Patronage and Devotion

"Accompanying an exhibition of works by prominent Baroque artists, at the Villa Mondragone, a Renaissance Papal Villa in the countryside of Rome, this fascinating book provides a fresh perpsective on the understanding of sacred imagery and its use through selected studies related to seventeenth-century Roman visual culture. The publication offers new approaches to the study of the complex processes involved in the making of a work of art. By reconstructing the religious and social dynamics of artistic patronage and the context of worship as well as devotion in which these paintings - fully documented by primary sources - were executed, the volume explores the visual impact of these works on the beholders. "-Page 4 of cover.