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RELEASED: Mar. 4, 2004
DANVILLE, KY—William R. Levin, professor of art history at Centre College, has recently published a book on a 14th century Italian fresco titled Allegory of Mercy.
The Allegory of Mercy at the Misericordia in Florence provides a complete analysis of the fresco, one of the richest artworks of its era. The book examines the Italian society that engendered the painting and the organization that commissioned it, exploring the reciprocity between institutionalized public philanthropy and its perceived spiritual benefits.
An art historian with wide-ranging interests, Levin has taught courses and seminars covering the entire chronology of the Western artistic tradition. He has particular expertise in Italian art and architecture—its styles and symbolism—from 1100 to 1600, benefiting considerably from personal experience and firsthand observations made during the period 1976-81, when he lived and taught in Italy.
Levin's familiarity with Italian art has been enhanced by numerous subsequent visits, including his year-long return in 1993-94 while on a sabbatical from Centre. During that period, he continued his long-standing research into the history and art of Late-Medieval and Early Renaissance philanthropic institutions in Italy and, more generally, his study of works of art dealing with the concept of charity.
Levin has taught at Centre since 1986.
To order a copy of The Allegory of Mercy at the Misericordia in Florence, contact the Centre Shoppes at (859) 238-5370 or the University Press of America Inc. at (800) 462-6420 or visit www.univpress.com.
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