Central Italian "Tabernacula"

This paper aims to provide an in-depth survey of grand-scale medieval Italian tabernacles and other types of closing altarpieces with all of their wings - or substantial parts thereof - still preserved (1200-1435). Most such altarpieces, enclosing a statue of the Virgin Mary or a Saint, come from th...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Pasqualetti, Cristiana|||0000-0002-0676-6985
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:224328
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/224328
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.5565/rev/medievalia.515
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:History of medieval art
Tabernacle-altarpieces
Polygonal tabernacle-altarpieces
Cupboard-altarpieces
Medieval Italy
Central Apennine
Abruzzo
Umbria
Sculpture
Painting
Historia del arte
Escultura
Liturgia
Pintura
Retablo-tabernáculo
Retablo-tabernáculo poligonal
Retablo en forma de armario
Italia medieval
Apeninos centrales
Abruzos
Umbría
Descripción
Sumario:This paper aims to provide an in-depth survey of grand-scale medieval Italian tabernacles and other types of closing altarpieces with all of their wings - or substantial parts thereof - still preserved (1200-1435). Most such altarpieces, enclosing a statue of the Virgin Mary or a Saint, come from the culturally homogeneous and generally conservative regions of the Central Apennines, in particular from Abruzzo. Structure, provenance, original location, function, patronage, iconography are only a few of the many questions raised by the surviving examples here discussed within a broader European frame.Notwithstanding the great variety and composite character of medieval altar furnishings, three major types of medieval Italian closing retables will be here described - according to Claude Lapaire's formal classification (1969 and 1972): the tabernacle-altarpiece in the strict sense of the word, i.e. an open ciborium with the pedestal, rear wall, and canopy, equipped with carved or painted bi-fold wings; the polygonal tabernacle-altarpiece ("le retable à tabernacle polygonal"); and the cupboard-altarpiece ("le retable en forme d'armoire"). In Central Apennine regions all of these types coexisted throughout the fourteenth century at least, resisting the spread of Tuscan polyptychs.