The Bible in Photography: Index, Icon, Tableau, Vision

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Dr. Sheona Beaumont (Diocese of Chichester, UK) Andrew Mein (Queen S Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education UK)

The Bible in Photography

Index, Icon, Tableau, Vision

Dr. Sheona Beaumont (Diocese of Chichester, UK), Andrew Mein (Queen S Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education UK), Michelle Fletcher (University of Kent UK) , Matthew A Collins (University of Chester UK)

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English

T.& T.Clark Ltd
13 November 2025

Religious subjects depicted in art; Photography & photographs

Series: Scriptural Traces

Sheona Beaumont addresses the untold story of biblical subjects in photography. She argues that stories, characters, and symbols from the Bible are found to pervade photographic practices and ideas, across the worlds of advertising and reportage, the book and the gallery, in theoretical discourse and in the words of photographers themselves.

Beaumont engages interpretative tools from biblical reception studies, art history, and visual culture criticism in order to present four terms for describing photography's latent spirituality: the index, the icon, the tableau, and the vision. Throughout her journey she includes lively discussion of selected fine art photography dealing with the Bible in surprising ways, from images by William Henry Fox Talbot in the 19th century to David Mach in the 21st. Far from telling a secular story, photography and the conditions of its representations are exposed in theological depth.; Beaumont skillfully interweaves discussion of the images and theology, arguing for the dynamic and potent voice of the Bible in photography and enriching visual culture criticism with a renewed religious understanding.

By: Dr. Sheona Beaumont (Diocese of Chichester UK)
Edited by: Andrew Mein (Queen S Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education UK), Michelle Fletcher (University of Kent UK), Matthew A Collins (University of Chester UK), Laura Quick (Princeton University USA)
Imprint: T.& T.Clark Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 244mm, Width: 188mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 780g
ISBN: 9780567706577
ISBN 10: 0567706575
Series: Scriptural Traces
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 13 November 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Table of Contents Preface Acknowledgments Abbreviations Introduction: What You See Is What You Get Part 1: Between Image and Word in the Interdisciplinary Landscape Chapter 1: Interpretative Positions from Biblical Hermeneutics Chapter 2: Interpretative Positions from Art History and Visual Culture Criticism Chapter 3: Problems, Paradigms, and the CMYK Model Part 2: The Theology of the Real in Photography and the Bible Chapter 4: Index: Landscapes, Witnessing, and Documentary Traditions Chapter 5: Icon: Identifying with Characters and Portraits Chapter 6: Tableau: Storying the World in Scene and Narrative Chapter 7: Vision: Shooting the Spiritual and the Apocalyptic Conclusion: Seeing is Believing Bibliography

Sheona Beaumont is a photographer and writer, and Visiting Research Fellow at King's College London, UK.

Reviews for The Bible in Photography: Index, Icon, Tableau, Vision

""The highlight of the book is the selection of images and the grappling with the literal and the spiritual-the difficulties of representing historically real persons using contemporary models, and of conveying a ""something more"" beyond the surface, an element of transcendence... There's much to savor here!"" --Art & Theology