Body of Art is the first book to focus exclusively on the body in art, providing not only a complete history of how the human form has been represented in visual culture over time, but also how it has become - literally and metaphorically - the canvas on and through which we talk about human experience. Unprecedented in scope and intellectual rigour, Body of Art spans Western and non-Western art, ancient to contemporary, figurative, abstract and conceptual. Works are curated by theme into ten chapters : Beauty, Identity, Power, Religion & Belief, Sex & Gender, Emotion Embodied, The Body's Limits, Bodies & Space, The Abject Body, The Absent Body. An illustrated timeline provides broader historical and social contexts. Featuring c 450 colour images, each accompanied by a concise and informative essay, Body of Art brings to lift the diversity of human cultures through the prism of the human body.
