From the late quattrocento through the cinquecento Florence’s first sainted bishop, Zenobius (d. ca. 424), and the sainted Florentine archbishop Antoninus Pierozzi (d. 1459) were hailed as two of Florence’s most effective intercessors. Their images were included in an impressive series of temporary and permanent decorations made for Florence Cathedral, and the historical and visual...
Philosemitism in Late Sixteenth- & Seventeenth-Century Iberia
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The article examines selected evidence of Old Christian “philosemitism” from the mid-sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in order to explain Judeophilia as a general phenomenon of early modern Iberian culture. In particular, the work dissects the relationship between the Judeophile ideas of a few inquisitorial suspects—some notorious, one unknown—and an inquisitorial culture of persecution...
Correggio’s "Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine with St. Sebastian"
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This article is a discussion of the interrelations and tension between art and reform in early cinquecento Italy with a focus on Correggio’s Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine with St. Sebastian. In particular, examination is made of the ways in which Correggio’s picture relates to notions of faith and docta pietas that were central to the world of its first viewer and potential patron...
Axel Oxenstierna & Books
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This article examines Swedish chancellor Axel Oxenstierna as an owner and reader of books. The possession of a library, though it was unremarkable when compared to other contemporary European ministerial libraries, was a political asset in Sweden. His library reflected his emulation of continental examples as well as his interests and status as one of the premier Protestant statesmen of the...