Julia Saviello – Författare

Beauty: The Body as Artefact traces the history of physical beauty in Western art and thought from antiquity to the eighteenth century. Bringing together foundational texts and newly translated works accompanied by scholarly commentaries, this volume explores how the human body was understood as both a product of nature and an artistic creation.Examining the intersections of aesthetics, art theory, medical practices and cosmetics, it reveals how ideals of beauty and beautification shaped conceptions of gender, the body and artistic creation. The book focuses on the early modern period, when the cosmetic transformation of the body became closely associated with artistic imagery and techniques. Drawing on art-historical, philosophical and cultural perspectives, the volume presents key writings by figures from Cicero and Alberti to Behn and Hogarth, highlighting shifting notions of imitation, ornament and naturalness.Suitable for undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars in art history, cultural history and gender studies, Beauty: The Body as Artefact offers a framework for understanding physical beauty as a historical and artistic category at the intersection of image, body and knowledge.

Beauty: The Body as Artefact traces the history of physical beauty in Western art and thought from antiquity to the eighteenth century. Bringing together foundational texts and newly translated works accompanied by scholarly commentaries, this volume explores how the human body was understood as both a product of nature and an artistic creation.Examining the intersections of aesthetics, art theory, medical practices and cosmetics, it reveals how ideals of beauty and beautification shaped conceptions of gender, the body and artistic creation. The book focuses on the early modern period, when the cosmetic transformation of the body became closely associated with artistic imagery and techniques. Drawing on art-historical, philosophical and cultural perspectives, the volume presents key writings by figures from Cicero and Alberti to Behn and Hogarth, highlighting shifting notions of imitation, ornament and naturalness.Suitable for undergraduates, postgraduates, and scholars in art history, cultural history and gender studies, Beauty: The Body as Artefact offers a framework for understanding physical beauty as a historical and artistic category at the intersection of image, body and knowledge.

Shields are both weapons and image carriers. The close link between these functions dates back to antiquity but took on fresh significance in the early modern period: at a time when shields were losing their military relevance, they became even more sought-after as image carriers. The weapon found a new purpose in this role. This publication traces the change in the use of shields, showing what it means to carry them as image carriers on one’s own body, examining the role such objects play in generating and conveying pictorial meaning, and reconstructing the new functional, spatial and narrative contexts of image shields. The focus is on the key phase from the 15th to the 17th century, with additional insights into antiquity and cultural contexts outside Europe. A first in-depth examination of the shield as an image carrier and topic of art theoryPresentation of little-known objects from European and American collections References to the animal kingdom (turtle) and processes of transcultural entanglement