Product Description
Despite its widespread popularity in antebellum America, phrenology has rarely been taken seriously as a cultural phenomenon. Charles Colbert seeks to redress this neglect by demonstrating the important contributions the theory made to artistic developments in the period. He goes on to reveal the links between the tenets of phrenology and the cultural ideals of Jacksonian democracy.As Colbert demonstrates, virtually every important figure of the American Renaissance expressed some opinion of phrenology, whether or not they embraced it. Its proponents included many artists eager to support a cause that enhanced the status of their profession by endowing the human form with extraordinary significance.Colbert reviews the careers of Hiram Powers, William Sidney Mount, Harriet Hosmer, Asher B. Durand, and Thomas Cole, among others, in light of their responses to phrenology. Powers's Greek Slave, for example, can be seen as a model of the physical and moral perfection available to those who adopted the phrenological program, a series of dictates on everything from diet to mental and physical exercise. By creating portraits, genre scenes, ideal figures, and even landscapes that embodied the theory's teachings, Colbert shows, artists endeavored to enlist their audience in a crusade that would transform the nation.
A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

An original view on 19th century American Art
Written by Charles Colbert, who teaches in the Fine Arts Department of Boston College, this work is the most recent scholarly contribution concerning the cultural influences of Phrenology. The author demonstratesthe contributions of Phrenology to artistic impression, particularly in19th century American art. Painters and sculptors such as Hiram Powers,William Sidney Mount, Harriet Hosmer, Asher B. Durand, and Thomas Cole,among others, see their works reviewed and phrenologically analysed. Thework gives a good insight in the world of American art, much of which isvirtually unknown in the Old World. 

An original view on 19th century American Art
Written by Charles Colbert, who teaches in the Fine Arts Department of Boston College, this work is the most recent scholarly contribution concerning the cultural influences of Phrenology. The author demonstratesthe contributions of Phrenology to artistic impression, particularly in19th century American art. Painters and sculptors such as Hiram Powers,William Sidney Mount, Harriet Hosmer, Asher B. Durand, and Thomas Cole,among others, see their works reviewed and phrenologically analysed. Thework gives a good insight in the world of American art, much of which isvirtually unknown in the Old World.  ... Read more