Calvin and Perception in Early Modern Visual Culture

Calvin and Perception in Early Modern Visual Culture, Volume 1, provides a scholarly examination of John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion within its original historical context. This work of religious studies and history analyzes how early modern optics, art theory, and psychology shaped the perceptual assumptions of Calvin's readers. AnnMarie Bridges explores the pre-conscious processing of the imagination, arguing that the text focuses on the tension between perception and delusion rather than simple knowledge.

The author utilizes close readings of Latin prose and visual metaphors, such as the factory of idols, to redefine the study of this influential religious text. By focusing on topics like idolatry and faith, this volume of world history challenges readers to reconsider how sensory experience was understood in early modern visual culture. The study connects these historical religious theories to contemporary questions regarding perceptual instability and the nature of reality.