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Bramante's Ruined Temple and the Dialectics of the Image*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2018

Christian K. Kleinbub
Christian K. Kleinbub*
Affiliation:
Ohio State University
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Abstract

In studying Donato Bramante's Ruined Temple (1481), this essay looks beyond the traditional question of its subject matter, considering this engraving as an image about images of all kinds. Taking the inconspicuous cross on the column as its focal point, it shows how the print offers a dialectical disquisition on the value of the Christian sign as measured against the alluring remains of pagan civilization. The vexed nature of this choice registers a profound artistic problem. Caught between the ideals of classical antiquarianism and contemporary devotion, Bramante here claims the ground between artistic fame and obscurity, righteousness and idolatrous ruin.

Type
Studies
Information
Renaissance Quarterly , Volume 63 , Issue 2 , Summer 2010 , pp. 412 - 458
Copyright
Copyright © 2010 Renaissance Society of America

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Footnotes

*

This material was first presented as a talk at Bowling Green State University in 2008. Its current form developed through the intellectual insights of numerous colleagues at Ohio State University and elsewhere, especially Barbara Haeger, Lisa Florman, Katherine Lu, Stephen Melville, Kristina Sessa, Andrew Shelton, Aron Vinegar, and, above all, Amanda Gluibizzi. Thanks also to Timothy Krause and Erika Suffern for valuable comments and suggestions.

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