Carving Light and Body - (Studies in Art & Materiality) by Aleksandra Lipiń & ska (Hardcover)

About the Book

An investigation into the mechanisms by which artistic materials generate meaning. Focusing on alabaster across cultures and epochs, it reveals material as an agent shaping the creation, perception, and significance of artworks.

Book Synopsis

Carving Light and Body investigates the mechanisms by which artistic materials generate meaning. Following alabaster across cultures and epochs, Aleksandra Lipińska traces its journey from the quarry to the artist's workshop, and examines its roles and functions in the realms of art, natural philosophy, theology, poetry, and diplomacy. By exploring its attributes and the associations these have invited, she reveals material as an agent shaping the creation, perception, and significance of artworks. At the same time, she demonstrates that many of the notions traditionally connected with alabaster have been cultural projections, often created independently of its physical properties or natural characteristics.

About the Author

Aleksandra Lipińska, Ph.D. (2003), Habil. (2021), University of Cologne, is Deputy Professor of Early Modern Art History. She has published monographs, edited volumes, and numerous articles on Early Modern European sculpture, the materiality of art (especially alabaster), as well as art in Central and Eastern Europe.