Robin M. Jensen 
From Idols to Icons [EPUB ebook] 
The Emergence of Christian Devotional Images in Late Antiquity

Even the briefest glance at an art museum’s holdings or an introductory history textbook demonstrates the profound influence of Christian images and art.
From Idols to Icons tells the fascinating history of the dramatic shift in Christian attitudes toward sacred images from the third through the early seventh century. From attacks on the cult images of polytheism to the emergence of Christian narrative iconography to the appearance of portrait-type representations of holy figures, this book examines the primary theological critiques and defenses of holy images in light of the surviving material evidence for early Christian visual art. Against the previous assumption that fourth- and fifth-century Christians simply forgot or ignored their predecessors’ censure and reverted to more alluring pagan practices, Robin M. Jensen contends that each stage of this profound change was uniquely Christian. Through a careful consideration of the cults of saints’ remains, devotional portraits, and pilgrimages to sacred sites, Jensen shows how the Christian devotion to holy images came to be rooted in their evolving conviction that the divine was accessible in and through visible objects.

Tabla de materias

Contents


List of Illustrations 

Acknowledgments 

Preface 


1. Early Christian Condemnation of Idols 

2. Aniconism: In Defense of the Invisible God 

3. Epiphanies: Encountering the Visible God 

4. Early Christian Pictorial Art: From Sacred Narratives to Holy Portraits 

5. Holy Portraits: Controversies and Commendation 

6. The True Likeness 

7. Miraculous and Mediating Portraits 

8. Materiality, Visuality, and Spiritual Insight 


Epilogue: The Idols’ Last Stand 


List of Abbreviations

Notes 

Bibliography

General Index 

Index of Sources

Sobre el autor

Robin M. Jensen is Patrick O’Brien Professor of Theology and Fellow at the Medieval Institute and the Nanovic Institute, University of Notre Dame.