Question

Why were images in religious settings destroyed in sixteenth-century northern europe?

Answer 1

In the sixteen century northern Europe images in religous settings were destroyed because of the Ten Commmandments. The Ten Commandments forbid images. They were part of the Iconoclasm which represents the belief in the importance of the destruction of icons and religous images.

Answer 2

The 16th century was the era of the Protestant reformation in Northern Europe, and with it came a wholesale rejection of the Catholic Church and its associated traditions. With the Church being synonymous with religious imagery up until that time, this rejection of Catholicism also included the rejection, in the form of destruction, of earlier religious artwork commissioned by the Church.