Context brings the brightest minds to your living room with perspective-shifting online lectures.

Talking Bodies: the Human Body in Medieval Art with Sabry Amroussi
Love this expert? Subscribe to Sabry Amroussi's Club to have unlimited access. Already subscribed? Use your discount code to purchase new lectures and access recordings via your portal.
No events are scheduled at this time. Want to be notified when it’s back? Click the blue button to the right and we’ll notify you.
During this period of artistic creation, the human physical was depicted in a completely new way. What was behind this change? What (and who) inspired these bodies and scenes? What did the actions taken upon the bodies and their portrayals represent? In the Middle Ages, the human side of Jesus, Mary and saints increasingly took center stage, and what could be more humane than a body? This created an intriguing visual culture in which the bodies and body parts of holy figures played a leading role in artistic creations. Utilizing images taken from archives, as well as public and private collections, your expert, leading art historian and Context favorite, Sabry Amroussi, guarantees you will leave this seminar absolutely amazed by images you have never before seen and explanations you have never before been taught.
Sabry Amroussi is an art historian and writer living and working in Amsterdam. He specializes in the art of the Dutch Golden Age, mainly in the works of Rembrandt and his school, and has a keen interest in the Jewish history of Amsterdam. He lectures and teaches on both subjects and gives art historical tours all across Europe. As a true omnivore when it comes to art, culture, and even cuisine, he has worked with and for major museums and collectors, such as the LACMA, Rijksmuseum, van Gogh Museum and the P de Boer collection in Amsterdam. As a guide for Context, he is eager to share this knowledge in real life, always with a big scoop of humor, ofter intermingling art with social life, cuisine, and history.
Not suitable for children under age 13 (sensitive content).
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
An interesting overview of how the human body was portrayed in northern medieval art - lots of great examples, many from private collections. A lot of humor in the presentation of this niche topic.
In addition to being an amazing art historian, Sabry is a fascinating story teller and can find the most interesting subjects for his audience.
This class is incredibly eye opening, bringing me information and concepts I had never learned in any college art history class! Sabry’s enthusiasm and humor make this class a great deal of fun.
This was a fascinating discussion of undercurrents and strange detours in Medieval Art. All of Sabry's lectures are entertaining and erudite. This one was especially interesting, highlighting odd images and quirky trends in representing biblical and apocryphal subjects from the 1300s-1500s.
Excellent. Sabry is one of the best educators in the Context repertoire. He is engaging, very knowledgeable, modest, funny, and ALWAYS respectful of the adult learners in the discussion. I wish he would offer actual context tours in Europe.