The study of representational art traditionally focusses on what is represented rather than what is missing. Robert Couzin’s Unrepresented: The Suppression of Images in the Middle Ages is a unique study of figures and attributes left out of the picture. Why avoid depicting the dead body of Christ, Muhammad, the reigning emperor or biblical text? What explains changes in the approach to representing heretics and Jews?
Through a series of case studies, this book shows how omissions could reflect strategic decisions based on political designs, social frameworks, religious practices, evolving mentalities and theological doctrines.