A Magnificent Faith
Art and Identity in Lutheran Germany
Published on 10. August 2017
Book
Hardback
324 pages
978-0-19-873757-5 (ISBN)
Description
A Magnificent Faith explains how and why Lutheranism - a confession that derived its significance from the promulgation of God's Word - became a visually magnificent faith, a faith whose adherents sought to captivate Christians' hearts and minds through seeing as well as through hearing. Although Protestantism is no longer understood as an exclusively word-based religion, the paradigm of evangelical ambivalence towards images retains its power. This is the first study to offer an account of the Reformation origins and subsequent flourishing of the Lutheran baroque, of the rich visual culture that developed in parts of the Holy Roman Empire during the later seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The volume opens with a discussion of the legacy of the Wittenberg Reformation. Three sections then focus on the confessional, devotional, and magnificent image, exploring turning points in Lutherans' attitudes towards religious art. Drawing on a wide variety of archival, printed, and visual sources from two of the Empire's most important Protestant territories - Saxony, the heartland of the Reformation, and Brandenburg - A Magnificent Faith shows the extent to which Lutheran culture was shaped by territorial divisions. It traces the development of a theologically-grounded aesthetic, and argues that images became prominent vehicles for the articulation of Lutheran identity not only amongst theologians but also amongst laymen and women. By examining the role of images in the Lutheran tradition as it developed over the course of two centuries, A Magnificent Faith offers a new understanding of the relationship between Protestantism and the visual arts.
Reviews / Votes
Bridget Heal's A magnificent faith: art and identity in Lutheran Germany crosses centuries and persuasively argues that we need to understand not just the utilisation but the celebration of visual culture within Lutheran identity and religious practice. Heal''s interdisciplinary study of the visual culture of Lutheranism is undoubtedly one of the most significant books on Lutheranism to have appeared in 2017. * Jennifer Spinks, Journal of Ecclesiastical History * Carefully researched, cleverly crafted, and clearly written, the book is a magnificent read to be enjoyed by both scholarly and broader readerships. * Maria Craciun, Catholic Historical Review * a magnificent book * Journal of Religious & Theological Information * a wonderful book, marked by intellectual breadth and erudition, analytical finesse and careful historical scholarship * History Today * [A]rt historians will be drawn to this volume, but, surprisingly, anyone interested in the history of Lutheran orthodoxy will also find this volume to be helpful, since it traces visual imaging whether through print, altars, or paintings when Orthodoxy was at its height... This book is filled both with color plates and black and white photos, enhancing its readability by illustrating artistic achievements among post-Reformation and Baroque craftsmen in Saxony and Brandenburg. An encounter with this book teaches that one really does not understand theology apart from the culture within which it interacts. * Mark Mattes, Lutheran Quarterly * Bridget Heal's book is a major contribution to the study of Protestantism and art. In addition to using recent literature, Heal has unearthed many apologetic, devotional, homiletic and theological texts, as well as imagery, to set ideas, images and objects in their historical and geographical contexts over a period of more than two hundred years. * Thomas Dacosta Kaufmann, The Burlington Magazine. * Heal's book is inviting to read and adequately illustrated (many images will be unfamiliar; some images are in color). Heal has brought together masses of difficult material, and her volume provides much food for thought for scholars of various disciplines interested in the period or in issues of ideologically sensitive public art...Highly recommended. * CHOICE * Bridget Heal has written a fascinating book. Based on a wealth of printed and archival material, and accompanied by wonderful illustrations, she vividly illuminates the visual world of early modern Lutheranism ... It is one of the most important contributions to the study of the Reformation tradition for many years. * Joachim Whaley, The Art Newspaper *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
black and white images
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
663 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-873757-5 (9780198737575)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
08/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€65.49
Available for download
E-Book
07/2017
1st Edition
OUP eBook
€74.49
Available for download
Person
Bridget Heal studied at the universities of Cambridge and London. Since 2002 she has taught at the University of St Andrews, where she is currently director of the Reformation Studies Institute. In 2010-2011 she held a visiting fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Freie Universitaet in Berlin. Her research focuses on the religious, social, and cultural history of early modern Germany. Her publications include The Cult of the Virgin Mary in Early Modern Germany: Protestant and Catholic Piety, 1500-1648 (2007).
Content
PART I: THE CONFESSIONAL IMAGE; PART II: THE DEVOTIONAL IMAGE; PART III: THE MAGNIFICENT IMAGE