Since the 1960s, the Italian altarpiece has attracted unprecedented scholarly attention, bringing liturgical, social, and technical considerations to bear on the subject. The eight contributors to this book provide an impressive synopsis of the different approaches developed in order toenlarge and deepen our knowledge of paintings in terms of their historical functions. In several cases, new light is shed on paintings that until a few years ago, were dealt with only as elements within a history of pictorial style. This volume is the result of an international symposium held inJuly 1988 at the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti in Florence.Contributors: Henk W. Van Os, Julian Gardner, Joanna Cannon, Gaudenz Freuler, Max Seidel, Peter Humfrey, Alessandro Nova, Patricia Rubin, and Michelangelo Muraro.