Ian Jenkins (1) (1953–2020)

A beautifully illustrated catalogue to accompany the exhibition at the British Museum (March to July 2015). Particularly impressive are the pictures of Aphrodite from four viewpoints (and as also seen on the cover) seeks to recapture the abilty to walk around the statue and view it from multiple angles.
There are several essays at the beginning of the book and that on the reception of the Parthenon sculptures in nineteenth century Europe by Leoussi was especially interesting.

Note that this is a review of Defining Beauty (BM 2015 exhibition catalogue), not The Greek Body, which appears to have been incorrectly combined with this book on Librarything (same author).… (more)

Written by Ian Jenkins, a senior curator at the British Museum responsible for the Greek collections, and Victoria Turner, a curator at the British Museum with co-responsibility for some touring exhibitions, the book is published in conjunction with the touring exhibition of work from the museum's collection.

The well written and very accessible text considers the human figure in Greek sculpture in the light of the artistic, social and cultural context of the time, without avoiding the sexual or deliberately non-sexual implications of the representation of the male and female nude. It shows the importance the ancient Greeks placed not just upon the physical appearance of the human body, but also on cultivation a modest attitude of mind. It covers work from the the Cycladic figurines with their stylised abstraction right through to the flamboyant realism of Alexander the Great, and includes work in marble as well as bronze and terracotta.

The book is beautifully illustrated with 130 colour photographs, many of which show close detail of the sculptures. The overall presentation is very good, with a clean uncluttered page layout that compliments the photographs. The quality of the photography is excellent, and conveys the surface textures of the sculptures admirably. The Greek Body is a handsome and informative book.… (more)