
Embedded Portrait
A new study of the early Renaissance portrait
In fourteenth-century Italy, ever more women and men—not only clergy but also laity—introduced their own portraits into sacred paintings. Images of modern supplicants, submissive and prayerful, shared space with the holy narratives. The portraits mimicked the first worshippers of Christ: Mary, the Three Magi, Mary Magdalene. At the same time, they model...
A new study of the early Renaissance portrait
In fourteenth-century Italy, ever more women and men—not only clergy but also laity—introduced their own portraits into sacred paintings. Images of modern supplicants, submissive and prayerful, shared space with the holy narratives. The portraits mimicked the first worshippers of Christ: Mary, the Three Magi, Mary Magdalene. At the same time, they model...