Author:
GAO Ji, Assistant Professor, Institute of Comparative Literature and Comparative Culture, Peking University.
Abstract:
Since Gutenberg printed the Bible in the mid-15th century, printed books on religious themes rapidly evolved into an effective medium for the popularization of religious stories due to their low price and ease of mass reproduction. By the 16th century, the French city of Lyon became one of Europe's major printing centers, and saw the emergence of a considerable number of illustrated biblical texts known as Figures de la Bible. This study examines the publication of this unique genre which combines image and text, and focuses on the distinctive role played by two emblematic publishers, Jean de Tournes and Guillaume Roville. This paper adopts both diachronic and synchronic perspectives to examine the production, evolution and reception of Figures de la Bible in 16th century Lyon. It analyzes various paratextual elements along with the illustrations that influenced the reading experience, and situates the publication of this genre in the broader political, economic, and religious context of the time. By placing Figures de la Bible in the larger framework of early modern book production, this study sheds light on the function of illustrated religious books in shaping textual and visual cultures and facilitates an exploration of the significance of the Figures de la Bible for the study of image-text relations in the early age of print.
Keywords:
Figures de la Bible, Lyon, Printing Press, Publishers, Paratexts
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