'Race Is Everything': Art and Human Difference

‘Race Is Everything' explores the influence of 'racial science' on art, focusing on the belief that outward appearance and skull shape can correlate with inner character and intelligence. It examines various aspects, including the skull as a racial marker, ancient Egypt, Darwin, race and aesthetics, the 'Mediterranean race,' eugenics, and Emil Nolde's racial politics.

Format: Hardback
Length: 320 pages
Publication date: 01 May 2023
Publisher: Reaktion Books

‘Race Is Everything’ looks at ideas of ‘racial science’ in the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, and how art was influenced by them. It looks at race in general, but with a particular concentration on attitudes towards and representations of people of African and Jewish descent. David Bindman argues that behind all racial ideas is the belief that outward appearance, and especially skull-shape, can be correlated with inner character and intelligence, and that these could be used to create a seemingly scientific hierarchy of races.
This book considers many aspects, including the skull as a racial marker; ancient Egypt as a precedent for Southern slavery; Darwin, race and aesthetics; the ‘Mediterranean race’; the visual aspects of eugenics; and the racial politics of Emil Nolde.

Weight: 704g
Dimension: 166 x 241 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781789146967