Aniconism
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Aniconism is the cultural absence of artistic representations of the natural and supernatural worlds, or it is the absence of representations of certain figures in religions. The prohibition of materi
An aniconic representation of Mara's assault on the Buddha, 2nd century CE, Amaravati, India.
Traditional flower offering to the aniconic Shiva linga in Varanasi
Persian miniature painting from the 16th century AD, depicting Muhammad, his face veiled, ascending on the Buraq into the Heavens, a journey known as the Mi'raj.
14th-century hagaddah depicting Moses leading the people (David Kaufmann collection)
Aniconism in Christianity
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Aniconism is the absence of material representations of the natural world and the supernatural in various cultures. Most denominations of Christianity have not generally practiced aniconism, or the av
A simple cross replaced a mosaic figure during the Byzantine iconoclasm, Hagia Irene Church in Istanbul
Print of the destruction in the Church of Our Lady in Antwerp by Calvinists, the "signature event" of the Beeldenstorm, August 20, 1566, by Frans Hogenberg
Pieter Jansz. Saenredam, Interior of Saint Bavo, Haarlem, 1631, a medieval cathedral stripped bare after it adopted the Reformed faith.
St Severin, Keitum, a German Lutheran church that retains its pre-Reformation carved altarpiece as well as other smaller post-Reformation paintings.