The Turn Westward: New Stylistic Directions in Fourteenth-Century Venetian Sculpture - Debra Pincus

At approximately the midpoint of the fourteenth century a new political statement came to the fore in Venice, a personification of the state, clearly labeled Veneçia (Fig. 1). Enthroned in a roundel high up on the Piazzetta façade of the Palazzo Ducale, her enemies bowed beneath her feet, she is a powerful figure that draws on the secular iconography of virtue personifications and on the religious iconography of representations of the Virgin. Veneçia is no less distinctive for the stylistic currents she brings together. On one hand, her bulk and presence link her to the Giotto-related line of sculpture that is represented in the Veneto in fourteenth-century sculpture above all by the shop of Andriolo de Santi. On the other hand, her well-turned curls and jeweled ornaments together with her captivating charm link her to the courtly style coming out of Paris that spreads across much of Italy during the course of the fourteenth century. These two stylistic lines embedded in the Veneçia are the focus of this article.... [This is a chapter excerpted from "Medieval Renaissance Baroque: A Cat's Cradle for Marilyn Aronberg Lavin," edited by David A. Levine and Jack Freiberg (Italica Press, New York, 2010).]

Author: Pincus, Debra
Publisher: Italica Press, Inc.
Illustration: N
Language: ENG
Title: The Turn Westward: New Stylistic Directions in Fourteenth-Century Venetian Sculpture
Pages: 00000 (Encrypted PDF)
On Sale: 2010-01-23
SKU-13/ISBN: 9781599101750
Category: Art : History - Medieval
Category: History : Europe - Italy