MODES OF VISUAL BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION IN THE LUTHERAN AND COUNTER REFORMATIONS by Chloe Alice Church A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Masters by Research with Biblical Studies Specialism. Department of Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham July 2017 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The images produced by artists during the Lutheran and Counter Reformations of the sixteenth century employed different modes of visually interpreting biblical texts. In Lutheran images in Germany, there was a dedicated focus on the literal representation of biblical texts. In Counter-Reformation Italy, paintings of biblical texts often contained extraneous additions that did not appear in the biblical narratives. Building on this hypothesis, my thesis identifies and addresses this question: How do these distinctive visual exegetical strategies correlate with the groups’ conflicting understandings of the status and interpretation of the Bible? The Lutheran Reformers upheld the Bible with sole revelatory authority, fuelled by the trajectory of sola scriptura, and produced images that clearly illustrated biblical narratives and incorporated textual references from the Bible. Contrastingly, the Counter-Reformists in Italy understood that it was ‘scripture and tradition’ that determined the rules of Christian faith and paintings can be seen to incorporate narrative additions to sustain the Church’s traditions and doctrines. Through the in-depth analysis of visual case studies from the two groups, this research proposes that the methods of visually interpreting biblical texts and themes are representative of the Lutheran understanding of sola scriptura and the Counter-Reformation position of ‘scripture and tradition’. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the College of Arts and Law at the University of Birmingham for its generous provision of a Masters Level Scholarship, which has financed the entirety of this degree. It means a great deal to have my research academically and financially recognised by the College. I thank my primary supervisor Dr Karen Wenell from the department of Theology and Religion. Karen has supported me throughout my last four years at the University of Birmingham during my undergraduate and postgraduate studies, and has helped me establish an excellent grounding in the reception- historical methodology of this thesis. Her continuing support and interest in my studies is greatly appreciated. I would also like to acknowledge the guidance of my secondary supervisor, Dr Elizabeth L’Estrange from the department of Art History, Curating and Visual Studies. Elizabeth helped me immeasurably in establishing a contextual grounding on the images discussed in this thesis. CONTENTS 1 1. Introduction 1.1 Methodology 4 1.1.1 Reception history: roots, definition and contribution 5 1.1.2 Reception history of the Bible in the visual arts 9 1.2 Biblical interpretation in the context 14 1.2.1 Lutheran Reformation: sola scriptura 15 1.2.2 Counter-Reformation: scripture and tradition 22 1.3 Outline 26 Part I 31 2. The understanding and utility of images in the Lutheran 32 Reformation 2.1 The challenge of Protestantism: Andreas Karlstadt, Ulrich Zwingli, 34 and John Calvin on the use of images 2.2 Martin Luther on the use of images 39 3. Case Study 1: Lucas Cranach the Elder, Whore of Babylon, 1522 46 3.1 The text in image 49 3.2 The visual interpretation in context 54 4. Case Study 2: Lucas Cranach the Younger, Weimar Altarpiece, 59 1555 4.1 The text in image 62 4.2 The visual interpretation in context 65 Part II 72 5. The understanding and utility of images in the Counter-Reformation 73 5.1 Council of Trent 74 5.2 Veronese’s Feast in the house of Levi, 1573 79 6. Case Study 3: Federico Barocci, Deposition, 1569 85 6.1 The text in image 87 6.2 The visual interpretation in context 90 7. Case Study 4: Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Incredulity 95 of Saint Thomas, 1602-3 7.1 The text in image 97 7.2 The visual interpretation in context 101 Conclusion 107 Images 113 Bibliography 134 LIST OF IMAGES Figure 1 Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Whore of Babylon, September Testament, 1522. Woodcut. https://commons.wikimedia.org……………………………………….113 Figure 2 Lucas Cranach the Elder, Christ Washes the Feet of his Disciples, Passional of Christi and Antichrist, 1521. Woodcut. http://germanhistorydocs.ghidc.org…….…………………………….114 Figure 3 Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Whore of Babylon, December Testament, 1522. Woodcut. http://www.smu.edu…………………………………………………….115 Figure 4 Albrecht Dürer, The Whore of Babylon, Apocalypse, 1498. Woodcut. https://commons.wikimedia.org……………………………………….116 Figure 5 Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Law and the Gospel, 1529. Oil on wood, 82.2x118cm, Schlossmuseum, Gotha. https://www.khanacademy.org………………………………………….117 Figure 6 Lucas Cranach the Elder, Schneeberg Altarpiece, 1539. Oil on wood, Church of Saint Wolfgang, Schneeberg. http://www.wga.hu………………………..………………………….…..118 Figure 7 Lucas Cranach the Younger, Weimar Altarpiece, 1555. Oil on panel, 370x309cm, Saint Peter and Paul’s Church, Weimar. https://commons.wikimedia.org………………… ……………….…...119 Figure 8 Sebastiano Del Piombo, The Martyrdom of St. Agatha, 1520. Oil on canvas. Palazzo Pitti, Florence. http://www.christianiconography.info…………………….…………….120 Figure 9 Rosso Fiorentino, Dead Christ with Angels, 1525-1526. Oil on canvas. 133.5x104cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. https://commons.wikimedia.org…………..…………………………….121 Figure 10 Michelangelo, The Last Judgement, 1537-41. Fresco, 1370x1200cm, Sistine Chapel, Vatican City. http://totallyhistory.com……………………………………….………….122 Figure 11 Paolo Veronese, Feast in the House of Levi, 1573. Oil on canvas, 5.55x13m, Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice. https://www.khanacademy.org………………………………………….123 Figure 12 Jacob Tintoretto, Last Supper, 1592-4. Oil on canvas, 365x568cm, Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice. https://sites.google.com………………………………………………….124 Figure 13 Federico Barocci, The Communion of the Apostles, 1608. Oil on canvas, 290x177cm, Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome. https://upload.wikimedia.org…………………………………………….125 Figure 14 Federico Barocci, The Visitation, 1583-6. Oil on canvas, 285x187cm, Santa Maria in Vallicella (Chiesa Nuova), Rome. https://culturespectator.com…………………………………………….126 Figure 15 Federico Barocci, The Deposition, 1568-9. Oil on canvas, 232x412cm, Cathedral of San Lorenzo, Perugia. https://culturespectator.com…………………………………………….127 Figure 16 Caravaggio, The Taking of Christ, 1602-3. Oil on canvas, 134x170cm, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin. https://commons.wikimedia.org…………………………………………128 Figure 17 Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas, 1602-3. Oil on canvas, 107x146cm, Sansocci Gallery, Potsdam. https://en.wikipedia.org…………………….…………………………….129 Figure 18 Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Conversion on the way to Damascu,s 1601. Oil on canvas, 230x175cm, Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo, Rome. https://en.wikipedia.org………………………….……………………….130 Figure 19 Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Supper at Emmaus, 1601. Oil on canvas, 141x196.2cm, National Portrait Gallery, London. http://www.artway.eu……………………………………………………..131 Figure 20 Albrecht Dürer, The Disbelieving Thomas, The Little Passion, 1510. Woodcut. http://www.zeno.org………………………………………………………132 Figure 21 Francesco de Rossie Salviati, Doubting Thomas, 1547. Oil on canvas, 275x234cm, San Giovanni Decollato, Rome. https://commons.wikimedia.org………………..……………………….133 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This thesis unites two conversations relevant to the splintering of the Christian Church in sixteenth-century Europe. The first is the diverging beliefs regarding the status and interpretation of the Bible. Martin Luther (1483-1546) and the Protestant Reformers upheld the Bible with sole revelatory authority and challenged the infallibility of Church tradition and papacy, while the Catholic Church maintained the position that it was by the synergy of the Bible and historical ecclesiastic traditions that we received God’s revelation. The Bible was thus read and interpreted in different ways, by the idea of sola scriptura or through the lens of ‘scripture and tradition’. The second conversation regards the use of images during the period. The use and veneration of images instituted by the Catholic Church was variably challenged by Protestant Reformers. While most claimed that Catholicism’s use of images was idolatrous, some saw that images could be reformed and put to positive use. Luther was one of these individuals and believed that images could be incorporated and used for the benefits of his campaign, so long as they were solely confined within educational parameters. Confronted with these varying levels of challenge towards their production of images, the Catholic Church remained consistent with their intention to use images for educational and devotional benefits. In combining these two issues and analysing their