The Diffusion of Illustrated Religious Texts and Ideological Restraints

Abstract

Focusing on the subordinate role assigned to Bible illustrations in Dutch religious literature, the chapter explores the difference between practices in the Republic and its neighbouring countries in order to advance the tentative hypothesis that these practices were motivated by theological and ideological considerations rather than by commerce. The restrictive mechanisms in the printing practices of the Dutch Republic were discussed in detail in the author's monograph Negotiating Differences: Word, Image and Religion in the Dutch Republic. The chapter concentrates on the illustrations that were added to the most prestigious Bible translation published in the Republic, the Dutch Reformed States Bible of 1637. The chapter outlines the developments in various applications of Bible illustrations in the Republic. In order to determine the specifics of the Dutch situation it focuses on what was produced during which period and compares this with the production in neighbouring countries.