Based upon a series of papers delivered at the April 2000 conference of the Association of Art Historians held at the U. of Edinburgh, this collection reflects upon the role of presence,
defined as the identity of the image with the thing it depicts. The contributors note the various theoretical and linguistic issues, but concentrate on their individual approaches to provide a
variety of case studies. Topics include Ming funerary portraiture, the monumental cross, consecration of a Jina image, Appar's guide to devotional receptivity, metonymy in Inca art, Poussin's
mythical figures, the psychological analysis of deciding if something is presented, touching artwork, the deceived viewer, Rembrandt's representation of the soul, images and healing pilgrimage
in classical Greece, rethinking the fetish, the image of the Roman emperor, and the sound observer and ways of representing presences. Annotation 穢2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
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