Abstract
Images hold the unique power to communicate ideas, values, and aesthetics. At the turn of the 20th century, in Europe the depiction of the human body in visual and performing arts underwent profound mutation, reflecting a broader cultural yearning to uncover the true mechanisms underlying visual reality. This shift emerged as a response to the dehumanizing effects of the Industrial Revolution and the allure of the “primitive,” a hallmark of fin de siècle sensibilities. Across disciplines like physics, biology, and psychology, there was a drive to simplify complex ideas into their purest forms, seeking elemental truths. In the realms of dance, theater, and modern visual art, the body and its gestures came into sharp focus as fundamental forms of expression. The silent language of the body—spontaneous, row movements reminiscent of tribal dances or indigenous rituals—expressed untamed emotions and channeled a synesthetic and visceral aesthetic beyond the expressive ability of words. My research explores how the image of the modern body became a powerful medium of symbolic expression and a reflection of the socio-cultural dynamics of the inward-looking modernist era. This transitional period, marked by a revival of Gothic mysticism and the rise of nationalism, shaped the iconography of the body as both a mirror of its time and a channel for deeper emotional and cultural resonance.
Presenters
Irina TerekhovaPhD, History of Art/History of Psychiatry, University of Lausanne/Institute for Medical Humanities, Genève (fr), Switzerland
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2026 Special Focus—The Image as Advocate: Shaping Cultural Conversations
KEYWORDS
Body Image, Modernism, Ugly Aesthetics
