Art, Dance, and the Body in French Culture of the Ancien Régime

Art, Dance, and the Body in the French Culture of the Ancien Régime is an interdisciplinary study of images produced in France during the reign of Louis XIV. Focusing on the relationship between art and dance during this period, Sarah Cohen examines how depictions of the aristocracy, which put emphasis on the body, project political and social ideas. Cohen analyses complex modes of physical presentation, including ballet, masquerading, and etiquette, together with the paintings and drawings of Antoine Watteau; the decorative work of Charles Le Brun, as well as theater, garden, and interior design. She demonstrates the striking parallels among these different visual forms and uses these interrelationships to prove the varied and changing significance of the 'artful body' within French culture of the ancien régime.

Awards

• Winner of the Congress on Research in Dance 2001 Award for Scholarly Publication

Reviews & endorsements

'While grounded in an understanding of dance, the project Cohen takes up in this clearly written and beautifully produced book addresses the boarder subject of bodily display - in her words, the 'artful body'… Her book will be an important point of departure for investigations into how spectacle evolved beyond the period she covers.' Burlington Magazine

Customer reviews

Product details

• Date Published: May 2000
• format: Hardback
• isbn: 9780521640466
• length: 376 pages

• dimensions: 262 x 186 x 29 mm
• weight: 1.16kg
• contains: 166 b/w illus. 8 colour illus.
• availability: Unavailable - out of print February 2005