4.

5.

6. 7. 8. 9.

10. 11. 12. 13.

14.

15. 16.

17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26.

27. 28.

Church of Santa Chiara, Assisi Church of San Francesco, Assisi Santa Chiara Dossal, Assisi, Santa Chiara Clare Receives a Palm from Bishop Guido, Detail of Santa Chiara Dossal Clare's Reception at the Porziuncola, Detail of Santa Chiara Dossal Clare's Investiture, Detail of Santa Chiara Dossal Clare Resists Her Family, Detail of Santa Chiara Dossal The Story of Agnes of Assisi, Detail of Santa Chiara Dossal The Multiplication of the Bread, Detail of Santa Chiara Dossal The Vision of the Virgins, Detail of Santa Chiara Dossal Clare's Obsequies, Detail of Santa Chiara Dossal Vaults above the high altar in Santa Chiara, Assisi Saint Clare and the Madonna and Child, Detail of vault in Santa Chiara Saints Agnes of Assisi and Agnes of Rome, Detail of vault in Santa Chiara Saints Lucy and Cecilia, Detail of vault in Santa Chiara Saints Margaret (Mary Magdalen?) and Catherine of Alexandria, Detail of vault in Santa Chiara Saint Clare Mourning Saint Francis, San Francesco, Assisi San Damiano, Assisi Saint Francis and the Talking Crucifix, San Francesco, Assisi Nave, San Damiano Nuns' Choir, San Damiano Dormitory, San Damiano Oratory, San Damiano Refectory, San Damiano "Talking Crucifix," Santa Chiara, Assisi Madonna and Child with Saints Damian and Rufinus, San Damiano Aerial view of Santa Chiara, Assisi Nave, Santa Chiara

page 7 7

13

14

15 16 17 17 18 18 19 25

27

27 28

28 32 35 36 40 41 41 42 42 44

45 46 47

IX






IUUSTR/VTIONS

29. Apse, Santa Chiara 48 30. Nave, San Francesco, Assisi 52 31. Obsequies of Saint Francis, San Francesco, Assisi 53 32. Santa Chiara Crucifix, Santa Chiara, Assisi 54 33. Madonna and Child, Santa Chiara, Assisi 55 34. Chapel of the Sacrament, Santa Chiara, Assisi 56 35. Chapel of the Sacrament, Santa Chiara, Assisi 56 36. Detail, Santa Chiara Crucifix 59 37. Old Testament scenes, Left Transept, Santa Chiara 60 38. Old Testament scenes, Left Transept, Santa Chiara 60 39. New Testament scenes, Right Transept, Santa Chiara 61 40. Obsequies of Saint Clare, Santa Chiara 62 41. Transport of Saint Clare, Santa Chiara 63 42. Sarcophagus from Santa Maria di Monticelli, Florence 69 43. Pacino di Bonaguida, Tree of Life 75 44. Pacino di Bonaguida, Tree of Life, Detail, Creation and

Temptation 78 45. Pacino di Bonaguida, Tree of Life, Detail, Expulsion 79 46. Pacino di Bonaguida, Tree of Life, Detail, Jesus Begotten of

God, Annunciation and Visitation 81 47. Pacino di Bonaguida, Tree of Life, Detail, Jesus Pierced by the

Lance, Jesus Laid in the Tomb 82 48. Pacino di Bonaguida, Tree of Life, Detail, Jesus, Radiant

Spouse 83 49. Pacino di Bonaguida, Tree of Life, Detail, Jesus, Font of Light 84 50. Sano di Pietro, January, Breviary of Santa Chiara 87 51. Sano di Pietro, July, Breviary of Santa Chiara 88 52. Sano di Pietro, August, Breviary of Santa Chiara 89 53. Sano di Pietro, September, Breviary of Santa Chiara 89 54. Sano di Pietro, November, Breviary of Santa Chiara 90 55. Sano di Pietro, March, Breviary of Santa Chiara 90 56. Sano di Pietro, March, Detail 91 57. Church of the Corpus Domini, Mantua 92 58. Church of the Corpus Domini, Mantua 92 59. Facade, Corpus Domini, Mantua 93 60. Convent of the Corpus Domini, Mantua 95 61. Cloister, Corpus Domini, Mantua 95 62. Santa Chiara, Urbino 100 63. Ducal Palace, Urbino 100 64. View of Santa Chiara, Urbino from the street 101 65. Santa Maria di Monteluce, Perugia 104 66. Nave, Santa Maria di Monteluce, Perugia 105 67. Frescoes of Saints, Santa Maria di Monteluce, former

nuns' choir 105

x






IUUSTRATIONS

68. Francesco di Simone Ferrucci, Tabernacle 107 69. Bartolommeo Caporali, Madonna and Child with Angels 108 70. Fiorenzo di Lorenzo, Crucifixion 109 71. Raphael, Giulio Romano, and Gian Francesco Penni,

Coronation of the Virgin 110 72. Assumption of the Virgin, tabernacle on the exterior facade

of Santa Maria di Monteluce 111 73. Misericordia, Sant'Erminio, Perugia 113 74. Santa Chiara, Camerino 115 75. Girolamo di Giovanni, Annunciation and Pieta 116 76. Crucifixion in former refectory of Santa Chiara, Camerino 119 77. Church of the Corpus Domini, Bologna 122 78. Cappella della Santa, Corpus Domini, Bologna 123 79. Left Wall, Cappella della Santa 124 80. Reliquary case, Cappella della Santa 125 81. Saint Catherine of Bologna, bambino, Cappella della Santa 125 82. Master of the Baroncelli Portraits, Saint Catherine of Bologna

and Donors 126 83. Blessed Illuminata Bembo(?), Saint Catherine of Bologna 127 84. Saint Catherine of Bologna, "Deus" 129 85. Saint Catherine of Bologna, Redeemer 131 86. Saint Catherine of Bologna, Breviary, fol. lOr 132 87. Saint Catherine of Bologna, Breviary, fol. 140r 133 88. Saint Catherine of Bologna, Breviary, fol. 157v 133 89. Saint Catherine of Bologna, Madonna and Child 134 90. Saint Catherine of Bologna, Madonna del Porno 135 91. Saint Catherine of Bologna, Madonna of Humility 136 92. Saint Catherine of Bologna, Breviary, fol. 465r 139 93. Giuliano da Sangallo, Santa Chiara Novella, Florence 146 94. Cappella Maggiore from Santa Chiara Novella, Florence 147 95. Leonardo del Tasso, Altarpiece from Santa Chiara Novella,

Florence 150 96. Workshop of Antonio Rossellino, Tabernacle 151 97. Workshop of Andrea della Robbia, Assumption 155 98. Workshop of Andrea della Robbia, Resurrection 155 99. Lorenzo di Credi, Adoration of the Shepherds 156

100. Pietro Perugino, Lamentation 157

Plans and Sections

A. San Damiano, Assisi 38 B. Cross-sections, San Damiano, Assisi 43 C. Santa Chiara, Assisi 50 D. Corpus Domini, Mantua 94

XI






IUUSTRATIONS

E. Santa Chiara, Urbino 101 F. Santa Chiara Novella, Florence 149

Maps

1. Italy 3 2. Assisi 49 3. Perugia 103

Diagrams

1. Apse and Transepts, Santa Chiara, Assisi 57 2. Gonzaga of Mantua 96 3. Malatesta of Pesaro 97 4. Da Varano of Camerino 98 5. Montefeltro and della Rovere of Urbino 99

Xll






ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Several institutions and numerous individuals made the completion of this book possible. Research grants from the University of Arizona Foundation and from the Arnold O. Beckman Foundation and the Campus Research Board at the University of Illinois enabled me to travel to Italy in 1990 and 1993 and helped to defray the expense of photographs. I am grateful for assistance from the staffs of the Biblioteca Comunale in Siena, the Archivio di Stato, Kunsthistorisches Institut, and the Villa I Tatti (Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Research) in Florence, and at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. I would like to thank the members of the Franciscan Order, the friars and Clarisse in Assisi, Perugia, Bologna and Camerino, who generously gave of their time and allowed me to study and photograph their works of art. I am also indebted to my colleagues and graduate students at the University of Arizona and the University of Illinois for their support as I formulated the ideas that appear in this book. At Cambridge University Press, Beatrice Rehl, Fine Arts Editor, was always encouraging and enthusiastic about this project, and Camilla T. K. Palmer, Production Editor, was very helpful throughout the production process.

Particular thanks are due to Diane Cole Ahl, Andrew Ladis, and John Paoletti, whose incisive reading and astute criticisms of the manuscript greatly improved the finished text. Over the years, many colleagues and friends have encouraged my work and willingly discussed art, architecture, monasticism, and methodology, thereby enriching my understanding of these fields. Among them are Eric Apfelstadt, Eve Borsook, Jandava Cattron, Anne Derbes, William Ei-land, Claire Farago, Tracy Hatton, Faye Hirsch, Randall Henniker, Paul Ivey, Ann Roberts, Janet Smith, Gail Solberg, Jane Welch Williams, and Shelley Zurow. I would also like to thank Frank Russo and Carol Koenig Russo for their work on the architectural plans and diagrams. I am especially grateful to Anne Barriault and Karen-edis Barzman for their insightful criticisms of the text and for sharing their considerable knowledge about secular and religious women in early modern Italy. Paul Barolsky, first as a patient teacher and then as a mentor and friend, has read various sections as the work progressed, as well as a draft of the entire manuscript. He has my deepest thanks for his provocative conversations, suggestions, and, at times, tough criticism, which have not only strongly affected the tenor of this book, but have been instrumental in shaping me as a scholar. My family, who did not lose faith during what must have often seemed

Xlll






ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

an endless project, deserves special thanks. Two persons whose support was crucial at the beginning of this project, but who did not live to see its completion warrant special mention. Edward P. Caraco was an indispensable friend and colleague whose insights into the material and sense of humor made obstacles surmountable, and Frederick Hartt was the inspiring teacher and advisor whose interest in spirituality and art started me on this path many years ago. Finally, this book would not have been finished without the aid of its silent collaborators, my husband, Arthur lorio, and my brother-in-law, Paul lorio, OFM. As traveling companions, skillful negotiators, invaluable translators, and constant advocates, they opened doors that would otherwise have been closed to me.

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