Botticelli, and: Sandro Botticelli (review)
Sienese Painting.” Second, “Patrons and Artists: Working Relationships in Transition” includes “Economic, Social, and Political Conditions and the Art Market after 1348.” Two sections on artists’ working relationships follow, divided into early Trecento and “After the Black Death: A Sienese compagnia ca. 1348– 1363” defined as “a flexibly organized network of painters” with Bulgarini as a principal member, although the “complete lack of documents explicitly referring to interactions among the painters . . . prevents our knowing whether we are dealing with a legally constituted corporation or a more informally organized confederation of artists” (81). Third, “Civic-Religious Imagery” is divided into preand post-plague sections. Fourth, “Artistic Style” includes “Stylistic Pluralism in the 1330s and ‘40s,” “The Politics of Style in the 1350s and ‘60s,” and “Style as Iconography.” Repetitions and a concluding summary allow the sections to be read separately rather than as a coherent narrative. Because this organization rests on chronological and visual evidence, the reader needs to know what dates the author ascribes to each cited painting. That information is rarely provided in the text and captions. Many pictures are blurry or photographed with glaring reflections. The reader must consult other publications for better images, dates, and dimensions. Several references cited in notes are not listed in the bibliography. Editing and typographical errors are minor disappointments. This book may put to rest traditional methods and perspectives. Answers about cultural change after epidemics are in the province of cultural history, demographics, and religion. An art historian may need a sample larger than one artist or a small group to explain even local changes in style and iconography in one enchanting Italian city. Future studies may examine questions about the cultural meanings of plague and fourteenth-century Siena with new and nuanced approaches. EDNA CARTER SOUTHARD Miami University