The first in-depth exploration of rape as it has been portrayed in Western art from the twelfth through seventeenth centuries. Examining the full range of representations, from those that glorify rape to those that condemn it, Diane Wolfthal illuminates the complex web of attitudes towards sexual violence that existed in the medieval and early modern society. Wolfthal first explores Italian Renaissance and Baroque images of 'heroic' rape, in which the victim seldom suffers and the crime is sanitized, aestheticized, or eroticized. These are contrasted with a range of images, mostly created in Northern Europe, that have been ignored. Often critical of the assailant and sympathetic to his victim, these works reveal that society did, in certain circumstances, severely condemn the act of rape. Wolfthal demonstrates how this range of images still influences contemporary debate about sexual violence.
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'If I were asked to select the most important book on early modern European art history in 1999, I would choose Diane Wolfthal's Images of Rape …'. Sixteenth Century Journal
Book Description
This is the first in-depth exploration of rape as it has been portrayed in Western art from the twelfth through seventeenth centuries. Examining the full range of representations, from those that glorify rape to those that condemn it, Wolfthal illuminates the complex web of attitudes towards sexual violence that existed.
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First Sentence
To most art historians the word "rape"brings to mind Poussin's Rape of the Sabines, Titian's Rape of Europa, or some such depiction in which the assailant is a Greek or Roman god or hero (Figs. 1 and 13). Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
To most art historians the word "rape"brings to mind Poussin's Rape of the Sabines, Titian's Rape of Europa, or some such depiction in which the assailant is a Greek or Roman god or hero (Figs. 1 and 13). Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Roman Clodia
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover
I agree with the other reviewer here that this is a scholarly book which is also accessible to the non art historian. Wolfthal takes a fascinating look at representations of rape from classical Greece and Rome, through the Christianising of late antiquity and the middle ages, and onto the rational early modern period and later. While she focuses mostly on art images, she doesn't ignore the literary representations they are frequently based on, especially Greek and Roman myth.
Like other feminist scholars she deftly exposes the way academia has traditionally sanitised rape, submerging the implicit violence beneath a heroising and idealising of the rape scenario, making us as viewers complicit with the act of sexual aggression.
However this is in no way a reactionary or emotional book: Wolfthal is measured, reasoned and sophisticated in her approach. Without lessening the beauty of the art she is analysing, she yet nuances it and forces us to think about its ideological function.
I'm more used to working with literary texts than artistic images and approached this book with some trepidation, but was very quickly reassured. Both disturbing and oddly exhilerating, this book sent me back to my texts with plenty to think about and explore. Highly recommended.
Like other feminist scholars she deftly exposes the way academia has traditionally sanitised rape, submerging the implicit violence beneath a heroising and idealising of the rape scenario, making us as viewers complicit with the act of sexual aggression.
However this is in no way a reactionary or emotional book: Wolfthal is measured, reasoned and sophisticated in her approach. Without lessening the beauty of the art she is analysing, she yet nuances it and forces us to think about its ideological function.
I'm more used to working with literary texts than artistic images and approached this book with some trepidation, but was very quickly reassured. Both disturbing and oddly exhilerating, this book sent me back to my texts with plenty to think about and explore. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Wolfthal examines depictions of rape during the medieval and Renaissance periods, and reveals tellingly and thoughtfully how complex and varied the attitudes towards rape were from around 1100-1700. In contrast to the more simplistic views with which we are often presented, her essay points out that rape was by no means always glorified, but frequently viewed with the disapproval which it deserves; and she makes her case compellingly and fascinatingly, using a wide range of illustrations from several countries and all sorts of spheres. This is a learned book, but, though thought-provoking and demanding, never heavy or ponderous. It is sure to become a classic on its subject, and should be read by all who are interested in rape and attitudes to it. I have found it one of the best scholarly books I have read during an academic career that spans more than four decades.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent examination of historical depictions of rape.
31 Dec 2000
By Joost Daalder
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
Wolfthal examines depictions of rape during the medieval and Renaissance periods, and reveals tellingly and thoughtfully how complex and varied the attitudes towards rape were from around 1100-1700. In contrast to the more simplistic views with which we are often presented, her essay points out that rape was by no means always glorified, but frequently viewed with the disapproval which it deserves; and she makes her case compellingly and fascinatingly, using a wide range of illustrations from several countries and all sorts of spheres. This is a learned book, but, though thought-provoking and demanding, never heavy or ponderous. It is sure to become a classic on its subject, and should be read by all who are interested in rape and attitudes to it. I have found it one of the best scholarly books I have read during an academic career that spans more than four decades.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Will change the way you look at art
20 Nov 2007
By art junky
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Wolfthal's well-presented study with cause you look twice at Renaissance depictions of rape as an heroic artistic subject and inspire you wonder what happened to cause women's rights to decline during 14th century.
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