The Appearance of Witchcraft: Print and Visual Culture in Sixteenth-Century Europe - Tapa dura

‘This fascinating study of the images of witchcraft produced during the period from about 1480 to 1590 shows how artists and printers gave a visual dimension tothe newly defined crime of witchcraft and how audiences may have viewed and understood them. Charles Zika’s extensive knowledge of the production of these images, his detailed analysis of more than 150 illustrations, his mastery of the vasts cholarship on early modern witchcraft and his demonstration of the way in which artists and printers drew upon different artistic and literary traditions to convey social and cultural meaning make this study one of the most valuable contributions to the history of European witchcraft in the past twenty years... sets the standard for future work on the subject.’ – Journal of Ecclesiastical History

'This long awaited book is the definitive history of the image of the witch in fifteenth and sixteenth century Europe. Zika's scholarship is extraordinary – he takes us through popular perceptions, iconography and intellectual history as he unravels the meanings of these compelling images. A masterly study, it will interest all historians of sexuality, art, and culture.' – Lyndal Roper, The University of Oxford

'This is a major reworking of the visual history of witchcraft and more comprehensive than anything that has gone before. The scholarship is exhaustive and impeccable throughout... It will be the standard work on the subject for many years.' – Stuart Clark, University of Swansea

'beautifully illustrated... very readable narrative...' History Teaching Review 

Shortlisted for the 2008 Katharine Briggs Award.

For centuries the witch has been a powerful figure in the European imagination; but the creation of this figure has been hidden from our view. Charles Zika’s groundbreaking study investigates how the visual image of the witch was created in late fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Europe. He charts the development of the witch as a new visual subject, showing how the traditional imagery of magic and sorcery of medieval Europe was transformed into the sensationalist depictions of witches in the pamphlets and prints of the sixteenth century.

This book shows how artists and printers across the period developed key visual codes for witchcraft, such as the cauldron and the riding of animals. It demonstrates how influential these were in creating a new iconography for representing witchcraft incorporating themes such as the power of female sexuality, male fantasy, moral reform, divine providence and punishment, the superstitions of non-Christian peoples and the cannibalism of the new world.

Lavishly illustrated and encompassing in its approach, The Appearance of Witchcraft is the first systematic study of the visual representation of witchcraft in the later fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It will give the reader a unique insight into how the image of the witch evolved in the early modern world.