The twelve essays in this book employ a wide range of visual material from varying periods in history to explore different attitudes to and representations of the human body. Each essay serves to analyse how visual representations of the body work metaphorically and systematically to define and reinforce beliefs and social practices. Many of the essays focus on a single painting, photograph, or other object to examine the wider implications of the image of the body and the body as image. An impressive range of methods and approaches is brought to bear, serving to demonstrate the intellectual vigour and breadth of the subject of the body in art, and the richness of the material with which it can be studied.