Italian Panel Painting in the Duecento and Trecento Victor M. Schmidt

This work brings together an array of approaches to panel painting of the 13th and 14th centuries, a period that has received far less attention than the Renaissance. From the middle of the 13th century onward, Italy witnessed a boom in panel painting. This brought about the transformation of existing object types, including painted crosses, altar frontals, and monumental panels of the Virgin and Child. It also fuelled the development of new types of panel painting, particularly various forms of altarpieces, lunette-shaped panels for architectural settings, small-scale panels for personal devotion, and painted chests for private homes. The international gathering of curators, art historians and conservators who contribute to this volume discuss specific types of panel paintings, and they also examine local traditions, individual artistic solutions, patronage, production, use, iconography, and the relationship of panel painting to other art forms. Among the broader issues they address are liturgy, aesthetics, the perception and function of religious imagery, and style.

Victor M. Schmidt teaches at the University of Groningen.