Behind the Image ― Understanding the Old Testament in Medieval Art

Part of a series on cultural relationships between the arts, this book looks at the relationship between the Christian Old Testament and medieval visual art in the West. It is divided into six chapters. The first, Precedent, deals with direct correspondences: images of scenes in the Old Testament used as support for then-current Christian cultural practices. Word introduces standardized interpretations of and commentaries on Biblical texts (such as portraying Moses with horns). Time looks at visual representations of medieval Christian ideas of time and history. Two chapters on typology look at the visual expressions of the idea that Biblical text should be read only as a set of symbols and prophesies about Jesus. The resulting complex webs of visual symbolism explain why seemingly incongruous or unrelated images were connected for Roman Christians in the middle ages. The last chapter looks at the figure of Synagogue, a female image used to represent the “evil and misguided” Jewish faith. The author uses a neutral secular tone throughout the book to discuss the deep reverence for Old Testament heroes, combined with an intense and institutionalized hatred of Jews, that created the visual culture of western Europe. The book is articulate and scholarly, designed for historians of art or religion but accessible to educated general readers interested in the subject of medieval western European art and culture. Annotation c2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)

Judith A. Kidd read Theology at King’s College London and, after a Goldsmith’s Company scholarship to study religious art in French and Spanish Catalonia, pursued her interest in iconography with a research degree in the Art History department of Bristol University. She subsequently taught at Wycombe Abbey and North London Collegiate and has published articles combining the two areas of theology and art history.