Art History Questions

Question

Define iconoclasm.  What encouraged it, and how did some works of art escape destruction during the period of Byzantine iconoclasm?

Answer 1

Iconoclasm is the destruction of works of art, typically within the religious and cultural setting that produced them. The word itself gives you the clue to its meaning, since it is works of art or images, from the Greek word eikones ('icons'), that are being destroyed. Iconoclasm has occurred across time and place, however the Byzantine Iconoclasm is one of the most historically significant. This Iconoclasm usually refers to two events, having occurred twice: the First Iconoclasm, from c. 726 to 787, and the Second Iconoclasm, from c. 814 to 842.

The use of images within religious settings remained at the heart of issue. Iconoclasts argued that the Christian Church should not employ images for worship, as such devotion could be likened to a form of idolatry. Worshipping an image of a saint, detractors argued, was categorically different than worshipping Christ, the Virgin Mary, or a Saint. Within this religious framework, Such images could distract the viewer, or even lead him or her towards sin. This theological idea goes back to an interpretation of the Ten Commandments, which had outlawed making and worshipping 'graven' images.

Certain kinds of works of art slipped between the human- and divinely-made. Many of these acheiropoieta (another lovely Greek word, meaning "something made without hands") were deemed especially powerful, often able to heal or work miracles. Their status was, by extension, problematic: if the images could work miracles, then they might have agency and power of their own, like a god. Detractors of icons often took special aim at these works and sought to diminish their status.

To me, one of the most fascinating aspects of the theological debates around these images, and of the actions of the icon-breakers, is that the act of breaking images paradoxically gave images more power. (This is in part, the subject of a fascinating and much recommended book, The Power of Images by David Freedberg.)

During the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth and seventeenth-century, works of art fell once more under similar attacks, with defenders and critics of 'graven images' recalling the debates of 8th and 9th century Byzantium. But that is another story...

Hope this helps!

All best,

Alejandro N. (Harvard PhD Candidate in Art History)