Caroline Vout ist eine Kulturhistorikerin, die sich auf die antike Kunst und ihre Rezeption konzentriert. Sie untersucht, wie visuelle Kultur und Erotik die Wahrnehmung der antiken Welt prägten und wie sich diese Wahrnehmungen in Kunst und Gesellschaft widerspiegeln. Ihr Ansatz basiert auf einer tiefgehenden Analyse von Materialien und visuellen Elementen, die die Komplexität menschlicher Beziehungen und Machtstrukturen im antiken Rom und Griechenland enthüllen. Durch ihre Publikationen und Ausstellungen erweckt sie vergangene Kulturen zum Leben und erforscht ihren anhaltenden Einfluss.
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.