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From wooden images to spiritual images. The metamorphosis of idolatry in modern imagery
Abstract
A concept heavy with a long history of ideological combats, idolatry has not finished questioning the present day. Its field of application having been considerably broadened, it designates nowadays all phenomena where unwarranted sacralization takes place. In order to explain how this notion was able to leave the strictly religious sphere and venture into other cultural areas, this article looks at the semantic shifts which took place between the 16 th and 18 th centuries: and from exterior idols to interior ones, from the «false» gods of heathendom to the «mad» images hatched by imagination.
In studying Donato Bramante's Ruined Temple (1481), this essay looks beyond the traditional question of its subject matter, considering this engraving as an image about images of all kinds. Taking the inconspicuous cross on the column as its focal point, it shows how the print offers a dialectical disquisition on the value of the Christian sign as measured against the alluring remains of pagan civilization. The vexed nature of this choice registers a profound artistic problem. Caught between the ideals of classical antiquarianism and contemporary devotion, Bramante here claims the ground between artistic fame and obscurity, righteousness and idolatrous ruin.