In the mid-15th century, when the tradition styles and techniques of the Middle Ages were yielding to the new influences of the Renaissance, the altarpieces of

"The color photographs, specially commissioned for this project, are an essential feature of the book. Each altarpiece is illustrated in its entirety, with its

Frame Work explores how framing devices in the art of Renaissance Italy respond, and appeal, to viewers in their social, religious, and political context.

Today we associate the Renaissance with painting, sculpture, and architecture—the “major” arts. Yet contemporaries often held the “minor” arts—gem-s