Bodies mangled, limbs broken, skin flayed, blood spilled: the art of the late medieval and early modern periods contains myriad examples of spectacular unmaking. The martyrdoms of saints, stories of justice, and reports of the atrocities of war provided fertile ground for scenes of bodily desecration.
"Exploring the full range of social, cultural, spiritual, and political contexts in which these visual depictions of the brutalised body were created, the contributors seek to make sense of the cultures of torture and violence that validated such imagery. (?) the volume provides new insights into representations of torture in medieval and early modern art." - Matthew Firth, University of New England
