Leiden University Prof wins London Hellenic Prize for 2022 book

This year’s London Hellenic Prize is awarded to Caroline Vout for her excellent study of representations of the human body in sculpture, Exposed: The Greek and Roman Body.

Innovative treatment
Vout’s book won the acclaim of art history critics for its innovative treatment of the human body not only as a representation of beauty or realism, but also as an expression of common human needs — cultic, biological, social, sexual.

The emphasis throughout the long period of time covered in the book [7th century BC to 4th century AD] is on the human body, its functions and needs. Sculpture is presented not only as the museum art of the beautiful, but also as an expression of the classical conception of the human body. Note that Vout’s text is no more than 225 pages long and that it is read ‘in one word’ with loud exclamations of surprise or admiration.