The Sinister Side: How Left-Right Symbolism Shaped Western Art - Hardcover

Hall, James

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199230862 ISBN 13: 9780199230860

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2008

Synopsis

The Sinister Side is the first book to detail the richness and subtlety of left-right symbolism since the Renaissance, and to show how it was a catalyst for some of the greatest works of visual art from Leonardo and Michelangelo to Rembrandt and Picasso. Traditionally, the left side was regarded as evil, weak, and worldly, but with the Renaissance, artists began to represent the left side as the side that represented authentic human feelings and especially love. Writers including Lorenzo de' Medici, Michelangelo, and Winckelmann hailed the supreme moral and aesthetic beauty of the left side. Images of lovers foreground the left side of the body, emphasizing its refinement and sensitivity. In the late nineteenth century, with the rise of interest in the occult and in spiritualism, the left side becomes associated with the taboo and with the unconscious. James Hall's insightful discussion of left and right symbolism helps us to see how the self and the mind were perceived during these periods, and gives us a new key to understanding art in its social and intellectual context.

About this title

About the Author

James Hall is a freelance art critic and historian. A former art critic for The Guardian, he is the author of two critically acclaimed books: The World as Sculpture and Michelangelo and the Reinvention of the Human Body.

Review

An excellent entry point for a close look at a painting, especially one we take for granted, and there is no denying that James Hall has written a stimulating and valuable book. * Paul Johnson, Literary Review * This is a clever book that has the great merit of persuading us to look more closely at familiar paintings. * Paul Johnson, Literary Review * Hall is refreshingly broad in his approach. * John McEwan, The Tablet * This pioneering and entertaining book does much more than succeed in its modest aim of prompting 'further reflection and research.' * John McEwan, The Tablet * The right versus left issue is fascinating...[a] searching new book. * Michael Glover, The Independent * ...brilliant book... * Andrew Marr, Start the Week * A grippingly enjoyable, profoundly insightful, excitingly provocative book * Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, The Art Newspaper * an engrossing study, deeply and imaginatively researched... [the book] oozes credibility. * Keith Miller, Times Literary Supplement *

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0199230862
• ISBN 13: 9780199230860
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 489