Pictorial Narrative in the Romanesque Cloister

Praised as paradisiacal or denounced as impious fantasy, the sculpture of Romanesque cloisters played a powerful role in medieval monastic life. This book demonstrates how sculpture in the cloister, the physical and spiritual heart of the religious foundation, could be shrewdly configured to articulate the most influential ideals and experiences of its individual community. Taking as its focus the visually rich, highly organized narrative programs of three twelfth-century Spanish cloisters, this book reveals the power of such imagery to reflect and reinforce the social and spiritual preoccupations of its age.

The Author: Pamela A. Patton is Associate Professor of Art History at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas. She received her Ph.D. in art history from Boston University. Her articles on art and religious culture in medieval Spain have appeared in numerous professional journals and essay collections, and she is a co-author of The Meadows Museum: A Handbook of Spanish Painting and Sculpture.