书名:  Visions of Paradise: Botticini's Palmieri Altarpiece/天堂的幻象：波提契尼的帕尔米耶里祭坛画

作者：Frank Jolles
出版：National Gallery London，2016

语种：英语

装帧：平装，112页

尺寸：20.3*26.6 cm

本书展示了对弗朗西斯科·波提契尼（Francesco Botticini, 1446-1498）的最新学术研究。这幅描绘圣母升天的画是为佛罗伦萨市民马泰奥·帕尔米耶里（Matteo Palmieri, 1406-1475）的葬礼礼拜堂制作的。帕尔米耶里是一位真正的“文艺复兴人”——他是美第奇家族的伙伴，也是一位人文主义者，他的职业生涯包括了外交官、诗人、作家和药剂师等多种角色。

在这本书中，作者揭示了促成这幅令人惊叹的祭坛画的文化以及那场引人入胜的委托创作的新见解。除宗教内容外，这幅祭坛画还描绘了可以作为佛罗伦萨“城市肖像”早期范例的全景景观。作者研究了这幅画所反映的佛罗伦萨社会及精神信仰，也阐明了这幅画的方方面面——包括作者，日期，神学意义和原始地点——这些都是外界疑问之处。

本书作者珍妮弗·思丽卡（Jennifer Sliwka）是英国国家美术馆艺术与宗教部分的阿曼森策展人（ Ahmanson Curator）。

Visions of Paradise showcases new scholarly research on the monumental Palmieri Altarpiece by Francesco Botticini (1446–1498). The painting, which depicts the Assumption of the Virgin, was made for the funerary chapel of the Florentine citizen Matteo Palmieri (1406–1475). Palmieri was a true “Renaissance Man”—an associate of the Medici and a humanist, whose career encompassed a variety of roles, as diplomat, poet, writer, and apothecary.

In this book, Jennifer Sliwka uncovers new insights about the culture that produced this stunning altarpiece and the fascinating patron who commissioned it. In addition to its religious content, the altarpiece depicts a panoramic landscape that serves as a very early example of a “city portrait” of Florence; this accurate, detailed view, which includes Palmieri’s villa and farm, predates several of the earliest known maps of the city. Sliwka examines what the painting reflects about Florentine society and spiritual beliefs, and sheds light on aspects of the painting—including its authorship, date, theological significance, and original location—that are frequently questioned.