Bourdua, Louise (1991) Aspects of Franciscan patronage of the arts in the Veneto during the later Middle Ages. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Religious life in the later middle ages was increasingly dominated by the
mendicant Orders, notably the Franciscans. Their dominance also extended to the
artistic life of the day.
The initial artistic campaigns of the Franciscans centred on the native
province of the founder, most notably in the Upper and Lower churches of S.
Francesco in Assisi. With the expansion of the Order and the death and
canonization of the second Franciscan saint, Anthony of Padua, his adopted
province, the Veneto, became an important centre for theological and artistic
activity. The Basilica del Santo, built to enshrine the new saint's relics, rivalled the
mother church at Assisi in both scale and lavishness of decoration. The fourteenth
century in particular was marked by a succession of decorative programmes, a large
part of which has survived. Soon the other Franciscan churches in the Veneto were
similarly patronized.
Unlike Umbria and Tuscany, areas where Franciscan churches are ridden
with problems of dating and attribution, the Order' churches in the Veneto are
probably the best documented of Italy. They provided a unique opportunity to set
up a control of Franciscan patronage of the arts during the later middle ages. This
thesis touches on all types of Franciscan patronage: conventual, and lay, communal
and ecclesiastical. This research relied on a newly published Franciscan archive of
over 27,000 documents, and is the first extensive survey of its kind for the
Franciscan Order.
It is hoped that this contribution has filled some gaps in our knowledge of
artistic patronage. Firstly it has thrown light on the role played by the Order of
friars minor in artistic projects, from the initial planning stages to the
commissioning, execution and supervision of works. It has been shown that
Franciscans were not always involved in artistic projects; at times they cooperated
with individuals, or families, and at other times they played no part at all. Whether
actively involved or more inactive, the friars were open to all sorts of artistic
experiments, which means that the Franciscan church was an ideal environment for
creativity.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BR Christianity N Fine Arts > N Visual arts (General) For photography, see TR
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Franciscan art -- Italy -- Veneto -- History -- To 1500, Art patronage -- Italy -- Veneto -- History -- To 1500
Official Date:	November 1991
Dates:	Date Event November 1991 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of History of Art
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Gardner, Julian
Sponsors:	Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) ; Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom
Description:	Illustrative material on aperture cards: please see official URL for details on accessing these.
Extent:	xiii, 263 leaves
Language:	eng

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