Haut

"Only skin deep," "getting under one's skin," "the naked truth" metaphors about the skin pervade the language even as physical embellishments and alterations--tattoos, piercings, skin-lifts, liposuction, tanning, and more--proliferate in Western culture. This important cultural study shows how our perception of skin has changed from the eighteenth century to the present. Claudia Benthien examines the changing significance of skin through brilliant analyses of literature, art, philosophy, and anatomical drawings and writings. Myriad images from the Renaissance, anatomy books, and contemporary visual and performance art enhance the text.