The Consolation of Images: Pastoral Care and Visual Culture in Sixteenth-Century Reformation Germany

This dissertation explores how religious art produced within the orbit of the Lutheran church in the sixteenth-century were conceived as consoling images, or tröstliche Bilder, capable of offering emotional comfort to their viewers. Lutheran leaders adapted the long-standing Christian tradition of employing images to "move" the hearts of the faithful and integrated it into their distinctive ministry of pastoral care. The verbal consolation practiced by Lutheran ministers offered a guideline for what to focus on when looking at an image and how to interpret its contents so that the viewer could feel uplifted and be relieved of cares. Meanwhile, some peculiar compositional arrangement and rich sensorial stimulation heightened the comforting effect of the image. Highlighting the affective aspect of sixteenth-century Lutheran images, this study challenges the prevailing view of modern scholarship considering them as painted texts or “cold” and “rational” didactic tools merely engaging their viewers’ intellect. The tröstlichen Bilder in sixteenth-century Lutheran Germany can be categorized into three groups in terms of who the agent of emotional comfort was: God, fellow Christians, or the self. The first group of images urged their viewers to recognize God as their own father, spouse, or shepherd. In this affectionate relationship, the onlookers found certainty for their personal salvation, which was central to the Lutheran soteriology. In addition, the viewers were reminded that God resided with them on earth in their everyday reality, offering emotional comfort, protection, and strength. The second group of images thematized neighborly love, that is, a mutual support among fellow Christians. On one hand, the pictures emphasized that the faithful could experience God’s presence and operation in their own works of charity; on the other hand, the images encouraged their viewers to actively reach out to their neighbors in time of crisis. The third and final group of tröstliche Bilder focused on the faithful’s much-shared experience of constantly falling back into doubt and despair. The pictorial works first let the viewers acknowledge that they were not alone in their suffering and wandering. In turn, they helped the viewers to embrace the flawed self and be relieved from emotional strain