Degree Name
BA
Department
Humanities, Classics, and Comparative Literature
College
Humanities
Defense Date
2018-03-09
Publication Date
2018-04-28
First Faculty Advisor
Dr. Elliott Wise
First Faculty Reader
Dr. Heather Jensen
Honors Coordinator
Dr. Martha Moffitt Peacock
Keywords
art history, linen, Northern Renaissance, altarpiece
Abstract
This thesis explores the materialistic importance of cloth in the life of Jesus Christ and relates it to the disassembled Life of Christ Altarpiece painted by the Renaissance artist Dieric Bouts. References to cloth in the scriptural accounts of Christ’s life support the claim that there is deep theological significance to fabric. The medium of each of the paintings that comprised the altarpiece is a flax linen canvas, which, combined with the references to cloth throughout the compositions, parallels these references to cloth in the scriptures. The entire artwork serves as a metaphor for the Eucharist resting on linen on the altar and aids viewers in deepening their worship of Christ.
Copyright Statement
Copyright Date
2018-04-23
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
McLeod Pilling, Mary-Margaret, "The Significance of Cloth in the Narrative of the Life of Christ as Represented in Dieric Bouts' "Life of Christ Altarpiece"" (2018). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 27.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studentpub_uht/27
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/uht0027
Included in
Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art and Architecture Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Painting Commons