Calvinism and the Visual Arts

by Paul Corby Finney (editor)

It is often assumed that Reformed Christianity has had no bearing on the development of European and New World visual traditions or that the Reformed influence on the visual arts has been purely negative, amounting to an iconoclastic undoing of medieval religious art, especially figural iconography depicting biblical subjects. Neither of these characterizations is entirely unjustified, but at the same time neither does justice to a subject that is complex and complicated due to vagaries of time and place and circumstance. The more nuanced approach taken in this volume has indeed long been needed.

These historical studies—complemented by 174 black-and-white photographs and 46 color plates—seek to redefine the discussion of Calvinism's impact on the visual arts through an exploration of Reformed artistic influences in England, France, Switzerland, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, and America. Building on studies of Reformed architecture, graphic arts, and the Calvinist reaction to already existing forms of art, the contributors to this volume demonstrate the Reformed tendency toward appropriation, assimilation, adaptation, and reconfiguration, rather than the development of a uniquely Reformed artistic style.

Bringing fresh perspectives to the subject of Calvinism and the visual arts, SEEING BEYOND THE WORD will be a valuable resource for readers with interests ranging from art history to culture studies, from Reformed history to the relationship between worship and church architecture.

32 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998