Dear George,
As another non-art historian (or rather non-art-historian, to make sure that
I am not an artless historian), I cannot give you expert advice. But a good
starting point as a general work of reference, with densely written articles
and usually good bibliographies, is Engelbert Kirschbaum / Wolfgang
Braunfels (eds.), _Lexikon der christlichen Ikonographie_, Roma / Freiburg
(Breisgau) / Basel / Wien, 1968-1976, 8 vols., repr. Freiburg: Herder, 1994.
I am more familiar with the first four volumes, devoted primarily to
biblical iconography (_Allgemeine Ikonographie_), and have always wished we
had something similar for biblical topics in literature, too (maybe we have,
I did not yet try David Lyle Jeffrey, ed., _A Dictionary of Biblical
Tradition in English Literature_). But I have heard that the second section
of Kirschbaum's LCI, devoted to the iconography of saints (vols. 5-8:
_Ikonographie der Heiligen_), is even better than the first. The reprint of
all eight volumes can be purchased for DM 198.--, which is a very reasonable
price for what you get (if you have a reasonable income, which I myself
don't have), but the pity is, of course, that it is written in German.
For the iconography of saints in Italian art I have found very useful George
Kaftal's four volumes _Saints in Italian Art_, Firenze: Sansoni / Le
Lettere, 1952-85 (1. Iconography of the Saints in Tuscan Painting_, Firenze:
Sansoni, Sansoni, 1952; 2. Iconography of the saints in central and South
Italian schools of painting, Sansoni, 1965; 3. Iconography of the saints in
the painting of North East Italy, Sansoni, 1978; 4. Iconography of the
saints in the painting of North West Italy, Le Lettere, 1985), but you will
know his writings better than I do.
Yours,
Otfried
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Otfried Lieberknecht
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