Body of Art

The first book to celebrate the beautiful and provocative ways artists have represented, scrutinized and utilized the body over centuries.

Body of Art is the first book to explore the various ways the human body has been both an inspiration and a medium for artists over hundreds of thousands of years. Unprecedented in its scope, it examines the many different manifestations of the body in art, from Anthony Gormley and Maya Lin sculptures to eight-armed Hindu gods and ancient Greek reliefs, from feminist graphics and Warhol’s empty electric chair to the blue-tinted complexion of Singer Sargent’s Madame X. It is the most expansive examination of the human body in art, spanning western and non-western, ancient to contemporary, representative to abstract and conceptual.

Over 400 artists are featured in chapters that explore identity, beauty, religion, absent body, sex and gender, power, body’s limits, abject body and bodies & space. Works range from 11,000 BC hand stencils in Argentine caves to videos and performances by contemporary artists such as Marina Abramovic, Joan Jonas and Bruce Nauman… Its fresh, accessible and dynamic voice brings to life the thrilling diversity of both classical and contemporary art through the prism of the body. More than simply a book of representations, this is an original and thought provoking look at the human body across time, cultures and media.

Editorial Reviews

01/04/2016
This massive, sprawling treasure trove spans the entire history of the human form recorded in the visual arts. The book is organized by theme, each bringing to light a different aspect (and purpose) of the representation of the body in art. A section on „Beauty,“ for example, illustrates how rooted Western art is in the „ideals of attractiveness in Classical antiquity,“ while „Emotion Embodied“ beautifully and effectively illuminates that the „body is a canvas on and through which artists have examined what it means to be human.“ Sections on identity, power, religion, sex and gender, the body’s limits, bodies and space, the abject body, and the absent body present a fully-rounded chart of human emotional context amplified in (and by) art. The hundreds of works include the pendulum-breasted Venus of Willendorf sculpture, molded out of clay 25,000 years ago; 19th-century painter Thomas Eakins’s „The Wrestlers,“ a homoerotic depiction of virile male wrestlers; and contemporary photographer Sally Mann’s photographs of her daughter. Some of these defined traditions for centuries and others turned those same traditions on their heads. Illus. (Nov.)
– Publishers Weekly

Named one of the Top Ten Holiday Art Books of 2015 by Artnet

‘Body of Art juxtaposes Sandro Botticelli’s Venus with Vanessa Beecroft’s army of naked women, the iconic head of Nefertiti, and the work of Ryan Trecartin, among many other artists, to stunning effect. Highly recommended.’ – Artnet

‘A few months ago, Body of Art arrived in the post. I plonked it down on a coffee table pile. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve picked it up since. One moment I am talking to a visitor, the next they have vanished into a gawping reverie as they flip, fascinated, through its pages.’ – The Independent

‘A sumptuous and continually surprising survey… The editors have grouped their pictures in thought-provoking ways… Short interpretive texts make the correspondences more resonant.“ – RA Magazine

‘A browser’s delight, its chief virtue is juxtaposition… Body of Art is one of those compendious volumes so useful for looking things up.’ – The Spectator

‘The editors of Body of Art…had a daunting amount of material from which to choose for their survey of the human body across centuries and cultures. They have done so with real imagination, deftly mixing the old…with the new…and juxtaposing them in themes… The effects – and the similarities and differences – are continually surprising.’ – The Sunday Times

‘An extensive survey of unique and diverse representations of the human body… guaranteed to impress art and anatomy lovers alike.’ – Interview Magazine

‘Comprehensive and compelling. An impressive range of work’ – Aesthetica

‘A thorough-going exploration of how the body has been represented.’ – The Independent

‘Body of Art positions itself as the most extensive survey of the representation of the body in art ever to be published – a bold claim, but one it deftly pulls off.’ – Daily Telegraph

‘Works are often presented in unlikely but enlightening pairings … With modest design and concise commentary; this is an intelligent, illuminating survey of a topic that has an enduring appeal.“ – Daily Telegraph

‘Ambitious in scope.’ – Publishers Weekly

‘Body of Art is a fascinating study of the myriad ways in which artists have represented the human body, making often surprising and always illuminating connections between centuries, imaginations and media.’ – Jennifer Higgie, Writer and co-editor of frieze

‘Without reflection, it is difficult to understand the integrity of our corporeality, and the way that our mind is intimately interconnected, body and soul.’ – Jennifer Blessing, Body of Art
– From the Publisher

comprehensive and compelling. An impressive range of work
– Aesthetica

Body of Art positions itself as the most extensive survey of the representation of the body in art ever to be published – a bold claim, but one it deftly pulls off.
Works are often presented in unlikely but enlightening pairings …With modest design and concise commentary; this is an intelligent, illuminating survey of a topic that has an enduring appeal.
– Daily Telegraph

a thorough-going exploration of how the body has been represented…
– The Independent

01/01/2016
The human body, as illustrated in this vibrant collection of over 450 works, provides a natural subject for artistic exploration of beauty, identity, sex, gender, power, emotion, religion, pain, and death. Arranged into those themes, or the „cycle of bodily life,“ as Jenifer Blessing (photography curator, Guggenheim Museum) suggests in her introduction, the book’s thematic rather than chronological organization invites seeing the art in fresh ways, juxtaposing works of disparate cultures and dates to show their formal similarities of subject, line, or color. For instance, Raphael’s painting „The Three Graces“ (1504) is adjacent to Pablo Picasso’s „Three Women at the Spring“ (1921). Each image includes short text about the artist, dates, and the work’s art-historical context. A chronology is provided at the end. Phaidon’s editors have curated a powerful, sometimes disturbingly frank, selection of important art in a variety of formats, from prehistoric cave art to photography, gleaned from museum and private collections worldwide. VERDICT This rich and provocative survey of a timeless subject will be of interest to a wide audience.–Nancy B. Turner, Temple Univ. Lib., Philadelphia
– Library Journal