Women, Fertility, and Maternal Art in Renaissance Florence

Women, Fertility and Maternal Art in Renaissance Florence examines maternity-centered art to reveal women's crucial function in saving Florence from a depopulation catastrophe. It appeals to both students and scholars in field of Art History, Renaissance Art and Gender Studies, as well as the general reader.

Costanza Gislon Dopfel is Professor of Art History at Saint Mary's College of California. Born in Milan, Italy, she received her doctorate from Stanford University. Her recent publications include the edited volumes Nascere (2017), Pregnancy and Childbirth in the Premodern World (2019), and Maternal Materialities: Objects, Rituals and Material Evidence of Medieval and Early Modern Childbirth (2024).

Introduction PART I: Maternal Art 1. Mary as Queen 2. Mary as Mother 3. The Nativity of Jesus 4. St Bridget's Vision 5. The Nativity of Mary PART II: Society and Art 6. Florence and the Fight for Survival 7. Marriage 8. Female Visual Epic 9. Children 10. Widows, Nuns, and Patrons