Biblia Ectypa

By Sabina Oporto Pérez

Title	Biblia Ectypa: Bildnussen auß Heiliger Schrifft dess Alt- und Neuen Testaments, in welchen Alle Geschichte und Erscheinungen deutlich und schrifftmäßig zu Gottes Ehre und Andächtiger Seelen erbaulicher beschauung vorgestellet werden
Contributors	Christoph Weigel (engraver, publisher and cartographer) George Christoph Eimmart the Younger (draughtsman and engraver) Johann von Sandrart (art-historian and painter)
Date	First edition: 1695 Besançon edition: 1787
Printing location	Augsburg
Format	In folio, 38 x 25 cm
Language	German and Latin
Source	Online: Munich Digitization Center, Germany In Person: Bibliothèque diocésaine de Besançon, France

Christoph Weigel

Born in Boheme, Christoph Weigel (1654 – 1725), was a German engraver, publisher and cartopraher. His name can also be found as Christoff Weigel or Christophorus Weigelius.

During twelve years, he travelled back and forth to Hof, Jena and Augsburg to study engravings; therefore his artistic background was influenced by the traditions and techniques that were being developed in the south of Germany, Bohemia, Austria and France.

Weigel stablished himself and his printing establishment in Nürnberg, and from 1698 was active as a copper engraver, publisher and art dealer [4].

He gained importance “for the upbringing and education of children and young people”. The Biblia Ectypa was his major work of art when it comes to illustrated bibles [1].

Making of the Biblia Ectypa

The Biblia Ectypa has 840 copperplate engravings of approx. 9.1 x 8.1 cm. “and thus surpasses all printed picture Bibles in size”. The pages are approx. 38 x 25 cm, making possible to contain 4 small engravings per page. Also, Weigel hired artists George Christoph Eimmart the Younger and Johann Jacob von Sandrat to make the drawings that served as templates for his copperplate engravings [1, 2].

The first issue was published in 1695 and, according to Adam Gottfried, further editions appeared in 1697 in Regensburg, and in 1730 in Augsburg [1]. Why is the edition of 1787, owned by Diocesan Center, not mentioned? My guess is that this author wasn’t aware of its existence since the collection of the Diocesan Center is a private one. Other source, however, mention a second edition of the 1697 was printed almost a century later and they could be refering to the one in Besançon [2].

The 1695 edition has a stamp that reads has a stamp “Intellectual property of the city of Augsburg” (Eigenthum der Stadt Augsburg) in the title page, includes a frontispiece, a preface and a royal privilege. The 1987 edition, stored in Besançon only conserved the title page with an now illegible ex-libris that dates from 1842. While it does not have the other sections, it does have larger engravings placed before each folio of four engravings which relate to the Bible’s chapter, like the one here shown.

Weigel published various issues of Thumb Bibles, or miniature bibles, whose engravings were smaller versions of the ones used in the Biblia Ectypa. Actually, the whole series of Thumb Bibles he published were smaller, reduced and reinterpreted versions of the Biblia Ectypa [1]. One of the more famous one is the Biblia Ectypa Minora, whose illustrations served as templates for pictures in village churches in nearby towns.

Context of creation

Weigel’s illustrated Bibles respond to a specific context of the history of illustrated Bibles in Germany, and the pedagogical and theological thinking of the late 16th century. It is estimated that he printed around 500 and 1500 copies of his Bibles (regular-size editions or thumb ones) [1]. During the late 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, the education of the youth was a focus of debate and innovation.

The insight that pictures represented an important or even necessary form of communication for young people in developing and becoming able to express their faith is expressed in numerous forewords to contemporary illustrated Bibles.

Also, engraved bibles became popular in the late 17th and 18th centuries, and the south of Germany became a hub of copper engraving and Bible illustration. It does not come as a surprise, therefore, that The Waldeck school ordinance of 1704 went as far as recommending Weigel’s Bible Ectypa as a must have Bible preceptors should advice parents into buying (those who could afford it, of course).

Protestantism & Catholicism

Printers in Augsburg catered to the needs of both Catholics and Protestants. With the development of the century, the Catholics became the majority, but Protestants still employed the services of image and text printing of the Augsburg’s publishers. Peter Stoll states the following about Augburg’s publishers.

[They] kept a stock of ready-made sheets with religious subjects suitable for most disputations, sheets which had some space left empty at the bottom into which theses for some particular occasion could be printed (blanco thesis print).

They also printed a lot of catholic devotional imaginaries (saints, virgins, local cults, etc) that were sold to Catholics. Nonetheless, South German Protestants did not see necessary to opt for a slimmed-down version of the Baroque image production of the region that was consumed and used by Catholics [7].

In this context, Weigel’s work and its theological stance are quite interesting. On the one hand, authors like Stoll have signaled that among the producers of religious prints, Weigel was one that tend to remark the his prints and the accompanying texts were suitable to both Protestants and Catholics. On the other hand, however, authors like Gottfried note that the theological stance of Weigel is explicitly Catholic when looking into his works. According to this author, “is not a clearly Lutheran one” and, furthermore, he recalls the asseveration of Michael Bauer, Weigel’ biographer, who mentions “that alone among Weigel’s theological works, the illustrated Bibles were intended for Catholic readers”.

God promise to Abraham & Binding of Isaac

Transcription:

GENES: XXII
Isaaci im̃olatio ab Angelo prohibetur.

I. Buch Mos. XXII, ii. sqq.
Abraham, wird dũrch einẽ Engel seinẽ Sohn Isaac aũfzũopfern, (wie Ihme Gott befohlẽ hatte) verhindert.

Translation:

Genesis: XXII
The sacrifice of Isaac is prevented by an angel.

I. Buch Mos. XXII, ii. sqq.
Abraham is prevented by an angel from sacrificing his son Isaac (as God had commanded).

As stated before, the purpose of the Biblia Ectypa was to serve like a tool for education and contemplation of biblical passages mainly trough illustrations but also with a little text guidance. Here, the engraving captures the precise moment of divine intervention. The hard test of Abraham’s faith in God is being depicted as a very dramatic and affective scene where the influence of Barroque style is clearly present in the composition and symbolism used. The lesson out of this illustration is quite clear, even for those who are not familiar with the Bible: trust in God is rewarded; especially in the hardest of times. God’s covenant with Abraham is, as result, sealed in this passage; Genesis 22: 17, 18 reads:

17. I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18. and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.

Finally, Gottfried mentions that when it comes to Weigel’s Bible, the text (and theological information) is subordinated to aesthetic and educational purposes [1]. This means, that he was aware of the shift in the relation text-image that came with the Barroque. Here, the accompanying textual captions function not as the main conveyor of doctrine but as interpretive aids for the engraving; the addition of the correspondent verse of the Bible where the story is told serves as an easy introduction and invitation to a broader examination of this story. This is quite relevant in the context of the time. as youth spiritual education was a subject of debates and innovation. Taking into account, also, the Protestants & Catholics context, it should be noted that the presence of a direct quotation to the Scriptures serves to prevent misinterpretations of the image. This would have reassured the Protestant readers that the depiction was being true to God’s words and was not a devotional object.

Sources
1. Gottfried, Adam. Thumb Bibles: The History of a Literary Genre. 2022
2. Burson, Alexis. The Biblia Ectypa is Anything but Typical. Available at: https://news.library.depaul.press/full-text/2015/03/02/the-biblia-ectypa-is-anything-but-typical/
3. Christoph Weigel. Available at: https://data.bnf.fr/en/ark:/12148/cb12265494h?vid=rss
4. Internet Archive. “Histoire de la Gravure en manière noire.” Available at: https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_qPRAAAAAcAAJ/page/n283/mode/1up
5. Special Collections and Archives / Casgliadau Arbennig ac Archifau. “Biblia Ectypa: Christoph Weigel’s remarkable engraved pictorial Bible (1695).” Available at: https://scolarcardiff.wordpress.com/2013/03/18/biblia-ectypa-christoph-weigels-remarkable-engraved-pictorial-bible-1695
6. Stewart, Alison G. “The Birth of Mass Media: Printmaking in Early Modern Europe” (2013). A Companion to Renaissance and Baroque Art, 1st ed. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2013. pp. 253-273.
7. Stoll, Peter. “Empire of Prints: The Imperial City of Augsburg and the Printed Image in the 17th and 18th Centuries” (2016). Universität Augsburg, 2016. pp. 1-58. a href=”https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2022&version=NIV” data-type=”link” data-id=”https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2022&version=NIV”>Bible Gateway