Picturing the Death and Life of Jan Hus in the Iconography of Early Modern Europe

Abstract

Robert W. Scribner arguably established the importance of the culture of the visual image for the study of early modern Europe. Contrary to the assumption often held within the discipline of art history, the iconography of Jan Hus is principally about communication rather than concerned with artistic expression and the commensurate stress upon creative or aesthetic qualities. I believe the memory of Hus, accessed in visual art, had a definite religious and social aim. That goal was to communicate a message wherein heresy was depicted either to reinforce the decisions of the Council of Constance, which in 1415 found Hus guilty of heresy charges, or to argue for the godliness and salutary nature of the martyr. What did the fifteenth and sixteenth century viewers see when they beheld images of Hus? ... My consideration of the visual depictions of Hus has no concern with the aesthetic quality of the images. Rather, I am interested in aspects of iconography, iconology and semiology. That is to say, in the description of certain images of Hus, a consideration of their social function, and finally an analysis of that function as a sign.