The Marian narrative altarpiece in Trecento Italy

This dissertation is the first comprehensive study of a revolution in early Renaissance altarpiece design: the appearance of the Marian narrative scene in the center panel. The earliest known examples both date from 1333: the Uffizi Annunciation by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi, originally produced for the Siena Cathedral, and the Dormition by Paolo Veneziano, now in the Museo Civico in Vicenza. This new type of narrative altarpiece occurred simultaneously, therefore, in the Sienese and Venetian schools.;Prior to 1333, the altarpiece had contained an iconic image in its center, such as Christ or a saint or, most commonly, the Virgin and Child. Narrative scenes from the lives of these figures abounded, but in subsidiary locations, such as the laterals, pinnacles, predelle, and the reverse. The appearance of a scene from Mary's life in the center, the most important part of the altarpiece, indicates the great devotion to the Virgin at the time. Therefore, this study traces both the steady growth of Mary's cult, from the fifth century to its height in the fourteenth, and the development of the altarpiece in Italy prior to 1333.;Fourteen altarpieces are examined, dating from 1333 to 1398, and produced by the Sienese, Venetian, and Florentine schools. Among these, six Marian themes are illustrated: the Birth of the Virgin, Presentation of the Virgin, Annunciation, Nativity, Purification, and Dormition. Discussion focuses on the iconography of the images and their place within pictorial tradition. Further, parallels are drawn between the paintings and contemporary devotional literature to demonstrate a common ideology.;This study reveals a common format for the new type of altarpiece as well as a liturgical significance: each represents a major feast of the Church. Above all, this study demonstrates that the narrative scene was given a new role and function in the early Trecento. Extracted from its traditional place within a cycle and isolated as the all-important focus of the altarpiece, its previous didactic purpose was amplified into one that was also devotional, as the altarpiece served as an object for contemplation and worship.