| This research is part of the overall project Fault line 1700: early enlightenment con- versations on religion and the state. Central question in this part of the project is the reconceptualization of religion in the Dutch Republic, as reflected in the work of Romeyn de Hooghe (1645-1708). De Hooghe is not known as an independent thinker in this field. He was a prolific etcher, who produced plates on practically every subject that interested the reading public. To each of his printings he brought excellent crafts- manship and considerable erudition. One of the more stunning achievements in an al- ready astounding oeuvre is his Hieroglyphica, of merkbeelden der oude volkeren, na- mentlyk Egyptenaren, Chaldeeuwen, Feniciers, Joden, Grieken, Romeynen, enz. Ne- vens een omstandig Bericht van het Verval en voortkruypende Verbastering der Gods- diensten door verscheyde Eeuwen; en eyndelyk de Hervorming, tot op deze Tyden toe vervolgt (...) posthumously published in Amsterdam in 1735. It consists of a geneal- ogy of religion from the Ancients until De Hooghe s own time in 63 elaborate etchings with prose commentary. It criticizes many forms of religion as products of priest craft, but also reflects ideals of reformation and true religion. The Hieroglyphica is based on a body of contemporary European literature on religious phenomena, some of it illustrated by De Hooghe. A reconstruction of these sources will offer a panorama of the views discussed in De Hooghe s social and intel- lectual network. Existing literature tends to emphasize the secularizing tendencies within this milieu. If we draw De Hooghe s ideas on true religion into the picture, then how does this work reflect the more complex relation between religious and phi- losophical views? Also there will be an investigation into the transmission from the legacy of the author to the publisher, and its reception in the 1730s and 1740s. A dy- namic reading of the Hieroglyphica, taking into account the various localizations of the work in the ongoing conversation on religion over the period from around 1650 to around 1740, will yield considerable insight in the changes in the religious and phi- losophical culture in the Dutch Republic, and its position within the wider European context. |
