For this Relief, Much Thanks! - Peeing in Art

Even though peeing is something we all do several times a day, it is still a taboo subject. From an early age, we are taught to master our urinary urges and to use decent words for this most necessary physiological activity. This paradox has not gone unnoticed by artists through the ages.

For this Relief, Much Thanks! Peeing in Art is a journey through time and space, stopping along the way to look at many different art forms. The reader-viewer will see how peeing figures - men and women, young and old, human and angelic - have been depicted over the centuries. You will be amazed to discover how often, even in famous works of art, you can find a man quietly peeing in a corner or a putto who is irrigating some grassy field. A detail you will never have seen before, but one that you will never forget when confronted with those same art works in future!

Artists have portrayed pee-ers in a variety of different ways and for a variety of different reasons: serious, frivolous, humorous, to make a protest, to make a statement... Whatever their purpose, these works of art always intrigue, not least because of their secret messages and symbolic references, which sometimes can only be unravelled by an expert - like the author of this book. The extensive background information about the artists and their work also gives interesting insights into the often complex origins of the different art forms. In short, a fascinating voyage of discovery awaits you!

Johan J. Mattelaer is a urologist with a passion for the past. He has previously published several richly illustrated books in which the urological and sexuological sciences meets art and history.