Monographs/Edited Monographs by Francesca Dell'Acqua, Associate Prof., History of Medieval and Byzantine Art
Burlington Magazine, 2022
This is a preview (for copyright reasons) of the review of Iconophilia: Politics, Religion, Preac... more This is a preview (for copyright reasons) of the review of Iconophilia: Politics, Religion, Preaching, and the Use of Images in Rome, c.680–880, that Jeffrey F. Hamburger (Harvard) published on the January 2022 issue of the Burlington Magazine.
Excerpts:
"This is an ambitious book on an important topic, in which the principal arguments are laid out with laudable clarity – no mean feat given the ever-expanding thicket of scholarship on Byzantine iconoclasm and reactions to the controversy in the medieval West. The author’s aims are twofold: ‘to gather more evidence about the papal and central Italian monastic attitude to the visual and its importance in papal communication strategy between c.680– 880; second, demonstrate that in this process the Virgin Mary gained a greater importance in the religious landscape of Rome and
central Italy".
"As significant as the main thrust of Dell’Acqua’s argument is the systematic
way in which she pursues it by drawing on a compelling array of sources, visual and verbal, to take the reader deep inside contemporary debates. Dell’Acqua speaks of ‘recaptur[ing] the talk’ (p.5) that accompanied certain choices in papal and monastic iconophilia – a ‘talk’ that is not usually recorded in official documents’. In this spirit, Dell’Acqua, as far as textual sources are concerned, extends her analysis from the pronouncements of church councils to a host of ancillary sources such as hymns, homilies and assorted practices of private devotion as well as other forms of historical records. As far as visual sources are concerned, she pays particular attention to propagandistic public programmes, although not to the exclusion
of works associated more exclusively with the sphere of private devotion."
"Dell’Acqua’s research makes a major contribution to the study of the rise of the cult of the Virgin in the medieval West, underscoring the role of images in its formulation and promulgation. The reader is repeatedly reminded of just how formative this period was."
"All in all, Dell’Acqua’s study serves as a reminder and reinforcement of the extent to which the period in question established the foundations for habits of figuration that collectively served as the cornerstone of western religious art – and hence of western art as a whole – for
much of the following millennium."
Iconophilia Politics, Religion, Preaching, and the Use of Images in Rome, c.680 - 880, 2020
Between the late-seventh and the mid-ninth centuries, a debate about sacred images – conventional... more Between the late-seventh and the mid-ninth centuries, a debate about sacred images – conventionally addressed as ‘Byzantine iconoclasm’ – engaged monks, emperors, and popes in the Mediterranean area and on the European continent. The importance of this debate cannot be overstated; it challenged the relation between image, text, and belief. A series of popes staunchly in favour of sacred images acted consistently during this period in displaying a remarkable iconophilia or ‘love for images’. Their multifaceted reaction involved not only council resolutions and diplomatic exchanges, but also public religious festivals, liturgy, preaching, and visual arts – the mass-media of the time. Embracing these tools, the popes especially promoted themes related to the Incarnation of God – which justified the production and veneration of sacred images – and extolled the role and the figure of the Virgin Mary.
Despite their profound influence over Byzantine and western cultures of later centuries, the political, theological, and artistic interactions between the East and the West during this period have not yet been investigated in studies combining textual and material evidence. By drawing evidence from texts and material culture – some of which have yet to be discussed against the background of the iconoclastic controversy – and by considering the role of oral exchange, Iconophilia assesses the impact of the debate on sacred images and of coeval theological controversies in Rome and central Italy.
By looking at intersecting textual, liturgical, and pictorial images which had at their core the Incarnate God and his human mother Mary, the book demonstrates that between c.680–880, by unremittingly maintaining the importance of the visual for nurturing beliefs and mediating personal and communal salvation, the popes ensured that the status of sacred images would remain unchallenged, at least until the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century.
THE SALERNO IVORIES. OBJECTS, HISTORIES, CONTEXTS, F. Dell'Acqua, A. Cutler, H.L. Kessler, A. Shalem, G. Wolf (eds.), Berlin, Gebr. Mann Verlag, 2016 by Francesca Dell'Acqua, Associate Prof., History of Medieval and Byzantine Art, Gerhard Wolf, Maria Cristina Carile, Patricia Blessing, Ruggero Longo, Giovanni Gasbarri, Sarah Guérin, francesca tasso, and Jill Caskey The so-called Salerno ivories comprise more than sixty carved plaques datable between the elevent... more The so-called Salerno ivories comprise more than sixty carved plaques datable between the eleventh and twelfth centuries, combining Islamic, Byzantine, Coptic, and western Christian features. They present superb craftsmanship and display numerous biblical scenes as well as portraits of saints and magnificent decorative ornaments. In medieval times as today constituing one of the most precious and impressive treasures of the Cathedral of Salerno, they have attracted the attention of many historians and art historians, who have tried to contextualize the ivories in the medieval history of Salerno, southern Italy, and the Mediterranean. Yet, they remain enigmatic, as do the many questions concerning their date, place of production, patronage, function, and possible audience. This volume brings together articles written by scholars with different backgrounds and perspectives on medieval art. It presents the Salerno ivories in an interdisci-plinary approach and sheds new light on their important position as mirroring the visual culture of the ›Mediterranean‹ at the age of intense commercialism and cultural exchange.
A booklet on the Salerno Ivories for a wider audience
A Notebook from the Workshop Convened in Amalfi (December 10-13, 2009) by Francesca Dell’Acqua, H... more A Notebook from the Workshop Convened in Amalfi (December 10-13, 2009) by Francesca Dell’Acqua, Herbert L. Kessler, Avinoam Shalem and Gerhard Wolf.
My Ph.D dissertation, that I reworked to publish my first monograph, Illuminando colorat”. La vet... more My Ph.D dissertation, that I reworked to publish my first monograph, Illuminando colorat”. La vetrata tra la tarda Antichità e l’alto Medioevo attraverso le fonti e l’archeologia. (2003), was praised as one of the most meaningful and groundbreaking publications in the history of stained-glass and architecture by B. Kurmann-Schwarz and C. Lautier, Recherches récentes sur le vitrail médiéval 1998–2009, 1st part in “Kunstchronik”, 63 (2010), 261–84, esp. 269: «les multiples articles et la thèse sur le vitrail de l’Antiquité tardive et du haut Moyen Age de F. Dell’Acqua ont changé notre regard sur ce sujet et ont inspiré de nouveaux travaux dans ce domaine».
F. Dell'Acqua, R. Silva (eds.), La vetrata in Occidente dal IV all’XI secolo. Atti delle giornate di studi, Lucca, Villa Bottini, 23-24-25 Settembre 1999, Lucca, 2001.
F. Dell'Acqua, R. Silva (eds.), La vetrata in Occidente dal IV all’XI secolo. Atti delle giornate... more F. Dell'Acqua, R. Silva (eds.), La vetrata in Occidente dal IV all’XI secolo. Atti delle giornate di studi, Lucca, Villa Bottini, 23-24-25 Settembre 1999, Il colore nel Medioevo. Arte Simbolo Tecnica. Collana di studi sul colore 3, Lucca, Istituto Storico Lucchese-Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa-Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi Italia, 2001.
The pdf of the volume is too heavy: if anyone is interested, I can send it via Dropbox.
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Monographs/Edited Monographs by Francesca Dell'Acqua, Associate Prof., History of Medieval and Byzantine Art
Excerpts:
"This is an ambitious book on an important topic, in which the principal arguments are laid out with laudable clarity – no mean feat given the ever-expanding thicket of scholarship on Byzantine iconoclasm and reactions to the controversy in the medieval West. The author’s aims are twofold: ‘to gather more evidence about the papal and central Italian monastic attitude to the visual and its importance in papal communication strategy between c.680– 880; second, demonstrate that in this process the Virgin Mary gained a greater importance in the religious landscape of Rome and
central Italy".
"As significant as the main thrust of Dell’Acqua’s argument is the systematic
way in which she pursues it by drawing on a compelling array of sources, visual and verbal, to take the reader deep inside contemporary debates. Dell’Acqua speaks of ‘recaptur[ing] the talk’ (p.5) that accompanied certain choices in papal and monastic iconophilia – a ‘talk’ that is not usually recorded in official documents’. In this spirit, Dell’Acqua, as far as textual sources are concerned, extends her analysis from the pronouncements of church councils to a host of ancillary sources such as hymns, homilies and assorted practices of private devotion as well as other forms of historical records. As far as visual sources are concerned, she pays particular attention to propagandistic public programmes, although not to the exclusion
of works associated more exclusively with the sphere of private devotion."
"Dell’Acqua’s research makes a major contribution to the study of the rise of the cult of the Virgin in the medieval West, underscoring the role of images in its formulation and promulgation. The reader is repeatedly reminded of just how formative this period was."
"All in all, Dell’Acqua’s study serves as a reminder and reinforcement of the extent to which the period in question established the foundations for habits of figuration that collectively served as the cornerstone of western religious art – and hence of western art as a whole – for
much of the following millennium."
Despite their profound influence over Byzantine and western cultures of later centuries, the political, theological, and artistic interactions between the East and the West during this period have not yet been investigated in studies combining textual and material evidence. By drawing evidence from texts and material culture – some of which have yet to be discussed against the background of the iconoclastic controversy – and by considering the role of oral exchange, Iconophilia assesses the impact of the debate on sacred images and of coeval theological controversies in Rome and central Italy.
By looking at intersecting textual, liturgical, and pictorial images which had at their core the Incarnate God and his human mother Mary, the book demonstrates that between c.680–880, by unremittingly maintaining the importance of the visual for nurturing beliefs and mediating personal and communal salvation, the popes ensured that the status of sacred images would remain unchallenged, at least until the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century.
The pdf of the volume is too heavy: if anyone is interested, I can send it via Dropbox.