The scandal of images : iconoclasm, eroticism, and painting in early Modern English drama

The Scandal of Images: Iconoclasm, Eroticism, and Painting in Early Modern English Drama is an interdisciplinary study that brings to light the radical, inventive ways Elizabethan dramatists such as Shakespeare, Marston and Lyly appropriated and transformed painting for the stage. Through close examination of an unusual group of early modern English plays, some virtually unknown in the scholarly or theatrical worlds, this book offers a unique analysis of painting properties, picture tropes, and painter characters in light of the Protestant "scandal" of images and antitheatricalism. A central premise of the book is that Elizabethan drama was staged and experienced as a visual art, which led to its compromised status in an iconoclastic culture. In plays such as Campaspe, Antonio and Mellida, Arden of Faversham, and Timon of Athens , dramatists not only thematized cultural attitudes toward images, but also confronted another compromised visual art, painting, as a means to examine aesthetic, moral, and perceptual issues at stake in spectatorship. The iconophobia inspired by Protestant reformers caused images of all kinds to be viewed with discomfort and ambivalence by Elizabethans. Dramatists, therefore, could use painting to signify a range of forbidden, disturbing, and morally questionable experiences. The Scandal Of Images: Iconoclasm, Eroticism, And Painting In Early Modern English Drama Is An Interdisciplinary Study That Brings To Light The Radical, Inventive Ways Elizabethan Dramatists, Such As Shakespeare, Marston, And Lyly, Appropriated And Transformed Painting For The Stage. Through Close Examination Of An Unusual Group Of Early Modern English Plays, Some Virtually Unknown In The Scholarly Or Theatrical Worlds, This Book Offers A Unique Analysis Of Painting Properties, Picture Tropes, And Painter Characters In Light Of The Protestant Scandal Of Images And Antitheatricalism.--jacket. The Power Of Images In Early Modern England : Prejudices Against And Defenses Of Painting And Playing -- John Lyly's Campaspe And The Subtle Eroticism Of The Elizabethan Miniature -- Dramatic Uses Of Portrait Properties And Face-painting In The Boys' Theater At St Paul's -- Scandalous Counterfeiting : Iconophobia, Poison, And Painting In Arden Of Faversham -- Stretch Thine Art : Painting Passions, Revenge, And The Painter Addition To The Spanish Tragedy -- Images Lawful And Beguiling : Ambivalent Responses To Painting In Shakespeare's Drama. Marguerite A. Tassi. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 216-251) And Index. Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 Introduction: Ut Pictura Theatrum: The Dramatist’s Ambivalent Muse......Page 16 1. The Power of Images in Early Modern England: Prejudices Against and Defenses of Painting and Playing......Page 30 2. John Lyly’s Campaspe and the Subtle Eroticism of the Elizabethan Miniature......Page 67 3. Dramatic Uses of Portrait Properties and Face-Painting in the Boys’ Theater at St. Paul’s......Page 99 4. Scandalous Counterfeiting: Iconophobia, Poison, and Painting in Arden of Faversham......Page 131 5. “Stretch thine art”: Painting Passions, Revenge, and the Painter Addition to The Spanish Tragedy......Page 153 6. Images Lawful and Beguiling: Ambivalent Responses to Painting in Shakespeare’s Drama......Page 179 Notes......Page 217 Bibliography......Page 240 C......Page 254 G......Page 255 K......Page 256 P......Page 257 S......Page 258 W......Page 259 Z......Page 260 Tassi (English, U. of Nebraska, Kearney) examines the themes and subtexts of works of theater such as Campaspe, Antonio and Mellida, Arden and Faversham and Timon of Athens to explore the iconophobia of Elizabethan Protestantism. She finds that theater was considered primarily visual so it, along with painting and other arts, caused some discomfort amongst spectators. This discomfort, rather than confining the visual arts, freed them to comment on aesthetics, morals, and perceptions in unconventional ways. Distributed by the Associated University Presses. Annotation 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) The power of images in early modern England : prejudices against and defenses of painting and playing John Lyly's campaspe and the subtle eroticism of the Elizabethan miniature Dramatic uses of portrait properties and face-painting in the boys' theater at St Paul's Scandalous counterfeiting : iconophobia, poison, and painting in Arden of Faversham "Stretch thine art" : painting passions, revenge, and the painters addition to the Spanish tragedy Images lawful and beguiling : ambivalent responses to painting in Shakespeare's drama. In Elizabethan England, dramatists and painters were both achieving the greatest degree of artistic excellence yet witnessed, but they were also in a state of transition, vying for social status and patronage, as well as struggling against religious reformers' accusations of idolatry and eroticism.