C.H. STRATZ: THE BEAUTY OF THE FEMALE BODY

Description

This is the Polish edition of the famous work of German gynecologist and anthropologist Carl Heinrich Stratz (1858-1924), who was one of the first to undertake a scientific analysis of the canons of beauty of the female body in historical and comparative terms. The book, translated into Polish by Dr. Edmund Biernacki, was published by Stefan Demby, a Warsaw publisher specializing in popular science and art literature of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Stratz’s work is an attempt to systematize knowledge about the proportions of the female body in different eras and cultures – from ancient Egypt, Classical Greece, the Renaissance, to the author’s present day. The publication combines elements of anthropology, art history and medicine, showing the changing ideals of beauty against the background of social and cultural changes.

The wealth of illustrative material – 200 figures in the text and 11 colored plates – makes this book not only a valuable source of knowledge, but also a unique collector’s item. The illustrations, which are in the Art Nouveau and Classical styles, depict works of art (ancient sculpture, Renaissance painting) as well as detailed anatomical diagrams and studio photographs.