Religion in the Renaissance was as personal as it was public

APOLLO MAGAZINE
By Charles Hope

The Annunciation to the Shepherds and the Adoration of the Magi (c. 1509–15), attrib. to Giovanni di Nicola di Manzoni dal Colle (active early 16th century). Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

This beautiful and original exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum is the product of a research project undertaken by a team of academics with support from the European Research Council. It is therefore probably the last such initiative that we will see in Britain, and it is well worth a visit. The subtitle of the exhibition, ‘The Holy Home in Renaissance Italy’, indicates the intention to explore religious practice through objects from a domestic setting, rather than through the public art for churches, which is often artistically more significant and certainly more familiar today. ‘Madonnas and Miracles: The Holy Home in Renaissance Italy’ is at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, until 4 June. [link]