The ancient faults of the other: religion and images at the heart of an unfinished dispute
María Bettetini
Can a material object refer to the divine without attracting itself devotion and veneration? And, in particular, can depiction call mind reality that subtracts from its materiality? There are thus two problems here: whether (God what pertains Him) be rightly said represented by an whether, any case, such runs risk of becoming idol, little God, imitation God. The paper concentrates on history status images, depending religions, recurrent idea taking necessarily away “others”. People belonging “other” religions regarded as guilty, idolater, heretic, far true God best practises adore Him. A central year is 787 CE, for Nicea II Council, but also reactions about it. With all Platonic-Augustinian suspicion fictions, so-called Libri Carolini apportions images sole role bringing materiality denying power referring supersensible: paradoxically, more image “true” greater similarity between object, freight falsity, insofar it increases deception worked spectator. ideas Carolingian court cannot divorced artistic production tended ever disconnect precise meaning made stone or with brush, due course increasingly sacred pretext proposing imagines formosae.
Rivista di Estetica