Creaturely Vision: Animals and Sacred Meaning in the Chiostro Grande of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, Tuscany

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dc.contributor.advisorGill, Meredith Jen_US
dc.contributor.authorCadagin, Sarah Mellotten_US
dc.contributor.departmentArt History and Archaeologyen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2013-02-07T06:30:10Z
dc.date.available2013-02-07T06:30:10Z
dc.date.issued2011en_US
dc.description.abstractThe 1498-1508 cloister frescoes by Luca Signorelli and Sodoma at the monastery of Monte Oliveto Maggiore outside Siena, Italy, have been noted for their bright colors, ingenious compositions and playful character. Scholars have given little attention, however, to the inclusion of numerous animals into the religious scenes of the life of St. Benedict. This thesis explores the use of those animals and argues through a discussion of the history of animals in Christian theology and Christian art that the cycle's animals have important symbolic, historical and hagiographic purposes that underline and enhance Benedict's role as saint and exemplar for the Monte Oliveto monastic community. It furthermore contends that early modern notions of animals as metaphysical beings capable of supernatural senses and of animals as important signs of moral and theological truths underscore the frescoes and their message. Their inclusion ultimately elevates and intensifies Benedict's saintly efficacy for his order.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/13585
dc.subject.pqcontrolledArt historyen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledReligious historyen_US
dc.titleCreaturely Vision: Animals and Sacred Meaning in the Chiostro Grande of Monte Oliveto Maggiore, Tuscanyen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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