Feminae: Medieval Women and Gender Index
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Title:
Central Panel from the Humility Polyptych - Umilta and a lay patron
Creator:
Lorenzetti, Pietro, painter, attributed to
Description:
Umiltà of Faenza (born Rosanese Negusanti) was an abbess and holy woman. In Florence, she founded the Monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista, a Vallombrosan house for women. The Humility Polyptych was constructed to celebrate Humility’s life and miracles. It is made up of fourteen panels that narrate her life story, starting with her separation from her husband in Faenza, and ending with her death in Florence. The larger, central panel depicts Umiltà holding a book in one hand and a palm frond in the other. She wears the Vallombrosian habit and a lambskin on her head. Eileen Power in
Medieval English Nunneries
cites a description of the clothing of a prioress including a cap of estate trimmed with lambskin. Cordelia Warr argues that the female donor at the saint's feet is a laywoman, possibly a widow, judging by her clothing. The other panels of the polyptych show Umiltà engaging in many different female roles – wife, mother, abbess, recluse, incarcerate. The variety of her roles, in addition to her miracles, ensured Umiltà’s appeal to a large section of the populace. Furthermore, the iconography of these panels was directed towards women because they were the primary audence viewing this polyptych.
Source:
Wikigallery
Rights:
Public domain
Subject
(See Also)
:
Abbesses
Books
Hagiography
Monasticism
Patronage, Artistic
Umilta of Faenza, Mystic and Saint
Vallombrosian Order
Women in Religion
Geographic Area:
Italy
Century:
14
Date:
1335-1340
Related Work:
Humility Polyptych. See a
reconstruction of the polyptych
on the Feminae website.
Current Location:
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence
Original Location:
Florence, Monastery of San Giovanni Evangelista, a Vallombrosan house for women founded by Umiltà
Artistic Type (Category):
Digital images; Paintings
Artistic Type (Material/Technique):
Polyptych; Wood panel
Donor:
Lay woman? [Cordelia Warr in her article cited above suggests the kneeling donor figure in the polyptych is a lay woman based on her clothing, pp. 296-297.]
Height/Width/Length(cm):
128 cm/57 cm/
Inscription:
Related Resources:
Cordelia Warr, “Viewing and commissioning Pietro Lorenzetti’s Saint Humility Polyptych,” Journal of Medieval History 26, 3 (2000);
Andrian S. Hoch, "Notable Changes in Medieval Images of "Saint" Humility after Counter-Reformation Documents," Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 75, 1 (2012): Pages 1 - 32;
Janet G. Smith, "Santa Umilta of Faenza: Her Florentine Convent and Its Art", IN Visions of Holiness: Art and Devotion in Renaissance Italy. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, 2001;