The Triumph of the Cross: The Passion of Christ in Theology and the Arts from the Renaissance to the Counter-Reformation
"In this study, Richard Viladesau traces the representation of the cross, both in painting and music, through the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, in both Catholic and Protestant churches. The result is at once a theological reflection on aesthetics, but also a profound study of an era which shaped the contemporary world." --Tim Gorringe, St. Luke's Professor of Theological Studies, University of Exeter"The Triumph of the Crossbrilliantly weaves together parallel developments in the non-conceptual language of the visual arts and music and the conceptual language of theology and preaching. This comparison enables Viladesau to probe in a novel and illuminating way the primal passions that animated the evolution of the understanding the person and atoning work of Christ from the late Middle Ages to the Counter-Reformation. It is a masterful exploration of the way in which the most seemingly rational theological constructs are fuelled by visceral motivations. In so doing, it situates classic theories of the atonement in a revealing new context." --Lee Barrett, Stager Professor of Theology, Lancaster Theological Seminary