Given the sacramental primacy of the altar in the doctrinal and theological economy of the Catholic Church, altarpieces have necessarily demanded and received the most sublime workmanship of which generation upon generation of patrons and painters were capable of bringing to the service of God. David Ekserdjian (an established authority on Corregio and Parmigianino) admits that he has taken on an ambitious project, for no one has attempted an overview of the entire field of the Italian Renaissance since Jacob Burckhardt’s seminal essay, Das Altarbild, of 1898.
4:53 PM
Glory above the altar: David Ekserdjian’s work on Italian Renaissance Altarpieces
given the sacramental primacy of the altar in the doctrinal and theological economy of the catholic church, altarpieces have necessarily dem...
Robert Beddard
6 min read
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