Postures : body language in art / Desmond Morris.

By:

Morris, Desmond

text
still image

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9780500022610
0500022615

Subject(s):

LOC classification:

N8217 .B56 M677 2019

Contents:

Greetings -- Blessings -- Status -- Insults -- Threats -- Distress -- Self-protection -- The erotic -- At rest.

Summary: Examining the body language displayed in works of art is a whole new way of looking at art. The gestures portrayed can reflect the mores of a particular period in history, the customs of a certain culture or a fashion in artistic styles. Exploring these with masterful subtlety, celebrated artist and anthropologist Desmond Morris uncovers fascinating insights about changing social attitudes and conventions through history and around the world, finding surprising similarities as well as now rarely used gestures. Morris selects a number of key gestures, such as the handshake, the pointed foot, or the glove-slap, and groups them by the message they are intended to convey, such as Greetings, Status and Threats. He discusses the previously unconsidered symbolism behind these. What is understood as a gang sign today may have borne a more enigmatic meaning for Botticelli. And what did Napoleon's hidden hand really mean? 'Postures: Body Language in Art' uniquely combines the author's expertise in both art and social science, so that even the most familiar paintings are suddenly seen in a new light.

Holdings ( 1 )
Title notes ( 3 )

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Shelving location	Call number	Copy number	Status	Date due	Barcode
Book	NMC Library	Stacks	N8217 .B56 M677 2019 (Browse shelf(Opens below))	1	Available		33039001496040

Includes bibliographical references (page 308) and index.

Greetings -- Blessings -- Status -- Insults -- Threats -- Distress -- Self-protection -- The erotic -- At rest.

Examining the body language displayed in works of art is a whole new way of looking at art. The gestures portrayed can reflect the mores of a particular period in history, the customs of a certain culture or a fashion in artistic styles. Exploring these with masterful subtlety, celebrated artist and anthropologist Desmond Morris uncovers fascinating insights about changing social attitudes and conventions through history and around the world, finding surprising similarities as well as now rarely used gestures. Morris selects a number of key gestures, such as the handshake, the pointed foot, or the glove-slap, and groups them by the message they are intended to convey, such as Greetings, Status and Threats. He discusses the previously unconsidered symbolism behind these. What is understood as a gang sign today may have borne a more enigmatic meaning for Botticelli. And what did Napoleon's hidden hand really mean? 'Postures: Body Language in Art' uniquely combines the author's expertise in both art and social science, so that even the most familiar paintings are suddenly seen in a new light.