Chapter 20 The Devil in Visual Media
äºA Companion to the Devil and Demons, c.1100â1750Search for other papers by Charles Zika in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Purchase instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
This chapter considers some of the key ways demons were depicted in public places and private art throughout medieval and early modern Europe. At times the images could be graphic, with people being drowned, burned, and dismembered, and they provided observers with a vivid repertoire of demonic characteristics and activities as well as incentives to live a godly life and protect themselves from such suffering. This chapter considers the scope and variety in such portrayals, the influence of various cultures on their development, and the meaning behind their deployment. It also analyzes how such images changed over time in response to patronsâ requirements, religious reform, and assumptions about observer response.