Images of witchcraft in German art from 1450 to 1550

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dc.contributor.authorNeave, Dorindaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2024-08-15T16:33:21Z
dc.date.available2024-08-15T16:33:21Z
dc.date.copyright1984en_US
dc.date.issued1984
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of History in Art
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Art History and Visual Studies
dc.degree.levelMaster of Arts M.A.en
dc.description.abstractWestern Europe , in particular Germany, witnessed a savage per­secution of so-called witches between 1450 and 1700 . Prior to approx­imately 1450 , ecclesiastical and secular authorities acknowledged the existence of witches but did not generally consider their pre­sence a danger. At the close of the 15th century, this tolerant attitude held towards witches was reversed. Witchcraft became a fully inflamed threat to be exterminated. The witchcraft delusion gained in strength because it was systematized into a powerful, theo­logical dogma. Writings such as the Papal Bull of Innocent VIII (1484) and the Malleus Maleficarum (1486) established that witches existed and engaged in harmful practices . The Malleus was con­sidered the leading authority on witchcraft and largely shaped the European concept of witchcraft. This thesis is concerned with the extent to which the Malleus influenced pictorial representations of witchcraft in German art 1450-1550 . Images of witchcraft are examined in the art of Albrecht Diirer (1471-1528), Hans Baldung Grien (1484/5-1545) and Lucas Cranach (1472-1553~ . These illustrations are found to be highly original with few artistic precedents. Close scrutiny of the Malleus reveals strong correlations between the treatise's text and illus­trations of witchcraft studied . It is concluded that the images of witchcraft investigated, evolved in most cases from the artist's creative interpretation of the writings of demonologists, especially the Malleus. This iconographical approach serves a dual purpose of clarifying subsequent findings and contributing to our knowledge of the era's central witch beliefs.
dc.format.extent141 pages
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1828/19099
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.titleImages of witchcraft in German art from 1450 to 1550en_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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