Figures of Presence and Absence

The present book is an introduction to the dispute about religious art that had been conducted in France from the beginning of the sixteenth century until the end of the eighteenth century. The debate involved not only Catholic and Protestant theologians, but also lay writers who tried to replace the dogmatic Christianity with the 'religion of reason' invented by the philosophes. A recurrent theme in the majority of statements in this discussion was a contention that religious images must not be perceived as 'portraits of God', but that they should be seen merely as a 'separated signs', detached from its invisible prototype; signs that only remind the faithful about God. - Important study about the dispute about religious art in France from ca. 1500-1800 - The impact of theoretical discussions on the production of religious art in France in the Early Modern Period