In the Beginning Was the Image: Art and the Reformation Bible

A visual transformation of the Bible took place in the Renaissance and Reformation. Initially, this occurred as a result of technological advances, for the printing press proliferated biblical texts and images on a previously unimaginable scale. Equally important, Reformation theology, though also a threat to art, served as a catalyst for the creation of innovative biblical iconography. In the Beginning Was the Image demonstrates the pivotal role that thedefining artists of the Northern Renaissanceâ€â€Albrecht Dürer, Lucas Cranach, and Hans Holbeinâ€â€played in the reformation of the Bible and the biblical transformation of Protestant art.