The Medieval Body

This fascinating and richly illustrated book accompanies The Medieval Body, thethird in a series of vanguard exhibitions that places medieval masterpieces withina contemporary context.The title of the exhibition refers to both a literal thread of figuration that runsthroughout the works in the presentation, as well as the complex and often shiftingsymbolism of the human body in the medieval period. For thinkers and artists ofthat time, the human body served as a rich source of religious and philosophicalsignificance, one that was in a constant state of flux between idealism anddisfigurement. While the early Middle Ages reserved representations of sufferingbodies to the margins of their world, the later Middle Ages displayed woundedbodies in the most central spaces of public life. The crucified body of Christ and thewounded bodies of saints assumed important positions as they were displayed onaltars, in processions, and on the exteriors of churches.The Medieval Body tells a unique story about the human form as both a physicalentity and a recognizable metaphor. Presenting works spanning the course of athousand years, this exhibition offers insight into the body as an essential imagemakingtool with far-reaching implications for the development of art in theEuropean Middle Ages.