This book is the first detailed investigation to focus on the late medieval use of Tree of Jesse imagery, traditionally a representation of the genealogical tree of Christ. In northern Europe, from the mid-fifteenth to the early sixteenth centuries, it could be found across a wide range of media. Yet, as this book vividly illustrates, it had evolved beyond a simple genealogy into something more complex, which could be modified to satisfy specific religious requirements. It was also able to function on a more temporal level, reflecting not only a clerical preoccupation with a sense of communal identity, but a more general interest in displaying a family’s heritage, continuity and/or social status. It is this dynamic and polyvalent element that makes the subject so fascinating.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter One: The Tree of Jesse and the Speculum Humanae Salvationis
Chapter Two: The Tree of Jesse and Saint Anne
Chapter Three: The Tree of Jesse, the Carmelites, and other Religious Orders
Chapter Four: The Tree of Jesse and the Schöllenbach Altarpiece: A Case Study
Chapter Five: The Tree of Jesse and Antwerp Carved Altarpieces
Chapters Six: The Tree of Jesse in Northern France
Conclusion
Susan L. Green is an associate lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art and visiting lecturer at the New College of the Humanities, London.
- ISBN 9780367664732
- Published September 29, 2020 by Routledge
- 256 Pages
