This fascinating book provides a fresh perspective on the understanding of sacred imagery and its use through selected studies related to seventeenth-century Roman visual culture. Patronage and Devotion: A Focus on Six Roman Baroque Paintings will accompany an exhibition of works by prominent Baroque artists, at the Villa Mondragone, a Renaissance Papal Villa in the countryside of Rome.
 
The highlight of catalogue and exhibition is a group of masterpieces by seven prominent artists of the seventeenth century: five altarpieces by Carlo Saraceni, Valentin de Boulogne, Andrea Sacchi, Andrea Camassei and Carlo Maratti, and one easel painting by Guido Reni commissioned for private devotion. Most of the paintings will be on public view for the first time.
 
The publication offers new approaches to the study of the complex processes involved in the making of a work of art. By reconstructing the religious and social dynamics of artistic patronage and the context of worship and devotion in which these paintings – fully documented by primary sources – were executed, the volume explores the visual impact of these works on the viewers.
 
This beautifully illustrated book will feature new research, remarkable photographs and details of diagnostic analyses of the altarpieces.