ABSTRACT

The book investigates the aesthetic theology embedded in the Franciscan artistic tradition. The novelty of the approach is in applying concepts gleaned from Franciscan textual sources to create a deeper understanding of how art in all its sensual forms was foundational to the Franciscan milieu. Chapters range from studies of statements about aesthetics and the arts in theological textual sources to examples of visual, auditory, and tactile arts communicating theological ideas found in texts. The essays cover not only European art and textual sources, but also Franciscan influences in the Americas found in both texts and artifacts.

chapter 1|19 pages

Images of Gospel Life

The Letter Visualized

chapter 4|22 pages

Likeness and Compassion in Franciscan Art

A Late Medieval Theory of Compassion and Naturalism in Frescoes in the Lower Church of San Francesco at Assisi

chapter 8|23 pages

Cithara Angelica

Experiencing God Through Music in Franciscan Imagery (With New Observations on Botticelli’s Saint Francis Flanked by Music-Making Angels and an Initial G by the Master of the Budapest Antiphonary) 1

chapter 9|23 pages

Activating the Senses, Preparing the Soul

Illuminated Antiphonaries for Franciscan Use in Late Medieval Italy

chapter 12|23 pages

Franciscan Art and Somaesthetic Devotion in the Italian Renaissance Holy Lands

Simming and the Production of Empathy at Varallo and San Vivaldo

chapter 14|19 pages

Following in the Footsteps of Christ

Uses of the Via Crucis in Colonial Quito

chapter 15|39 pages

Engaging the Senses

The Pilgrimage Shrine of Santuario de Chimayó in Northern New Mexico 1

chapter 17|22 pages

The Iconization of Saint Francis of Assisi

The Fresco Program at the Kalenderhane Camii