The Annunciation in Mary’s Chamber : Art, Intimacy, and Devotion in the Low Countries (15th - Early 16th Centuries) - Volume One / Thor-Oona Swanhild Pignarre-Altermatt.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pignarre-Altermatt, Thor-Oona Swanhild, author.

Series:

Early Modern History and Modern History E-Books online, Collection 2026.

Early Modern History and Modern History E-Books online, Collection 2026

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Art, Netherlandish.

Incarnation in art.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (665 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Art, Intimacy, and Devotion in the Low Countries (15th - Early 16th Centuries) - Volume One

Place of Publication:

Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2026.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The Annunciation in Mary’s Chamber examines the domestic iconography of early Netherlandish Annunciation paintings in the context of domestic devotion. Drawing on a vast array of archival documents, catechetical manuals, and close visual analyses, Thor-Oona Pignarre-Altermatt argues that domestic devotional practices fostered new modes of intimacy. While Annunciation paintings have primarily prompted symbolic interpretations, this richly illustrated, methodologically innovative book reinterprets them as reflections of the evolving relationships between representations and practices that shaped the devotional culture of the late medieval and early modern Low Countries. The book is accompanied by the first comprehensive catalogue of early Netherlandish Annunciation paintings created between c. 1425 and c. 1525. This work has been made possible by the support of the Institut des civilisations, arts et lettres (INCAL) at UCLouvain.

Contents:

Front Cover

Half Title Page

Series Information

Copyright Page

Contents

Acknowledgements

Figures, Graphs and Tables

Figures

Diagrams

Graphs

Tables

Plan

Abbreviations

Note to the Reader

Introduction

1 Art, Intimacy, and Devotion

2 From the Merode Room to a "Virtual Period Room"

3 Why the Annunciation?

4 The Framework of the Study

Chapter 1 The Invention of the Domestic Iconography of the Annunciation

1 The Untraceable Space of the Annunciation

1.1 The Evolution of the Iconography of the Annunciation

1.2 From the Formal Problem to the Iconographic Question

2 The Corpus of Early Netherlandish Annunciations: Domestic Iconography as a Subject of Investigation

2.1 The Method

2.2 The Boundaries of the Corpus

2.3 The Limitations of the Study

2.4 General Results

3 The Merode Altarpiece: a False Beginning

3.1 The Models of the Merode Altarpiece

3.1.1 The Influence of Sculpture

3.1.2 The Brussels Annunciation

3.2 Restoring the Starting Point: the Brussels Annunciation

4 The Annunciation in the Bedroom: an Early Netherlandish Artistic Tradition

4.1 The Beginnings of the Domestic Iconography of the Annunciation

4.2 The Fixation of the Domestic Iconography of the Annunciation

4.3 The Progressive Standardization of the Domestic Iconography of the Annunciation

4.3.1 The Relationship between Models and Copies

4.3.2 The "Archaism around 1500" and the Art of Quotation

4.3.3 The Repetition of Motifs: an Early Netherlandish Type of Annunciation?

Chapter 2 The Merode Altarpiece or Iconography in Search of Meaning

1 The Iconography of the Merode Altarpiece and the Limits of Symbolic Interpretation

1.1 Panofsky, the Merode Altarpiece, and the Theory of Disguised Symbolism.

1.2 After Panofsky: the Iconographic Program of the Merode Altarpiece and the Distortion of Symbolic Interpretation

1.3 Criticism of the Symbolic Interpretation of the Merode Altarpiece

1.3.1 The Need to Conduct a Visual Analysis of the Composition

1.3.2 The Contribution of Technical and Stylistic Studies

1.3.3 Criticism of the Theory of Disguised Symbolism

2 Symbolism in Early Netherlands Painting: a History of Fascination(s)

2.1 Panofsky's Intellectual Interests

2.2 The Debate of Realism and Symbolism in Early Netherlandish Painting: a False Problem?

2.3 Fascination for van Eyck or for Panofsky?

2.4 Reassessing Iconology

2.5 Annunciation and Symbolism

3 Evaluating the Symbolic Interpretation Based on the Corpus of Annunciations

3.1 The Reference to the Previous Iconographic Tradition and the Frequency in the Corpus

3.2 The Reference to the Broader Cultural Context

3.2.1 Evident Associations of Ideas

3.2.2 The Heart of the Matter: Disguised Symbolism

3.3 The Importance of a Visual Analysis of the Composition

3.4 Failures and Proposition of Interpretation

Chapter 3 From the Virgin's Chamber to the Chamber of the Heart

1 The Narrative Sources of the Annunciation and the Search for the Source Text

1.1 The Unknown Place of the Annunciation

1.2 Mary's Chamber: the Mystery Plays

1.3 Mary's Chamber: the Devotional Texts

1.4 In secretarium pudici cubiculi: the Interpretation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux

1.5 The Diffusion of St. Bernard's Text in the Low Countries

2 From the Virgin's Chamber to the House of the Soul: Rethinking the Text-Image Relationship

2.1 Het huis van de ziel: Domestic Allegory as an Incentive to Daily Devotion

2.2 The Continuity of a Spiritual Tradition

2.3 From the Question of Origin to That of Context.

3 "But When You Pray, Go into Your Room …:" the Pastoral of Intimacy between Physical and Mental Space

3.1 From the Cell to the Chamber: Withdrawing to a "Secret Place" to Pray Better

3.2 Material or Mental Chamber?

3.2.1 The Bedroom as a Place of Prayer

3.2.2 The Reference to the Chamber of Mt. 6, 6 in Catechetic Manuals

3.2.3 The Metaphor of the Bedroom of the Heart as a Path towards Spiritual Union with Christ

Chapter 4 The Church at Home

1 The Development of Domestic Devotion in the Late Middle Ages: an Investigation Based on Tournaisian Wills from the Fifteenth Century

1.1 The Framework of the Study

1.1.1 The Tournaisian Wills in the Historiography

1.1.2 The Limitations of the Study

1.2 General Results

1.2.1 The Numbers

1.2.2 The Sociology of Testators

1.3 The Method

2 Arranging and Using Objects and Images

2.1 The Images

2.1.1 The Statues

2.1.2 The Altarpieces and Tableaux

2.1.3 The Painted Canvases

2.1.4 Conclusions

2.2 Configurations of Objects and Images

2.2.1 The "Maximum" Configuration: Domestic Altars

2.2.2 The Tabernacles

2.2.3 Conclusions

2.2.4 The "Minimum" Configuration: The Prayer Beads

2.2.5 Various Accessories

2.3 Conclusions on the Use of Objects and Images in the Context of Domestic Devotion

2.3.1 A Diversity of Objects and Uses

2.3.2 The Role of Images in Domestic Devotion

3 Reading

3.1 The Prayer Books

3.2 Spiritual Literature

3.3 Conclusions

4 General Conclusions on Domestic Devotion and the Dynamics of Appropriation

4.1 A Socially Differentiated Reality

4.2 Ownership, Personalization, and Standardization

4.3 Between Material and Spiritual Value

4.4 A Pedagogy of Faith: Religious Imagery in the Home

4.5 The Wills, Women, and Devotional Practices

4.6 From Church to Home and Back.

4.7 The Church and the Home: Competition or Complementarity?

5 Delineating the Space for Devotion in the Home

5.1 Is the Space of Devotion Pre-existing or Defined by Devotional Practice?

5.2 The Organization of Space in the Medieval Interiors

5.3 Where Was Devotion Practiced in the House?

5.3.1 Transforming One's Home for Devotion: a Reality for the Elite

5.3.2 The Chamber as the Place of Devotion in the Home

Chapter 5 The Annunciation Paintings: Reflections of Domestic Devotion?

1 Considering the Paintings as Historical Documents

1.1 Delimiting a Scope of Validity

1.2 The Representations of Domestic Interiors

2 Documenting Domestic Devotion through a Visual Analysis of the Corpus

2.1 The Space of Devotion in the Home

2.1.1 The Types of Spatial Settings

2.1.2 The Degree of Enclosure or Openness of the Represented Space

2.1.3 Conclusion on the Comparison of Paintings and Archival Documents: Space

2.2 The Objects of Domestic Devotion

2.2.1 The Types of Objects

2.2.2 The Images

2.2.3 Conclusion on the Comparison of Paintings and Archival Documents: the Objects

2.3 The Level of Comfort of the Represented Interiors

2.3.1 Conclusion on the Level of Comfort of the Represented Interiors

2.4 The Strategies of Identity Representation

2.4.1 The Devotional Portraits

2.4.2 The Coats of Arms

3 Situating the Paintings in Their Historical Context

3.1 The Sociology of the Commissioning, Donation, and Ownership of the Paintings

3.1.1 Conclusion on the Social Aspects of the Commissioning, Donation, and Ownership of Paintings

3.2 The Intended Location of the Paintings

3.2.1 Conclusion on the Intended Location of the Paintings

Chapter 6 New Images for Devotion

1 "Devotional Images:" from the Format to the Function to the Uses.

1.1 The Notion of Devotional Image or the Combination of Format and Function

1.2 The Diversity of the Modes of Existence of the Annunciation Image

1.2.1 The Annunciation Diptychs

1.2.2 The Associated Iconography

1.2.3 The Location of the Annunciation Scene in the Altarpieces

1.2.4 The Annunciation Triptychs

2 Images and "Devotional Practice"

2.1 Image and Prayer

2.2 Image and Vow: the Case of the Merode Altarpiece

2.3 Image and Meditation

3 The Pastoral of Annunciation Paintings

3.1 Imitatio Mariae: Proposing Mary as a Model of Devotion

3.1.1 Mary's Attitudes and Gestures

3.1.2 Mary's Gaze

3.2 Domestic Iconography and the Actualization of Devotional Content

3.3 The Composition of the Paintings: Guiding the Meditation

3.3.1 The Structuring of the Pictorial Space: Representing Spiritual Progression

3.3.2 The Network of Objects: Focusing the Meditation

3.3.3 The Landscape: Journeying through the Painting

3.3.4 The Dialectic of the Interior and the Exterior: Transcending the Border

Conclusion

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Manuscript Sources

Published Sources

Research Tools

Reference Catalogs

Museum, Collection, and Exhibition Catalogs

Sale Catalogs

Museum and Library Online Entries

Other Online Resources

Studies

Index of Names before 1800

Index of Names after 1800

Index of Places

Back Cover.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Pignarre-Altermatt, Thor-Oona The Annunciation in Mary's Chamber

ISBN:

9789004691582

OCLC:

1610750352

Publisher Number:

10.1163/9789004691582 DOI