Cosmic bodies and sensorial meaning-making: Paolo Uccello’s The Miracle of the Desecrated Host as ‘sensory surround’ antisemitism in Renaissance Italy

The tempura-on-panel predella was painted between 1467 and 1469 for the Confraternity of the Corpus Domini and their oratory in the Corpus Domini church in Urbino. It consists of six panels detailing an account of a popular antisemitic legend focused on the desecration of the host. While the work represents a set of intimate interiors, the scale of the action is cosmic, involving humans, angels, and demons interacting over the injury to God's body -- a suite of moments that simultaneously reflect ordinary urban interactions and a cosmic struggle. The cultural centrality of the Eucharist during this period, the somatic nature of Communion, and the positioning of the artwork within the church all contribute to the emotional impact of the depicted events -- an impact that derives from complex entanglements of culture, the senses, and sensemaking.