The Seduction of Pictorial Images: Historical Evidence, Social Text and Cultural Performance

The transient nature of theater presents unique challenges for historians trying to reconstruct past performances and their conventions, more so than other art forms do. Theatrical imagery—visual representations of performances, figures, or conventions related to theater—has only recently gained recognition as a significant source of historical material. Paradoxically, while European and American theater historians emphasize the importance of considering visual images, they also caution against the many interpretive pitfalls these images can present.

This book aims to develop a systematic approach for evaluating theatrical imagery as historical evidence while pushing beyond the limitations of current research by treating these images as social texts shaped by complex cultural dynamics. As media evolves, the performative dimension of imagery has become more pronounced—particularly in widely circulated, actor-centered images, which often serve as deliberate acts of cultural performance. The book begins by presenting an interdisciplinary framework for analyzing theatrical imagery, followed by five case studies from both Eastern and Western theater traditions, spanning historical and contemporary contexts. These case studies examine how imagery functions not only as historical evidence, but also as social texts and forms of cultural performance.