Art and Patronage: An Analysis of Selected Illuminated Manuscripts from Santa Croce in the National Library of Florence

Sonia Chiodo’s catalogue of the Biblioteca Laurenziana illuminated manuscripts originally from the medieval library of Santa Croce in Florence, is one of the most updated works on Franciscan illustrations. Chiodo’s research focuses on those manuscripts which where present in Santa Croce in the Middle Ages and which were ad usum, thus borrowed for life by single friars. My research further develops from these premises. Through a close visual and textual analysis of few selected late-medieval and early-Renaissance illustrated manuscripts, originally from the library of Santa Croce and now in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale in Florence (BNCF), this paper aims to examine the extent to which these illuminations should be considered Franciscan in commission, if not in manufacture. By looking at manuscripts both ad usum and in the armarium, it will take into account the medieval and Renaissance characterising relationship between art and patronage, ultimately putting under stress the Franciscan rules on private ownership.