A Cultural History of the Senses in the Renaissance Volume 3

We know the Renaissance as a key period in the history of Europe. It saw the development of court and urban cultures, witnessed the first global voyages of discovery and gave rise to the Reformation and Counter Reformation. It also started with the ‘invention’ of oil painting, linear perspective and moveable type, all visual technologies. Does that mean, as has been suggested, that the Renaissance stands for the ‘ascendancy of the eye’? If so, then what happened to the sensory extremes which the famous Dutch historian Johan Huizinga still perceived in the 15th century? Did they simply disappear? Or is there another history to be told, a history of a surprising continuity, not only of the sense of hearing but also of the ‘lower’ senses – those of taste, smell and touch? And was the Renaissance not first and foremost a time of deep sensory anxiety? This volume, assembling nine outstanding specialists, seeks to answer these questions while offering a lively and ‘sensational’ portrait of the period. The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores the following topics: The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; Art and the Senses; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available. Cover page Halftitle page Title page Copyright page contents list of illustrations series preface editor’s acknowledgments Introduction: Entering the Sensory Worlds of the Renaissance SOME HISTORIOGRAPHY INTERSENSORIALITY SENSORY ANXIETY AESTHESIS 1 The Social Life of the Senses: Architecture, Food, and Manners THE RENAISSANCE OF THE SENSES BODIES, BARRIERS, AND THRESHOLDS: THE SPATIALIZATION OF THE SENSES DISCIPLINING AND AESTHETICIZING THE SENSES THE COURTIER UNMASKED: THE REVENGE OF THE SENSES THE RENAISSANCE BANQUET: REFINING THE ELITE SENSORIUM ANALYZING THE SENSIBLE SELF CONCLUSION: CONSTRUCTING A SENSORIAL REGIME 2 Urban Sensations: Attractive and Repulsive THE SMELL AND TASTE OF THE CITY THE TACTILE CITY THE SOUNDS OF THE CITY VIEWING THE TOWNSCAPE CONCLUSIONS 3 The Senses in the Marketplace: Sensory Knowledge in a Material World CHALK FOR CHEESE MARKET SIGHTS/MARKET TOUCH MARKET SOUNDS MARKET TASTES/MARKET SMELLS CONCLUSION: SENSING AND KNOWING 4 The Senses in Religion: Towards the Reformation of the Senses RELIGIOUS LEARNING AND THE SENSES WORSHIP AND PIETY SENSING AND RELIGIOUS CONFLICT SENSES, RELIGION, AND EARLY MODERNITY 5 The Senses in Philosophyand Science: From the Nobility of Sight to the Materialism of Touch THE NOBILITY OF SIGHT AND THE SOLAR EYE THE FICKLENESS OF SIGHT AND THE MECHANIZATION OF VISION OF STINK AND CONFETTI, OR, EMBODIMENT THE EXQUISITE SENSE OF TACT AND THE DOCTOR’S TOUCH “ IL N’Y A POINT DE PLAISIR SENTI QUI SOIT CHIMÉRIQUE ”: THE MATERIALISM OF TOUCH ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6 Medicine and the Senses: Physicians, Sensation, andthe Soul GALEN’S WOOL-WINDER SENSE IN THE ANIMAL ECONOMY ENTER THE SENSES EVIDENCE AND SENSIBILITY 7 The Senses in Literature: Renaissance Poetry and the Paradox of Perception RENAISSANCE INFLUENCE DESIRE AND SENSATION: THE BLAZON VISIONS OF THE PAST: EKPHRASIS AESTHETICIZED FAILURE: APOSIOPESIS CONCLUSION 8 Art and the Senses: Representation and Reception of Renaissance Sensations THE ALLEGORICAL TRADITION WHICH SENSES? THE SENSES IN RELIGIOUS ART CHANGES AND SHIFTS MULTI-SENSORY CATHOLICISM: THE ROSARY THE SENSES IN RENAISSANCE SECULAR ART AFTER MANNERISM THE RENAISSANCE OF CLASSICAL ART AND THE SENSES THE BACCHANAL CONCLUSIONS 9 Sensory Media: TheCircular Links betweenOrality and Writing notes bibliography notes on contributors index What did the past sound like, taste like, smell like? How did it look and feel? How did people make sense of the world through their senses? These are questions which are increasingly capturing the interest of historians. A Cultural History of the Senses delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach, which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. The volumes treat such topics as the sensory markers of gender and class, the aesthetic dimensions of material culture, religious sensibilities, the medical uses of the senses and their representation in art and literature. These investigations bring out the sensations and values which defined experience in a particular era and shaped the world view of the time. With contributions from such prominent scholars as Peter Burke, Alain Corbin, Anthony Wallace-Hadrill and Chris Woolgar, A Cultural History of the Senses sets the stage for a vital new way of understanding the past. A Cultural History of the Senses presents an authoritative survey from ancient times to the present. This set of six volumes explores the cultural life of the senses in the West over a span of 2500 1. A Cultural History of the Senses in Antiquity , 500 BCE-500 CE 2. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Middle Ages , 500-1450 3. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Renaissance , 1450-1650 4. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Enlightenment , 1650-1800 5. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Empire , 1800-1920 6. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Modern Age , 1920-2000 Each volume discusses the same themes in its The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; Art and the Senses; and Sensory Media. This structure means that readers can either have a broad overview of a period or follow a theme through history by reading the relevant chapter in each volume. Superbly illustrated, the full six volume set combines to present the most authoritative and comprehensive survey available on the senses in history. "We know the Renaissance as a key moment in the history of Europe. It saw the rise of court and urban cultures, witnessed the first global voyages of discovery and the emergence of the Reformation and the Counter Reformation. Indeed, it started with the invention of linear perspective, oil painting and moveable type. All these developments were significant in terms of sensory knowledge and the sensory practices of the everyday. Does the Renaissance stand for the 'ascendancy of the eye'? What happened to the sensory extremes which the famous Dutch historian Johan Huizinga still perceived in the fifteenth century? Did they simply disappear, or is there another history to be told: one of a surprising continuity, of the 'lower' senses - those of taste, smell and touch - hardly losing ground, neither in their daily prevalence nor in the cultural significance attached to them? This volume, assembling ten outstanding specialists, seeks to answer all these questions while offering a lively and sensational portrait of the period. The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores the following topics: The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; The Senses in Art; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available."-- Provided by publisher "The ancient world used the senses to express an enormous range of cultural meanings. Indeed the senses were functionally significant in all aspects of ancient life, often in a way that was complex and interconnected. Antiquity was also a period where the senses were experienced vividly: cities stank, statues were brightly painted, and literature made full use of sensory imagery to create its effects. In a steeply hierarchical world, with vast differences between the landed wealthy, the poor and the slaves, the senses played a key role in establishing and maintaining boundaries between social groups; but the use of the senses in the ancient world was not static. New religions, such as Christianity, developed their own way of using the senses, acquiring unique forms of sensory-related symbolism in processes which were slow and often contested. The aim of this volume is to provide an overview of these structures and developments, and to show how their study can yield a more nuanced understanding of the ancient world. The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores the following topics: The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; The Senses in Art; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available"-- Provided by publisher The nineteenth century was a time of new sensory experiences and modes of perception. The raucous mechanical intensity of the train and the factory vied for attention with the dazzling splendour of department stores and world fairs. Colonization and trade carried European sensations and sensibilities to the world and, in turn, flooded the West with exotic sights and savours. Urban stench became a matter of urgent public concern. Photography created a compelling alternate reality accessible only to the eye. At the turn of the twentieth century, the telephone and the radio isolated and extended the sense of hearing, and electrical networks spread their webs throughout cities. These novel experiences were reflected in contemporary art and literature, which strove for new ways to express modern sensibilities. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Age of Empire brings together a group of eminent historians to explore the aesthetic, cultural and political formation of the senses during a period of momentous change. The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores the following topics: The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; The Senses in Art; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available" We know the Renaissance as a key period in the history of Europe. It saw the development of court and urban cultures, witnessed the first global voyages of discovery and gave rise to the Reformation and Counter Reformation. It also started with the 'invention' of oil painting, linear perspective and moveable type, all visual technologies. Does that mean, as has been suggested, that the Renaissance stands for the 'ascendancy of the eye'? If so, then what happened to the sensory extremes which the famous Dutch historian Johan Huizinga still perceived in the 15th century? Did they simply disappear? Or is there another history to be told, a history of a surprising continuity, not only of the sense of hearing but also of the 'lower' senses – those of taste, smell and touch? And was the Renaissance not first and foremost a time of deep sensory anxiety? This volume, assembling nine outstanding specialists, seeks to answer these questions while offering a lively and 'sensational' portrait of the period. A Cultural History of the Senses in the Renaissance presents essays on the following topics: the social life of the senses; urban sensations; the senses in the marketplace; the senses in religion; the senses in philosophy and science; medicine and the senses; the senses in literature; art and the senses; and sensory media. "The Cultural History of the Senses set delves into the sensory foundations of Western civilization, taking a comprehensive period-by-period approach which provides a broad understanding of the life of the senses from antiquity to the modern day. Each of the volumes explores the following topics: The Social Life of the Senses; Urban Sensations; The Senses in the Marketplace; The Senses in Religion; The Senses in Philosophy and Science; Medicine and the Senses; The Senses in Literature; Art and the Senses; and Sensory Media. Superbly illustrated, this six-volume set is the most authoritative and comprehensive historical survey of the senses available."--Page 4 of cover The Definitive Overview Of The Role Of The Senses In The Renaissance, Covering Themes Such As Religion, Philosophy, Science, Medicine, Literature, Art And Media.