Caroline Vout est une historienne culturelle dont le travail se concentre sur l'art antique et sa réception. Elle examine comment la culture visuelle et l'érotisme ont façonné les perceptions du monde antique et comment ces perceptions se reflètent dans l'art et la société. Son approche est fondée sur une analyse approfondie des matériaux et des éléments visuels, révélant les complexités des relations humaines et des structures de pouvoir dans la Rome et la Grèce antiques. À travers ses publications et ses expositions, elle fait revivre les cultures passées, explorant leur influence durable.
Focusing on erotic imagery from the sixth century BC to the fourth century AD, along with Neoclassical art from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this book offers a detailed visual analysis that reveals new insights into Greek and Roman culture. It explores the significance of erotic art, transcending mere discussions of sexual practices or social history, to examine the enduring impact and meaning of confronting sexuality through visual representation.
The Greek and Roman body is often seen as flawless - cast from life in buff bronze and white marble, to sit upon a pedestal. But this, of course, is a lie. Here, classicist Caroline Vout reaches beyond texts and galleries to expose Greek and Roman bodies for what they truly anxious, ailing, imperfect, diverse, and responsible for a legacy as lasting as their statues. Taking us on a gruesome, thrilling journey, she taps into the questions that those in the Greek and Roman worlds asked about their bodies - where do we come from? What makes us different from gods and animals? What happens to our bodies, and the forces that govern them, when we die? Vout also reveals the surprising actions people often took to transform their bodies - from sophisticated surgery and contraception to body oils, cosmetics and early gym memberships. You've seen the paintings, read the philosophers and heard the myths - now here's the classical body in all its flesh and blood glory.