ebooks Your Country Needs You: The Secret History of the Propaganda Poster by James Taylor in Arts-Photography

Description

Tamarrsquo;s instrument of seduction in the Hebrew Bible; Penelopersquo;s shroud in Homerrsquo;s Odyssey; accessory of brides as well as widows; and hallmark of the religious and the wealthy; the veil has historically been an intriguing signifier. Initially donned in France for liturgical purposes and later for masked balls and as a sun- and windscreen at the seashore; face-covering veils were adopted for fashionable urban use during the reign of Napoleon III. In Sheer Presence; Marni Reva Kessler demonstrates how this ubiquitous garment and its visual representations knot together many of the precepts of Parisian life.Considering the period from the beginning of Napoleon IIIrsquo;s rule in 1852 to 1889; when the Paris Universal Exhibition displayed veiled North African Muslims and other indigenous colonial peoples; Kessler deftly connects the increased presence of the veil on the streets and on canvas to Haussmannrsquo;s massive renovation of Paris. The fashion of veil wearing; she argues; was imbricated with broader concerns: fears of dust and disease fueled by Haussmannization and class mixing on the city streets; changes in ideals of youth and beauty; attempts to increase popular support for imperialism; and the development of modernist art practices. A veil was protection for the proper woman from the vices associated with the modern city; preserving—at least on the surface—her femininity and class superiority. Kessler explores these themes with close readings of paintings by Gustave Caillebotte; Edgar Degas; and Edouard Manet—including Manetrsquo;s perplexing portraits of artist Berthe Morisot—as well as photographs; images from the popular press; engravings; lithographs; and academic paintings. She also mines French fashion journals; etiquette books; novels; and medical publications for clues to the veilrsquo;s complex meanings during the period. Positioning the veil directly at the intersection of feminist; formalist; and social art history; Kessler offers a fresh perspective on period discourses of public health; seduction and sexuality; colonial stereotypes; and; ultimately; an emerging modernity. Marni Reva Kessler is assistant professor of art history at the University of Kansas.