BOOBS – fe:male bodies in pictorial history

An Art and Visual History of the Breast

The female breast is a recurring form in visual culture. Body politics, power relations, gender issues and the vulnerability of the body are negotiated through these representations in their respective cultural, social, and historical contexts. BOOBS – fe:male bodies in pictorial history provides an overview of the ways in which the female breast has been viewed and represented in art and pictorial history across different epochs. Based on 80 selected art works, the publication shows how the female sex and gender is constantly re-located and negotiated by artists. Exemplary artistic reflections on pictorial motifs of the nurturing, sexualized, sensual, or even absent breast are illuminated in this publication.

A collection of essays takes up questions about the perception and representation of the breast and explores them in depth from different perspectives.