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A Magnificent Faith
Art and Identity in Lutheran Germany
By (author)
Dr. Bridget Heal
Genres:
History of art / art & design styles, European history, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, History of religion, Religious subjects depicted in art, Protestantism & Protestant Churches
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Synopsis
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. New & Used
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What Reviewers Are Saying
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 *
Brandenburg.