Augustine in Iconography: History and Legend- Edited by Joseph C. Schnaubelt and Frederick Van Fleteren- George Radan, Art Editor Joseph Reino, Literary Editor(4 Augustinian Historical Institute)

Augustine in Iconography: History and Legend has a threefold design: exploration of literary sources; reviews of pertinent archeology; and accounts of individual and cyclical illustrations. One hundred and thirty-two topics in the iconography of the bishop of ancient Hippo, both historical and legendary, are ascertained and analyzed; the historical and archeological background of Augustine's career, cult, and monastic influence are surveyed; four Augustinian cycles are examined; and various individual portraits of Augustine are studied.

About the Author :
The Editors: Joseph C. Schnaubelt, OSA and Frederick Van Fleteren of the Augustinian Historical Institute at Villanova University are the general editors of Collectanea Augustiniana. In addition, they have edited several volumes on Anselm of Canterbury and have contributed various essays to these and other volumes.

Review :
«Augustine left behind five million words of his writings - writings that give us one kind of vivid sense of his person. But it was left to following generations to turn him back into a visible presence of a sort with the tools of the visual arts. 'Augustine in Iconography' is that rarity of scholarly works, an almost completely original book. It begins with an exemplary assemblage of the source materials on which later tradition erected its imaginations of Augustine and his life. There follows a handsomely illustrated and remarkably comprehensive collection of studies of the major artifacts and traditions that gave visual form to the image of Augustine through the Middle Ages and into modern times. The result is a book equally of great use to the student of Augustine and the student of art history, but one so well conceived and produced as to be of great interest to a wide range of readers.» (James O'Donnell, University of Pennsylvania, and world-renowned Augustine scholar) «This extraordinary volume celebrates Augustine in the history, historical imagination, and 'imagery' of the Church across sixteen centuries. From the introduction by the editors - an indispensable repertory of literary sources underlying iconographical representations of the Saint-through the archeological and monographic studies that follow, and on to the fascinating hypotheses of Augustinian 'exegesis' and 'influence' in programs not explicitly illustrating the Bishop of Hippo's life, 'Augustine in Iconography' takes a fundamental step beyond the chief earlier work on the subject.» (Rev. Timothy Verdon, Consultor, Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church) «The latest volume of 'Collectanea Augustiniana', Augustine in Iconography: History and Legend' is a valuable collection of complementary studies. These essays are useful for understanding Augustine's persona in the Middle Ages and Renaissance and for assessing the perennial impact of his thought. The introduction lists the historical and legendary incidents treated in Augustinian iconography and provides their significant literary sources. 'Historical and Archeological Background' (Part I) considers the setting of Augustine's biography. 'Augustinian Cycles' (Part II) treats four fresco series covering a period of some four hundred and fifty years. 'Augustinian Portraiture' (Part III) addresses individual art-works and extends from a twelfth-century illuminated manuscript to the fifteenth-century Certosa di Pavia. For these works of art, Augustine's theology and exegesis may prove constitutive. In summary, this volume provides a notable contribution to the perception of Augustine in literature, theology, and art history and therefore should promote interdisciplinary research among Augustinian scholars.» (Dorothy Weber, Associate Director of the CSEL, Vienna, and notable patristic scholar)