Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index

Record Number: 2124
Author(s)/Creator(s): Henderson , John.
Contributor(s):
Title: Miraculous Childbirth and the Portinari Altarpiece
Source URL: Art Bulletin (Full Text via JSTOR) 77, 2 (June 1995): 249-261. Link Info target = '_blank'>Art Bulletin (Full Text via JSTOR) 77, 2 (June 1995): 249-261. Link Info
Description:
Article Type: Journal Article
Subject (See Also): Altarpieces Art History- Painting Childbirth Hospitals Iconography Mary Virgin Saint in Art Nativity Portinari Family Women in Art
Award Note:
Geographic Area: Italy
Century: 15
Primary Evidence: Painting; Portinare Altarpiece, Florence, Uffizi.
Illustrations: Hugo van der Goes's Portinari Altarpiece, datable to the mid-1470s, has been the subject of substantial iconographic study, but has rarely been considered in relation to its installation in the choir of S. Egidio, the chapel of the great Florentine hospital of S. Maria Nuova. This article explores the presence of an unrecognized theme in the triptych, Mary's miraculous and painless delivery of Jesus, and the ways in which this would have acted as a metaphor of healing and salvation for hospital patients. Moreover, this theme can be linked to the particular circumstances of the donor family, the Portinari [Reproduced by permission of the College Art Association.]
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Related Resources:
Author's Affiliation: Cambridge University
Conference Info: - , -
Year of Publication: 1995.
Language: English
ISSN/ISBN: 00043079