Wives, Widows, Mistresses, and Nuns in Early Modern Italy: Making the Invisible Visible Through Art and Patronage

Ten contributions from art historians deal with the interesting subject of how women who were marginalized or made invisible because of the cultural and economic milieu, or who chose to be invisible for religious reasons--nevertheless can be "seen" by those who look closely at their activities in the realms of art and patronage understood in its broadest sense. Arrangement is in sections on historical invisibility, becoming visible through portraiture, spatial visibility, and sacred invisibility. Editor McIver (art history, The University of Alabama at Birmingham) provides the introductory essay. Annotation �穢2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)