Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 February 2026
The book’s introductory chapter opens with a discourse on the power of images, arguing that long-standing practices of image use and veneration came under increased scrutiny during the religious reforms that followed the Council of Trent, broadly considered the Catholic response to the Protestant Reformation. It introduces the reader to the book’s argument, namely, that the pressures of Catholic reform increased the power of images, in contrast to stereotypes of late sixteenth-century art as stylistically regressive. It spends time elaborating on the book’s guide, the cardinal-archbishop Carlo Borromeo, arguing that this stodgy reformer is the best way to tell this story about the power of images after Trent.
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