A “Calling” for Artistic Productivity: The Subjectivity of Work among Reformation-era Artisans

Over a century after its publication, Max Weber’s The Protestant remains a foundational text for understanding not only the historical genesis of modern capitalism but also the subjectivity of contemporary occupational life. This enduring status is striking because Weber’s argument rests primarily on theological writings rather than on direct engagement with the (historical) occupational world. While recent economic history has produced a substantial body of empirical tests and refinements of Weber’s thesis, far less attention has been paid to his core claim that theological concepts helped shape distinctive work-oriented subjectivities. This article addresses that gap by examining art manuals produced for and by artisans during the Reformation era, with a particular focus on Nuremberg. By situating these manuals in their historical contexts, it demonstrates that their authors explicitly related their understandings of work to theological ideas, though in ways that depart from standard Lutheran assumptions. The manuals draw not only on Protestant sources but also on humanist traditions. Moreover, they frame the dissemination of artistic knowledge through print as a Christian obligation to enhance the community’s artistic productivity, thereby articulating an implicit logic of economic expansion that cannot be reduced to a Calvinist ethos.