Durham E-Theses Calvinism and the arts: A re-assessment Joby, Christopher Richard How to cite: Joby, Christopher Richard (2005) Calvinism and the arts: A re-assessment, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2873/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail:
[email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Abstract Calvinism and the arts: A re-assessment Although many believe John Calvin had a negative attitude towards the arts, particularly visual art, my contention is that we find within his writings and the development of the Reformed tradition a more positive attitude to the arts than has hitherto been recognized. In chapters one and two, I look in detail at Calvin's own writings. I begin by examining exactly what type of visual art he rejected and what type he affirmed. I then look at how his eschatology and epistemology, particularly his use of the metaphor of mirror, allow us to argue for the placing of certain types of art within Reformed churches, notably history and landscape paintings.