Power, faith, and pictures: Frans hogenberg's account of the beeldenstorm

Abstract

Frans Hogenberg's depiction of the Beeldenstorm is one of the most popular and influential visual accounts of iconoclasm. However, it has been considered controversial in Academia due to the account's complex visual rhetoric. To tackle this complexity this contribution offers a close reading of Hogenberg's depiction as an historical source by exploring its various references and allusions. The printed image allows historians to gain insights into the religious and political culture of the second half of the sixteenth century. This essay argues that Hogenberg's account of the Beeldenstorm is a reflection on the power of images and its limitations. As such, the print was directly involved in the battle of how to understand contemporary religious and political conflicts. Although the account appeals to a heterogeneous audience, it depicts the Beeldenstorm in neither a neutral nor in an objective way, but from a position of religious compromise and secular unanimity.