The Gist Benjamin Saltzman: The Art of Turning Away
May 8, 2026
Benjamin A. Saltzman, University of Chicago professor of English and poetics and author of Turning Away, explores the history and meaning of averting the gaze. He traces medieval manuscript images to Goya, shows how looking away can be a charged, ambiguous gesture, and urges listeners to notice when aversion signals deep engagement rather than simple indifference.
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Turning Away Began With One Unexpected Manuscript
- Benjamin A. Saltzman discovered the turning away gesture when he saw Adam and Eve covering their eyes in the Junius manuscript, not just genitals.
- That single medieval image triggered a cross-era study showing aversion appears across art, poetry, and philosophy as a recurring motif.
Covering Faces Extends Emotion Beyond Paint
- Temanthes's decision to cover Agamemnon's face signaled the limits of representation, forcing viewers to imagine the father's grief.
- Ancient critics praised the restraint; later critics mistook it for poor skill, showing interpretive shifts over time.
Aversion As A Lens For Emotional History
- Saltzman groups gestures like averting the gaze, covering eyes, and burying the head under the umbrella term aversion from Latin advertere.
- Starting from a physical gesture reveals its shifting meanings across contexts, rather than from fixed emotions like shame.
