Figures of Presence and Absence

An Introduction to the French Dispute about Sacred Images and the Role of Art in the Life of the Church in the Early Modern Period

by Piotr Krasny

Book cover: Figures of Presence and Absence

Hardback (Published)

(October 2019)

ISBN: 9783795433468

6.65 x 9.45 inches

Price: $53.00

In stock

An introduction to the dispute about religious art 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 dogmatic Christianity with the ‘religion of reason’ invented by the philosophes.


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

  • By (author) Piotr Krasny

"For a scholar interested in the complex story of French religious history, this is an encyclopedic look at all the thinkers, artists, philosophers, and religious leaders who played a role in that controversial history. Every major and minor actor in this story is explored, filling in a large gap in the history of iconoclasm in France." --Schildgen, Brenda Dean, University of California, Davis
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