ABSTRACT
The mentality of the Renaissance artist and his patron was conservative. The particular localisms so characteristic of Renaissance art also appear in iconographic matters. Decoration with Active marble is also found on a number of triptychs, the other popular type of folding panel from the Renaissance. Like the panels themselves, the images of mother and child fall into certain broad categories; a number of these were utilized by artists working throughout the Italian peninsula, but many are specific to certain regions. Combining both a hieratic image and smaller narratives to the side, the panel presented the central saint to the worshipper and offered examples of his or her life and miracles. Many artists modified their styles slightly in the predellas. Although it is, for the most part, untrue that they adopted an entirely different style, they do seem to have worked in a freer, slightly broader way in the smaller panels.
