The Colour of Angels : Cosmology, Gender and the Aesthetic Imagination

The Colour of Angels uncovers the gender politics behind our attitude to the senses. Using a wide variety of examples, ranging from the sensuous religious visions of the middle ages through to nineteenth-century art movements, this book reveals a previously unexplored area of womens history. This Text Looks At The Symbolism Of The Senses Which Animated The Cosmos Before The Modern Scientific View Of The World Came To Dominate, Revealing The Gender Politics Behind Such Sensory Constructs As The Male Gaze And The Female Touch. Pt. I. Cosmology. 1. On The Color Of Angels: The Sensory Cosmologies Of St. Hildegard, Boehme, And Fourier. 2. The Breath Of God: Sacred Histories Of Scent -- Pt. Ii. Gender. 3. The Scented Womb And The Seminal Eye: Embodying Gender Codes Through The Senses. 4. Pens And Needles: Writing, Women's Work, And Feminine Sensibilities -- Pt. Iii. Aesthetics. 5. Symbolist Harmonies, Futurist Colors, Surrealist Recipes: Crossing Sensory Borders In The Arts. 6. A Feel For The World: Lessons In Aesthetics From The Blind. Constance Classen. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [209]-228) And Index. Compellingly demonstrates the relationship between sensory and gender orders, highlighting the gender politics behind such sensory constructs as the male gaze and the female touch