L’œil de l’exégète : A propos des In Ezechielem Explanationes des Pères Prado et Villalpando, S.J. (1596-1604)

The article focuses on a lengthy commentary on Ezechiel, published in three volumes with a very impressive set of illustrations. It first briefly outlines the history of the work, with its obvious political aims (it celebrates the glory of the Spanish King, worthy successor of Solomon). It then focuses on the work’s hermeneutical theory, which claims that Ezechiel’s prophecies cannot be understood without visualising them with the help of illustrations that are faithful to the reality Ezechiel had in mind. It is through this image that one grasps the allegorical meaning of the text. It is true that the exegetical practice of the two Jesuits does not exactly fit their hermeneutical theory. Nevertheless, their commentary is a remarkable example of Counter Reformation endeavours to define a new status for the image. The image is no longer a mere concession to the weakness of the illiterate, it is addressed to a highly sophisticated public, knowledgeable about architecture and geometry as well as theology. It is no longer a didactic substitute: it is a necessary step towards understanding the most arcane truths of the Bible. This defence of the image is as radical as it is doomed: just a few decades later, science destroyed the analogical conception of vision underlying this hermeneutic theory.