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Art in Dispute
Catholic Debates at the Time of Trent. With an Edition and Translation of Key Documents
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The Catholic Church answered Reformation-era contestations of the cult of images in a famous decree of the Council of Trent (1563). Art in Dispute revisits this response by focusing on its antecedents rather than its consequences. The mid-sixteenth century saw, besides new scholarship on Byzantine doctrines, heated debates about neo-scholastic interpretations. Disagreement, suppressed at Trent but re-emerging soon afterwards, centered on the question whether religious images were solely signs referring to holy subjects or also sacred objects in their own right. It was a debate with major implications for art theory and devotional practice.
The volume contains editions and translations of texts by MartÃn Pérez de Ayala, Matthieu Ory, Jean Calvin, Ambrogio Catarino Politi, and Iacopo Nacchianti, along with a previously unknown draft of the Tridentine decree.
The volume contains editions and translations of texts by MartÃn Pérez de Ayala, Matthieu Ory, Jean Calvin, Ambrogio Catarino Politi, and Iacopo Nacchianti, along with a previously unknown draft of the Tridentine decree.
Wietse de Boer, Ph.D. (1995) is Professor of History at Miami University. His research focuses on Italian early-modern religious and cultural history. His publications include The Conquest of the Soul: Confession, Discipline, and Public Order in Counter-Reformation Milan (Brill, 2001).
â[...] the value of Art in Dispute is undeniable. It is a necessary reference for graduate students and scholars in early modern religious history and art history. For art historians, the book opens avenues to consider the potential impact these debates had on sacred style during these respective periods.â
Anne H. Muraoka, Old Dominion University. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Winter 2023), pp. 1478â1480.
âWietse de Boerâs superb book delves into the intense mid-sixteenth-century debates among Catholic scholars, about sacred images. [â¦] I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the early modern image debate. De Boer enriches our understanding of the heterogeneous opinions and intense discussions among leading Catholic theologians before, during, and after 1563.â
Jeffrey Chipps Smith, University of Texas, Austin. In: Church History, Vol. 91, No. 4 (December 2022), pp. 925â926.
â[â¦] a distinguished contribution to recent attempts to put the Council of Trent (1543â1563) in its proper place [â¦]. This book is essential reading not only for art historians but also for anyone interested in how and why the Roman Catholic church after Trent managed to save visual images âas the language of new devotional or meditative practicesâ (130)â.
Simon Ditchfield, University of York. In: Journal of Modern History, Vol. 96. No. 4 (December 2024), pp. 980â981.
âDe Boer setzt einen neuen Standard [â¦] und leistet einen zentralen Beitrag zur aktuellen Reflexion über den medialen und ontologischen Status von Bildern.â
Theresa Gatarski, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. In: Kunstchronik, Vol. 75, No. 12 (December 2022), pp. 609â614.
âessential contributionâ
Ralph Dekoninck, Université catholique de Louvain. In: Francia-Recensio, 2023/2.
âConducted with uncommon erudition and philological rigor â the author excels in the art of detecting intellectual connections [â¦] Wietse de Boerâs work not only restores an important page in the history of the cult of images in the West, but this page constitutes a missing link [â¦] between two periods which academic divisions tend to separate all too often.â (translated from the French)
Nicolas Balzamo, University of Neuchâtel. In: Revue dâHistoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. 120, Nos. 1â2 (2025), pp. 388â391.
Anne H. Muraoka, Old Dominion University. In: Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 76, No. 4 (Winter 2023), pp. 1478â1480.
âWietse de Boerâs superb book delves into the intense mid-sixteenth-century debates among Catholic scholars, about sacred images. [â¦] I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in the early modern image debate. De Boer enriches our understanding of the heterogeneous opinions and intense discussions among leading Catholic theologians before, during, and after 1563.â
Jeffrey Chipps Smith, University of Texas, Austin. In: Church History, Vol. 91, No. 4 (December 2022), pp. 925â926.
â[â¦] a distinguished contribution to recent attempts to put the Council of Trent (1543â1563) in its proper place [â¦]. This book is essential reading not only for art historians but also for anyone interested in how and why the Roman Catholic church after Trent managed to save visual images âas the language of new devotional or meditative practicesâ (130)â.
Simon Ditchfield, University of York. In: Journal of Modern History, Vol. 96. No. 4 (December 2024), pp. 980â981.
âDe Boer setzt einen neuen Standard [â¦] und leistet einen zentralen Beitrag zur aktuellen Reflexion über den medialen und ontologischen Status von Bildern.â
Theresa Gatarski, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. In: Kunstchronik, Vol. 75, No. 12 (December 2022), pp. 609â614.
âessential contributionâ
Ralph Dekoninck, Université catholique de Louvain. In: Francia-Recensio, 2023/2.
âConducted with uncommon erudition and philological rigor â the author excels in the art of detecting intellectual connections [â¦] Wietse de Boerâs work not only restores an important page in the history of the cult of images in the West, but this page constitutes a missing link [â¦] between two periods which academic divisions tend to separate all too often.â (translated from the French)
Nicolas Balzamo, University of Neuchâtel. In: Revue dâHistoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. 120, Nos. 1â2 (2025), pp. 388â391.
Preface
List of Illustrations
Abbreviations
1 Premises: The Sacred Image in an Age of Religious Crisis
â1âThe Thomist View and Its Critics
â2âEarly Catholic Responses to Reformation Critiques
â3âThe Image Question in the Mid-Sixteenth Century
â4âMarcello Cervini and the Image Debate
2 Disputes: The Sacred Image and the Counter-Reformation
â1âThe Traditions of MartÃn Pérez de Ayala
â2âIn Defense of Thomism: Matthieu Ory
â3âOry and Calvin
â4âHow to Honor Images: Ambrogio Catarino
â5âNacchiantiâs Road to Orthodoxy
3 Reverberations: St. Germain, Trent, and Beyond
â1âOn the Sidelines of Trent: Eliseo and Ninguarda
â2âDiego LaÃnez between St. Germain and Trent
â3âTrent: The French Connection
â4âA Previously Unknown Draft
â5âA Question about Honor
â6âBeyond Trent: Paleotti to Bellarmino
â7âConclusion
Note on Editions and Translations
IâMartÃn Pérez de Ayala
âCorollarium de imaginibus sanctorum / Corollary Concerning the Images of Saints
IIâMatthieu Ory
âDe cultu imaginum / The Worship of Images
IIIâMatthieu Ory â Jean Calvin
âOpposing Views on Sacred Images
IVâAmbrogio Catarino Politi
âDisputatio de cultu et adoratione imaginum / Disputation on the Worship and Adoration of Images
VâIacopo Nacchianti
âDigressio de imaginum usu ac cultu in ecclesia dei / Digression about the Use and Worship of Images in Godâs Church
VIâCouncil of Trent
âDraft of the Decree on Saints, Relics, and Images / Draft of the Decree on Saints, Relics, and Images
Appendices
Selected Bibliography
Index
List of Illustrations
Abbreviations
Part 1: History
1 Premises: The Sacred Image in an Age of Religious Crisis
â1âThe Thomist View and Its Critics
â2âEarly Catholic Responses to Reformation Critiques
â3âThe Image Question in the Mid-Sixteenth Century
â4âMarcello Cervini and the Image Debate
2 Disputes: The Sacred Image and the Counter-Reformation
â1âThe Traditions of MartÃn Pérez de Ayala
â2âIn Defense of Thomism: Matthieu Ory
â3âOry and Calvin
â4âHow to Honor Images: Ambrogio Catarino
â5âNacchiantiâs Road to Orthodoxy
3 Reverberations: St. Germain, Trent, and Beyond
â1âOn the Sidelines of Trent: Eliseo and Ninguarda
â2âDiego LaÃnez between St. Germain and Trent
â3âTrent: The French Connection
â4âA Previously Unknown Draft
â5âA Question about Honor
â6âBeyond Trent: Paleotti to Bellarmino
â7âConclusion
Part 2: Documents
Note on Editions and Translations
IâMartÃn Pérez de Ayala
âCorollarium de imaginibus sanctorum / Corollary Concerning the Images of Saints
IIâMatthieu Ory
âDe cultu imaginum / The Worship of Images
IIIâMatthieu Ory â Jean Calvin
âOpposing Views on Sacred Images
IVâAmbrogio Catarino Politi
âDisputatio de cultu et adoratione imaginum / Disputation on the Worship and Adoration of Images
VâIacopo Nacchianti
âDigressio de imaginum usu ac cultu in ecclesia dei / Digression about the Use and Worship of Images in Godâs Church
VIâCouncil of Trent
âDraft of the Decree on Saints, Relics, and Images / Draft of the Decree on Saints, Relics, and Images
Appendices
Selected Bibliography
Index
Those interested in the history of the Catholic Reformation and Counter-Reformation, and in the theory and history of art in the late Renaissance and Baroque. Keywords: art theory, religious art, sacred images, iconoclasm, idolatry, meditation, Counter-Reformation, Catholic Reformation, Council of Trent, Colloquy of St. Germain, MartÃn Pérez de Ayala, Matthieu Ory, Ambrogio Catarino, Iacopo Nacchianti, Diego LaÃnez.