Sara Nair James

Sara Nair James (Grad ’94 CM) published her book, The Cult of the Virgin Mary in Medieval Italy: Art, Devotion, and Liturgy in Orvieto, with Cambridge University Press. The book explores the stained glass window narrative cycles in Orvieto Cathedral in central Italy and their nuanced depictions of the Virgin Mary. James looks at the influence that the scenes of the basilica of S. Maria Maggiore — as well as Dominican and Franciscan texts — had on the art of the Orvieto Cathedral and links features of the art to the city’s history and principal religious feasts.

James is a professor of art history emerita at Mary Baldwin University.