Objects of Vision

“Objects of Vision is an engaging and well-written book that adroitly guides readers to understand the complex mechanisms by which meaning is made in visual texts.”

—Martin A. Berger, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

“Well researched, beautifully written, and fascinatingly presented, Objects of Vision offers the visual studies field a historical reading of case studies with and around objects and artifacts from the Renaissance to the present. Joan Saab expands the scope of visual studies to include material and technological forms ranging from spirit photography to holograms, and she gives timely insight into photographic truth and the everyday proliferation of images.”

—Lisa Cartwright, coauthor of Practices of Looking: An Introduction to Visual Culture

“Contributing to the current discourse around fake news, deep fakes, and manipulated images, this volume provides a nuanced, historical look at how people navigate seeing, knowing, and believing.”

—S. Schumacher Choice

“Throughout, Saab offers a useful and lucid primer on what it means to consider vision as a historical phenomenon and introduces the reader to various approaches taken by a range of scholars to studying and writing the history of the experience and delineation of the visual sense in the modern era. The final line of her book, which asks the reader to imagine a history of visual expression written from the point of view of the object of vision, rather than the human subject, practically begs for a sequel, one that would surely be as interesting as the present study. “What happens,” she asks, “to our historical understandings of vision and visions when images begin to see for themselves?”

—Rachel Z. DeLue Isis: Journal of the History of Science Society

“Smart, shrewd, and accessible, Objects of Vision defends compelling theoretical claims, gives the reader new perspectives on some famous historical figures, and introduces some remarkable hoaxes. The volume is a delight to read and a fine addition to the important Perspectives on Sensory history series.”

—Christopher D. Johnson 1650-1850: Ideas, Aesthetics, and Inquiries in the Early Modern Era

A. Joan Saab is Susan B. Anthony Professor of Art History and Vice Provost of Academic Affairs at the University of Rochester. She is the author of For the Millions: American Art and Culture Between the Wars.