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<p>This study examines the representation of Sappho’s objectified body in early twentieth century illustrated books, exploring the relationship between materiality, textuality, and visuality in the popular construction of Sappho’s likeness. I argue that images of Sappho during the period were shaped by two primary vectors of influence: the literary Decadence of the <i>fin de siècle</i> and new arenas of scientific inquiry including papyrology, archaeology, ethnography, and sexology. In their various depictions of Sappho as a museum artefact, a chipped pottery shard, a crumbling statue, and a fragmenting body, the illustrations examined in this study exhibit a particular mode of representing Sappho&#xa0;and elicit a particular type of look from readers/viewers. Sappho is not only <i>objectified</i>, but the illustrations invite the <i>objectifying</i> gaze from those who view her. Tracing the ways in which imperialist and orientalist fantasies exerted influence on—and were disseminated through—illustrated editions demonstrates the important yet often overlooked role that circulatory and popular media played in constructing an exoticized image of Sappho and the ancient world more broadly.</p>

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Object/ifying Sappho

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月18日

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  • Emily Waller Singeisen

摘要

This study examines the representation of Sappho’s objectified body in early twentieth century illustrated books, exploring the relationship between materiality, textuality, and visuality in the popular construction of Sappho’s likeness. I argue that images of Sappho during the period were shaped by two primary vectors of influence: the literary Decadence of the fin de siècle and new arenas of scientific inquiry including papyrology, archaeology, ethnography, and sexology. In their various depictions of Sappho as a museum artefact, a chipped pottery shard, a crumbling statue, and a fragmenting body, the illustrations examined in this study exhibit a particular mode of representing Sappho and elicit a particular type of look from readers/viewers. Sappho is not only objectified, but the illustrations invite the objectifying gaze from those who view her. Tracing the ways in which imperialist and orientalist fantasies exerted influence on—and were disseminated through—illustrated editions demonstrates the important yet often overlooked role that circulatory and popular media played in constructing an exoticized image of Sappho and the ancient world more broadly.