Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

Ivanic has orchestrated a judicious collection of paintings, sculptures, artifacts, material objects, and architecture in her exploration of the visual culture of Catholicism. Her clear prose complements her prudent organization of categories and classifications of high art, popular culture, and liturgical rites. Organizing Catholica: The Visual Culture of Catholicism into three main sections—"Tenet," "Locus," and "Communities"—Ivanic strives to provide a road map of the signs, symbols, ceremonies, and devotional meanings of Catholicism throughout the centuries. Running the gamut from scriptural narratives and historic personages to more contemporary expressions of popular fashion and jewelry, Ivanic surveys Catholicism as a theology and spirituality expressed through the richness of popular and material culture. Unfortunately, however, Ivanic's fine text and selection of illustrations are poorly served by the design and formatting of the book: the multiplicity of strange fonts and reverse printing of white letters on black pages evokes the bizarre nature of Catholic rituals. In addition, the more-often-than-not fuzzy and/or postage-size reproductions contrast with the paper quality, which adds to the physical weight of a book that could have been a useful guide for museumgoers and tourists. Fortunately, Catholica concludes with a useful bibliography that will direct readers eager for more. Summing Up: Optional. Graduate students, researchers. --Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, emerita, Georgetown University

Publishers Weekly
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Expertly distilling two millennia of Catholic art into one invigorating cultural survey, historian Ivanic (Cosmos and Materiality in Early Modern Prague) glides from the 4th century to the present day to elucidate how Christian iconography has penetrated “visual environments” around the world. In addition to the many Madonnas one might expect to see, pious imagery, church altars, shrines, stained glass, and sacred jewelry are offered up as both works of art to be revered and rich documents of the attitudes and values of their eras—tattoos featuring the Mexican Virgin of Guadalupe, for instance, reflect a contemporary method of using one’s body as a canvas for individual devotion. Particularly engrossing is Ivanic’s scrupulous “decoding” of spiritual symbolism that pervades everything from the intricate flourishes of cathedral facades to street murals and secular paintings, as when she gives Where’s Waldo–esque treatment to the biblical figures evoked throughout Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Procession to Calvary (1564). Underlying the wonder of these diverse works is the tension caused by the Bible’s admonition against idolatry (indeed, Puritans would have been aghast at the splendor on display here). However, as Ivanic underscores, this artistic transgression gave rise to some of “the most glorious, inspiring, and uplifting masterpieces of humanity.” Art connoisseurs will be mesmerized by this sumptuous and superbly written guide. (May)