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Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2012.02.35 Michael Squire, The Art of the Body: Antiquity and Its Legacy. Ancients and Moderns. Oxford; New York: Oxford University ress, !"##. $. xv, !%". &S'N ()*"#(+,*"*##. -!%.(+ .$/0.

1eviewed /y Nicole 2ilson, University of 3al4ary .nicole.5.wilson6ucal4ary.ca0

The Art of the Body is Michael Squires contribution to the series Ancients and Moderns, edited by Phiroze Vasunia. This new series aims to show not only the influence of the ancient world on the modern, but also how the modern world illuminates the ancient. Squires work both stirs u debate on and !com licates the standard narrati"es about the #le$acy of %reece and &ome,' ob(ecti"es that Vasunia states are the intention of the series )i*+. Squire, in his Preface, e* licitly states that The Art of the Body is not !a history of ancient art. ,or is it a chronicle of its modern rece tion' )*i+. -nstead, his aim is to !think about the ancient and modern alon$side each other' )*i"+. he wants to re"eal not only the influence of re resentations of the body in antiquity on modernity, but also to show how the influence of modern rece tion, from the rise of /hristianity throu$h the &enaissance and &eformation to modern times, sheds li$ht on ancient art )*i0*ii+. 1ue to this rocess of !mutual illumination' )*ii+ or !two0way enli$htenment' )2+, the book roceeds thematically rather than chronolo$ically. The author focuses his attention rimarily on the %raeco0&oman le$acy of !naturalistic re resentation' )*iii+ ar$uin$ that the idea that re resentations of the human body in art are reco$nizable as bodies )!naturalism'+ dates back to antiquity. 3ut another im ortant theme of his book is reli$ion, which the author ar$ues is an as ect that tends to be i$nored by modern art historians )45+. ,ot only does Squire address the ima$es of $ods and $oddesses in their ancient reli$ious conte*t, but he also ar$ues that !the "arious attem ts to square the /lassical with the /hristian...ha"e directed the entire course of western art e"er since' )21+. The Art of the Body co"ers a lar$e e* anse of time and information in a small amount of s ace, but Squire is quick to oint out the areas of this book that could be o en to criticism, such as its selecti"ity in material and sub(ects )there is a concentration on free0standin$ scul ture+. -ndeed, Squire himself notes that the book asks more questions than it can answer )21+. -t is recisely this self0awareness and candour, alon$ with Squires accessible writin$, that make this book one that will a eal to classicists and art historians alike. /ha ter - lays the foundation for the subsequent cha ters. The author uses 6ntonio /ano"as Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker )178901785+ to raise questions about antiquitys influence on :estern art, es ecially with res ect to nudity. ;ere is where Squires concern with naturalism be$ins. ,ot only is the medium of the statue )marble+ familiar in western art, but the nudity, ose )contrapposto+, and imitation of a real0life fi$ure are all reco$nizable as ects )102+. Squire ar$ues that these elements are so embedded in the collecti"e western consciousness of "iewin$ that they are taken for $ranted )2+. ;e asks where these "isual con"entions come from, what they mean, and how they ha"e influenced modern western "isual culture. ;e also brin$s the readers attention to Polycleitus and Vitru"ius discussions of ro ortion and symmetry and their lastin$ influence, es ecially on the likes of <eonardo da Vinci )1=+. ,ot only does Squire discuss the intentional use

9 of classical art and naturalism in modern art, such as durin$ the %erman >nli$htenment, but he also discusses the re(ection of these influences by modern artistic mo"ements, such as Surrealism and >* ressionism. Squire concludes that the !ancient art of the body remains with us ? whether as an ideal, antity e, or oint of de arture' )9@+. /ha ter -- addresses e* licitly the issues of what modern art historians call !naturalism' in ancient and modern art. -n discussin$ how the modern world influences how we look at ancient art, Squire notes that we "iew ancient bodies in modern muscular terms, a result of our knowled$e of the body from human dissection )A70A4+. ;e criticizes the assum tion that !naturalism' has always been !an ob(ecti"e and em irical standard' )A2+ ? this oint is at the heart of the ar$ument of The Art of the Body. Bor e*am le, early %reek ima$es of the body a ear different from those we associate with the !/lassical' eriod. The more accurately a statue imitates the human body ? the more accurately it a ro*imates naturalism ? the later the date it is $i"en )AA+. The author uses the &iace bronzes )c. =@80 =28 3/>+ to discredit this line of ar$ument. These works, rare e*am les of lar$e0scale bronze statues from the Ath century, Squire ar$ues, are im ossible in their hysical symmetry. ,o body is this symmetrical, and therefore these !natural' bodies also are idealized in their own sense )58059+. This cha ter attem ts to e* lain where, when, and why it became an ob(ecti"e to make ima$es belie"able and life0like. Squire answers this question by ar$uin$ that naturalism was not an invention or art of what modern art historians call the !%reek &e"olution' )59+. chan$es in the resentation of art are bound to !chan$in$ cultural, intellectual, and theolo$ical ideas about fi$uration on the one hand, and about the indi"idual "iewin$ sub(ect on the other' )57+. Bor Squire !the art of the body can only be understood in cultic terms' )57, his italics+. the !naturalism' in"ol"ed in ortrayin$ the body concerned reli$ion because of the challen$e of de ictin$ %raeco0 &oman $ods. -n /ha ter --- the author turns his attention to the !modern fiction' of the !female nude' )54+, a hrase that not only refers to women without clothin$, but im lies !the assum tion of #artistic merit rather than mere # orno$ra hical arousal' )@1+. Squire, usin$ Pra*iteles statue of 6 hrodite of Cnidos )ca. 258 3/>+, discusses the use of the term !female nude' to describe the ancient ima$es of ancient di"inities. This cha ter icks u the discussion of naturalism from /ha ter --. Deu*is, when he ainted the three $oddesses in his Judgement of Paris, chose the best arts of fi"e different models to ortray the female body.1 The messa$e is clear, e"en in antiquityE no real, natural woman can match a mans ideal )79+. The disa ointment of !real' women is found not only in antiquity )as e*em lified by the le$end of Py$malion, F"id, Met. 18.9=2094@+, but also is echoed in the story of the Victorian art critic Gohn &uskins shock at the reality of his naked wife )7=+. The discussion about the re resentation of the female body makes the intertwined relationshi between ancient and modern art history clear. 6fter establishin$ this mode of !seein$ women' or more accurately idealizin$ women, Squire turns his attention to the male $aze and the a ro riateness of ortrayin$ 6 hrodite naked. ;e hi$hli$hts the mytholo$ical fates of those who saw $oddesses naked, such as 6ctaeon and Teiresias, and e* lores the fate of the "iewer of ima$es of a naked 6 hrodite. :hile Squire does not ha"e answers for how to "iew the !female nude' and admits that e"en in antiquity there would ha"e been no strai$htforward answers )185+, the reli$ious as ect of these ima$es is im ortant to hi$hli$ht. 6 hrodite, while female, was more im ortantly a $oddess. The question of nudity in a &oman conte*t introduces another issue. -n his ne*t cha ter, Squire asks questions about the inheritance of %reek motifs, not only by the &omans, but by modern artists )11@+. Throu$h "arious modern ortraits, such as those of %eor$e :ashin$ton and Mussolini, Squire re"eals how modern artists ha"e used elements from ancient art and, more im ortantly, how "iewers ha"e recei"ed those elements )1980192+. ;e traces this inheritance of classical features to

2 the &omans, and calls them the first !neoclassicists' )11@+ ? ri$htly so, $i"en &oman attem ts to incor orate, ada t, and re(ect %reek artistic con"entions for their own a$endas, such as "erism in ortraits, and the use of the to$a to clothe a nude body )19@0121+. The author de"otes much attention to the influence of the Prima Porta 6u$ustus on subsequent im erial re resentations, not only in terms of its combination of %reek and &oman elements, but also in its messa$e of immortality for the em eror )12A01=9+. Squire also discusses the way that the &omans se arated their treatment of the heads and bodies in their ortraits. The rece tion of &oman art is notoriously ne$ati"e, and in lar$e art can be attributed to G.G. :inckelmanns claim that &oman art was !not only #deri"ati"e )i.e., arasitic on the %reek+, but also in bad taste' )1=4+. Scholars like P. Danker, ar$ue that it took 6u$ustus to set the &omans on the ri$ht ath to artistic e* ression.9 Squire notes, howe"er, that !there is no e"idence that &oman "iewers found #hybrid0bodies #confused, #incon$ruous, or #monstrous in the way that modern critics ha"e done. ,or . . . can we dismiss the trait as some #mon$relisation of art )%reek with &oman, or &oman atrician with &oman lebian+, or indeed as somethin$ eradicated by 6u$ustus' )1=4+. -t is the modern scholars reoccu ation with !naturalism' that finds these !hybrid' scul tures offensi"e )1A9+ and Squire is ri$ht to brin$ the con"ersation back to how the &omans "iewed these ieces. -t is in /ha ter V that Squire confronts the influence of /hristianity and modern reli$ious thou$ht on our inter retation of ancient art, and he admits that the transition from a$an to /hristian ima$ery was not a strai$htforward rocess )1A5+. /hristian art was fashioned out of and also a$ainst ancient traditions of de ictin$ $ods in human form. ;e notes that the rece tion of %raeco0&oman art in"ol"ed !an entan$led rocess of cultural0 cum0theolo$ical ne$otiation,' and this has influenced western "isual culture u to the resent day )1A5+. 1ebates about what the di"ine body looks like and the a ro riateness of "isually ortrayin$ it e*ist today, and this is not eculiar to /hristianity. The author discusses the difficulty in ortrayin$ Gesus di"inity and humanity as well as the differin$ o inions about how to do so. Squires o"erall oint here is that !%raeco0&oman ima$es hel ed determine not only what /hristian ima$es looked like, but also how they were understood' )141, his italics+. ;e continues to ar$ue that the con"entions of 3yzantine and Mediae"al art were a reaction to those ancient traditions. The re"i"al of classical forms in the &enaissance also had a reli$ious com onent. it is durin$ this time that the crucified Gesus is first shown naked )1490142+. The questions about /hrist and his body continued to be discussed durin$ the &eformation. 6ccordin$ to Squire, it is this time that has a"ed the way for art and art history as we know it )14A+. Squire draws on %eor$ :ilhelm Briedrich ;e$els ideas about the history of art notin$ that ;e$el was the first to discuss these sub(ects and to link them to reli$ion )1470144+. Squire concludes that the &eformation re resents a theolo$ical reaction a$ainst the ancient art of the body and that this mo"ement directly influences our mode of "iewin$ art )147+, throu$h its mistrust of what can be seen. -t is this ost0&eformationH ost0>nli$htenment #art for arts sake that has influenced the western way of "iewin$ art )981+. The author resents his reader with interestin$ questions. ;is a roach to the history of the body and naturalism in art brin$s to the forefront the im ortance of reli$ion, both in antiquity and today. Squire ends his book with an e*tensi"e section on !Burther &eadin$' )9890997+, which he admits focuses on >n$lish sources. The Art of the Body is an e*cellent addition to the Ancients and Moderns series, and will be a welcome resource for an ad"anced le"el course on art history.

Notes: 1. /icero, On nvention, 9.1. Pliny, Natural !istory, 2A.5=. 9 P. Danker )1477+. The Power of mages in the Age of Augustus. trans. 6. Sha iro. 6nn 6rborE The Ini"ersity of Michi$an Press.