In Savonarola's Shadow: Art, Agency, and Reform in the Dominican Nunneries of Central Italy

Abstract

This thesis explores a network of interconnected Italian Dominican nunneries closely linked to the convents of San Marco in Florence and San Domenico in Pisa, with particular attention to Corpus Christi and Santi Giacomo e Filippo in Genoa, Santa Caterina da Siena in Florence, San Vincenzo in Prato, and San Domenico in Lucca. It evaluates the impact of contemporary religious reforms on the construction of communal identities and the development of artistic workshops within these communities during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Drawing on archival sources, this thesis seeks to enrich the art historical scholarship on Italian Dominican nuns by investigating previously overlooked convents and their artistic activities, while also addressing unresolved questions concerning better-known communities. The study highlights the distinctive systems of patronage within each convent and traces the continuation of a Dominican artistic lineage that originated in the San Marco workshop and was sustained through the nuns’ painting practices. It also explores the multiple identities of Dominican artistic nuns in each house to better understand the nature of artistic production within convent walls and how the didactic functions of devotional paintings were adapted to their specific communal needs. In addition, it examines the close relationships among these convents, shaped by the spread of the Dominican Observant reform, the Savonarolan movement, and their intricate connections with aristocratic families across various cities. While identifying shared patterns in devotional and artistic practices across these communities, the study also demonstrates that each convent played a distinctive role in preserving and consolidating the reformist spirit and the wider Dominican network.