Likeness and Presence

A History of the Image before the Era of Art

Belting Hans

Before the Renaissance and Reformation, holy images were treated not as "art" but as objects of veneration which possessed the tangible presence of the Holy. In this magisterial book, Hans Belting traces the long history of the sacral image and its changing role in European culture".Likeness and Presence" looks at the beliefs, superstitions, hopes, and fears that come into play as people handle and respond to sacred images, and presents a compelling interpretation of the place of the image in Western history.

About the Author

Hans Belting is the Mary Jane Crowe Professor of Art History at Northwestern University. He is the author of a number of books, including "The End of the History of Art?", "Likeness and Presence: A History of the Image before the Era of Art", and "The Invisible Masterpiece", all published by the University of Chicago Press.

Reviews

"I cannot begin to describe the richness or the imaginative grandeur of Hans Belting's book... It is a work that anyone interested in art, or in the history of thought about art, should regard as urgent reading. It is a tremendous achievement" – Arthur C. Danto, The New Republic

"An opus magnum, one of those works of art history that can be counted among the books of the decade" – Oskar Batschmann, Neue Zurcher Zeitung

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