Sta. Maria degli Angeli and the Arts: Patronage and Production in a Florentine Monastic House, 1375-1425

This dissertation addresses the relationship between a specific monastic community and the visual arts during the early Renaissance. As buyers, users, and producers of liturgical objects, the brethren in S. Maria degli Angeli maintained strong ties with secular patrons and artists, thanks in part to a monastic scriptorium which collaborated with Florentine painters. This thesis considers the multiple roles taken on by an important, yet understudied, monastery with regard to its collection of images. This study does not rigidly adhere to one methodology. I have concentrated on the context in which devotional objects were produced and used, and have approached my subject from social historical and "functionalistic" perspectives. Networks of patronage are addressed as social and political organisms, problems facing the scriptorium are considered from an economic standpoint, and images used in the convent are discussed as visual expressions of a specific brand of spirituality. Finally, issues of patronage, monastic art production, and the function of images are addressed together in the study of a single altarpiece installed in 1413, the Coronation of the Virgin by Lorenzo Monaco. This thesis presents a number of conclusions regarding patronage, "functionalism", and the responsibilities of a monastic scriptorium. Archival materials have identified a network of patronage--consisting of aristocrats allied with the powerful Albizzi family--which consistently supported the monastery during the Trecento. This network helped finance the scriptorium which, I argue, was responsible for every aspect of a manuscript's production except its painting. I also conclude that the liturgy contained in books made by and for the monastic population often worked in conjunction with altarpieces installed in the convent. A specific artistic program was devised by the monks as a means of reflecting their spiritual interests, as text and image complemented one another during important liturgical ceremonies. Finally, my analysis of the Coronation reveals the multiple concerns of the monastic community and its secular patrons. The high altarpiece is interpreted as a visual analogy to the monastery and to the liturgical ceremonies performed by its monks. This thesis discusses the uses and users of images, as well as the people who supported its users.