Devotion and Splendor

This striking publication features important works of medieval art ranging from the early Christian era to the later Middle Ages, from both Western Europe and Byzantium. An introductory essay by Christina Nielsen focuses on the Art Institute's history of notable medieval acquisitions, including items from the famous Guelph Treasure, which captivated American audiences in the 1930s. Written by a team of Art Institute curators, the catalogue section combines full-colour reproductions and short entries on diverse works including drawings, glassware, carved ivories, illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, paintings, prints, sculpture, and textiles. Among the many highlights are a twelfth-century silver reliquary casket from Spain depicting the martyrdom of Saint Adrian; an early-thirteenth-century head of an apostle from the cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris; a fourteenth-century panel painting of the Crucifixion attributed to Lorenzo Monaco; Jacques de Baerze's Corpus of Christ, commissioned by the Duke of Burgundy in 1390; and an embroidered retable and altar frontal produced in 1468 for the Cathedral of Burgo de Osma in Spain.