The Art of the Body: Antiquity and Its Legacy

by Michael Squire

The classical human body is perhaps the single most important & wide-ranging legacy bequeathed to the modern world by antiquity. Not only has it directed the evolutionary trajectory of western art; it has also saturated almost every aspect of the contemporary subconscious, as ideal, anti-type & point of departure. This short book represents the first concerted attempt to grapple with the complex nature of that legacy. Writing in an attractively accessible style, & supplementing his text with a rich array of illustrations, Michael Squire guides readers thru a multifaceted range of modern interactions with ancient visual representations of the body. From Byzantine diptych to Hollywood cinema screen, from Aphrodite to the Venus de Milo, The Art of the Body demonstrates the wide range of cultural ideas & anxieties that were explored by the figure of the body both in antiquity & in the various cultural landscapes that came afterwards. In exploring the connections between ancient & modern in the broadest sense, the book offers an ideal starting point & a stimulating textbook for undergraduate students of ancient history, classical archeology & classical civilization.

Genres: Art, Classics, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Art of the Body is a study of traditions. Focusing on free-standing sculptural representations, author Squire traces appropriations from archaic to classical Greek forms; from Greece to Rome; from pagan to Christian, to the Renaissance, to the Reformation and through to modern times. The ostensible point of this work is to show how “the ancient art of the body remains with us—whether as ideal, antitype, or point of departure” (p. 27).
This is, admittedly, quite broad, too broad to be called a thesis or proposition requiring either proof or defense. Indeed, most of the book consists of examples and reflections upon them. However, along the way Squire makes some interesting observations, one of which constitutes a theme of sorts.
The theme referred to is religion, the author maintaining that usually “questions of religion” are ignored, “squeezed out of our modern art histories” (p. 96). Whereas many critics emphasize the naturalistic progress and achievements of classical artists, few recognize the supernatural aims spanning antiquity. The gods, goddesses and heroes represented in bronze and marble weren't just admired; they were feared. Their representations weren't just passive objects for human reflection; they were often seen as active embodiments of holy numinosity. In order to appreciate how intertwined were the sacred and the secular in the ancient world one might consider the more contemporary instances of Eastern Orthodox iconography or even the ever-appearing weeping Madonnas of popular Catholicism. The magic abides, albeit under the radar of most intellectuals.
Unthematized, but appearing throughout, are also observations challenging common beliefs and assumptions. Prominent among them is the naturalistic fallacy that classical artists had as their primary aim an absolute fidelity to appearances. Squire repeatedly shows how this was not so and how, in fact, more modern realists have mistaken antique idealizations. Two examples of this are as regards the representations of male (pp. 60-62) and female (pp. 84-86) bodies, but there are many more.
All in all The Art of the Body is an entertaining and quite accessible book which should appeal not only to art historians, but to classicists and the general public as well.

[Tabatha Hibbs · Rating 1 out of 5]

Squire's book leaves much to be desired. While he is correct that we often misinterpret the art of ancient people, he fails to offer a viable alternative interpretation. Chapter Three is particularly problematic in his attempt to discuss the male gaze of the ancient Greeks. If, in our modern understanding of the world, we fail to correctly interpret ancient art correctly, how then, can we begin to assume we understand how the male gaze functioned two thousand years ago? A quote or two from Pliny the Elder is not enough to support Squire's discussion of the Greek male gaze; thus, he ends up contradicting the book's thesis in this chapter. Of course, the concept of the male gaze (as a form of discourse) is very much a twentieth century creation, and it seems rather anachronistic to apply it to the Classical Greeks. On a more personal note, I found his word choices to be inappropriate for a text that is supposed to be professional and learned. Too often the text read like it was written by a 15 year old trying to write about sex rather than an educated professional engaging in a well-researched discussion of ancient art. Overall, the book was a profound disappointment and probably will not remain in my personal library. Space there is limited, and this book doesn't deserve a place there.

[Brian Kovesci · Rating 4 out of 5]

It seems like a lot of art criticism, art history and art theory references the saaaaaaame examples. I’d like to see someone reference adjacent pieces, please.

The section here on body representation, educated through the classical avenues of Greco and Roman art, where the artists totally missed the mark and didn’t accurately read the audience was awesome. Who knew there was a statue of Washington commissioned for which the artist depicted the ages president shirtless with a neoclassical Greco/Roman athletic physique? Gross.

[Giovanni García-Fenech · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of how influenced we still are by classical art, despite the fact that we often misunderstand it.