Bernard Picart and the First Global Vision of Religion

The introduction begins modestly, "This is a book about a book". However, Hunt (history, University of California, Los Angeles) and her colleagues only use this book as a springboard for a discussion of eighteenth century attitudes about religion and art. The book is the multi-volume Ceremonies et coutumes religieuses de tous les peuples du monde by engraver Bernard Picart and publisher Jean Frederic Bernard. Articles look at the conditions in publishing in Amsterdam at the time, give a background on Picart's life and look at his later work, a collection of engravings based on great works of European masters. The underlying key to the theme of Picart's and Bernard's endeavor is suggested in an essay on the Colligiants, a small sect of free thinkers. Specialists examine Picart's sources for religions in China, India and Meso-America, well as representations of Islam. The study concludes with articles on influences on Picart and Bernard and the climate at the time regarding a comparison of religions. The scholars note that there are many inaccuracies in the Ceremonies et coutumes but that the underlying belief that all religions are, at base, similar was radical enough for it to be banned by both Catholics and Protestants. Picart's engravings and sketches are beautifully reproduced throughout. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Lynn Hunt is Eugen Weber Professor of Modern European History at the University of California, Los Angeles. Margaret Jacob is Distinguished Professor of History at the University of California, Los Angeles. Wijnand Mijnhardt is director of the Descartes Centre for the History and Philosophy of the Sciences and the Humanities at Utrecht University.