The Star of Magi: transient astronomical events as inspiration sources of Late Medieval art

none3It has long been recognized that a number of exceptional and highly impressive astronomical events are represented in Medieva I artwork, such as the Bayeux Tapestry and Giotto's •Adoration of Magi' in the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, representing the P/Halley comet transits of 1067 and 130 I, respectively, while it has been suggested that the •Apparition of Star to Magi' fresco in the San Pietro in Valle Abbey in Ferentillo (I 182) represents the I 181 Supernova. To date, however, no systematic survey of figurati ve Medieval and Renaissance art has been carried out in order to analyse the role of transient astronomical events as sources of inspiration in artworks in these epochs. In this work, we analyse more than a hundred artworks-dating between the 12th and 14th centuries-representing figurative elements connected with astronomy. Our statistical analysis reveals that the artists may have been inspired and even influenced by coeval astronomical events, today well known, but extraordinary and impressive to their eyes.openManuela, Incerti; Fabrizio, Bonoli; Polcaro, Vito FrancescoManuela, Incerti; Fabrizio, Bonoli; Polcaro, Vito Francesc