Outcasts: Signs of Otherness in Northern European Art of the Late Middle Ages (California Studies in the History of Art) 2 Volume Set (Hardcover)

by Ruth Mellinkoff (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Stereotype has typically been used in art to simplify representation. Mellinkoff, a research associate at the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and author of other titles on medieval art ( Devil at Isenheim , Univ. of California Pr., 1988), has gathered together and categorized common medieval stereotyping exemplified in the art. The result is a fascinating foray into medieval attitudes, wide-ranging enough to include a particularly interesting chapter on Jewish headgear. There are problems, however. The first volume is entirely text, referring for illustration to the beautiful plates in the second volume--a cumbersome arrangement that is discouraging to all but the most devoted researcher, as even the author admits. In addition, the scope of her task is too broad, leading to an overwhelming banquet of examples and theories. For specialized collections only.
- Karen Ellis, Baldwin Boettcher Lib., Humble, Tex.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
In this beautifully illustrated two-volume study, Ruth Mellinkoff has assembled and analyzed an extraordinary compilation of pictorial signs (motifs, attributes, and other artistic devices) used by medieval artists to identify and denigrate those figures deemed outcasts, such as Jews, heretics, Muslims, blacks, executioners, prostitutes, lepers, gamblers, footsoldiers, entertainers, and peasants. Among the signs treated are costume elements such as patterns and colors, and physical attributes such as skin and hair color, blemishes, and gestures. Mellinkoff focuses on art from northern Europe, with examples culled principally from the thirteenth into the middle of the sixteenth century. The author poses important questions about the attitudes of Christian society, and nearly 700 imagesmost in colorare gathered in Volume Two to illustrate her observations. Outcasts will engage and challenge scholars and students of the visual arts and literature, history of religion, anthropology, sociology, and psychology for years to come.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 886 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 2 Vol. Set edition (January 13, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520078152
• ISBN-13: 978-0520078154
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds
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• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,956,276 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)