The art of the poor : the aesthetic material culture of the lower classes in Europe, 1300-1600

The history of art in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance has generally been written as a story of elites: bankers, noblemen, kings, cardinals, and popes and their artistic interests and commissions. Recent decades have seen attempts to recast the story in terms of material culture, but the focus seems to remain on the upper strata of society. In his inclusive analysis of art from 1300 to 1600, Rembrandt Duits rectifies this. Bringing together thought-provoking ideas from art historians, historians, anthropologists and museum curators, The Art of the Poor examines the role of art in the lower social classes of Europe and explores how this influences our understanding of medieval and early modern society. Introducing new themes and raising innovative research questions through a series of thematically grouped short case studies, this book gives impetus to a new field on the cusp of art history, social history, urban archaeology, and historical anthropology. In doing so, this important study helps us re-assess the very concept of 'art' and its function in society. Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Contents 8 Illustrations 10 Maps 10 Figures 10 Tables 13 Contributors 14 Preface 16 Introduction: Did the poor have art? 18 Chapter 1: Material culture without objects: Artisan artistic commissions in early Renaissance Italy 40 Chapter 2: Poverty in the paintings of Jacopo Bassano: The crisis poor and the structural poor 46 Chapter 3: The ‘slipshod’ nature of Carpaccio’s St Tryphon Tames the Basilisk: A painting for a poor confraternity 60 Chapter 4: ‘. . . κέ παντός του λαου τοῡ χορίου τ(ης) Μάζας...’: Communal patronage of church decoration in rural Venetian Crete 70 Chapter 5: Next to Chur we are still poor: Art and the relationality of poverty in the Rhaetian Alps 82 Chapter 6: Miracles in the margins: The miraculous image of Santa Maria delle Carceri in Prato 94 Chapter 7: The art of popular piety: Pilgrim souvenirs from the Museum of London collection 106 Chapter 8: Artisans and dress in Denmark, 1550–1650: A preliminary exploration 116 Chapter 9: The art of artisan fashions: Moroni’s tailor and the changing culture of clothing in sixteenth-century Italy 126 Chapter 10: Identifying popular musical practice: Instruments and performance in the iconography and archaeology of the medieval and Renaissance period in Europe 134 Chapter 11: An art for everyman: The aspirations of the medieval potter 148 Chapter 12: Italian tin-glazed ceramics: Silverware for poor people? 160 Chapter 13: Ordinary objects for priceless lighting: Copper-alloy candlesticks in medieval and early modern England 168 Chapter 14: Burning issues: Political iconography on Dutch firebacks 178 Chapter 15: Visual pedagogy: The use of woodcuts in early modern Lutheran and Catholic catechisms 190 Chapter 16: Shakespeare’s picture of ‘We Three’: An image for illiterates? 202 Notes 216 Introduction 216 Chapter 1 220 Chapter 2 224 Chapter 3 226 Chapter 4 228 Chapter 5 232 Chapter 6 236 Chapter 7 240 Chapter 8 243 Chapter 9 246 Chapter 10 248 Chapter 11 249 Chapter 12 251 Chapter 13 252 Chapter 14 256 Chapter 15 258 Chapter 16 261 Bibliography 266 Index 293 La 4ème de couverture indique : "The history of art in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance has generally been written as a story of elites: bankers, noblemen, kings, cardinals, and popes and their artistic interests and commissions. Recent decades have seen attempts to recast the story in terms of material culture, but the focus seems to remain on the upper strata of society. In his inclusive analysis of art from 1300 to 1600, Rembrandt Duits rectifies this. Bringing together thought-provoking ideas from art historians, historians, anthropologists and museum curators, The Art of the Poor examines the role of art in lower social classes of Europe and explores how this influences our understanding of medieval and early modern society. Introducing new themes and raising innovative research questions through a series of thematically grouped short case studies, this book gives impetus to a new field on the cusp of art history, social history, urban archaeology, and historical anthropology. In doing so, this important study helps us re-assess the very concept of 'art' and its function in society" "The history of art in the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance has generally been written as a story of elites: bankers, noblemen, kings, cardinals, and popes and their artistic interests and commissions. Recent decades have seen attempts to recast the story in terms of material culture, but the focus seems to remain on the upper strata of society. In his inclusive analysis of art from 1300 to 1600, Rembrandt Duits rectifies this. Bringing together thought-provoking ideas from art historians, historians, anthropologists and museum curators, The Art of the Poor examines the role of art in lower social classes of Europe and explores how this influences our understanding of medieval and early modern society. Introducing new themes and raising innovative research questions through a series of thematically grouped short case studies, this book gives impetus to a new field on the cusp of art history, social history, urban archaeology, and historical anthropology. In doing so, this important study helps us re-assess the very concept of 'art' and its function in society"-- Provided by publisher