Abstract
Through a series of case studies, this paper examines Flemish fifteenth and early sixteenth century paintings of the Annunciation in a domestic setting as an example of how the materiality and the spiritual dimension form two inseparable aspects of devotional practice. After questioning whether these paintings reflect contemporary interiors and practices of domestic devotion, the paper discusses their use as historical sources by addressing the domestic iconography of the Annunciation as a Flemish artistic tradition. It argues that it is necessary to consider these paintings as artworks to understand their primary role as devotional objects.
Highlights
It it is is in in considering considering the the paintings paintings as as artworks artworks that that we we are are able able to to underunderstand how they functioned as devotional objects, as will be argued in part three
The stand how they functioned as devotional objects, as will be argued in part three
It is in considering the paintings as artworks that we are able to understand how they functioned as devotional objects, as will be argued in part three
Summary
Beyond the Annunciation, what this painting shows us literally is the interior of a late-medieval house; what it makes visible with the figure of the Virgin is the ability to accomplish one’s devotions at home. A contemporary viewer of the painting would have perceived both the religious subject and a familiar reality This representation finds real correspondences in the architectural transformations of the house and in the material transformations of religious practices at the end of the Middle Ages. Annunciation paintings such as that of the Merode Altarpiece seem to mirror the materiality and actual practices of devotion. Part one of this essay will, question the use of Flemish fifteenth and early sixteenth century paintings of the Annunciation in a domestic setting as sources for the history of late-medieval devotion.
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