Synopses & Reviews
Archaic and Classical Greek Art is a revolutionary introduction to the images and sculptures of Ancient Greece from the Geometric period to the early Hellenistic. By carefully examining the context in which sculptures and paintings were produced, author Robin Osborne shows how artists responded to the challenges they faced in the formidable and ambitious world of the Greek city-state, producing the rich diversity of forms apparent in Greek art. Artistic developments of the period combined the influences of the symbolism and imagery of eastern Mediterranean art with the explorations of humanity embodied in the narratives of Greek poetry, while drawings and sculptures referred so intimately to the human form as to lead both ancient and modern theorists to talk in terms of the 'mimetic' role of art. Ranging widely over the fields of sculpture, vase painting, and the minor arts, and offering a wide selection of unusual images alongside the familiar masterpieces, this work discusses the changing forms of art, and how art was used to define men's relationships with other men, women, slaves, society, nature, and the gods.
Review
"Brilliantly illustrates the purpose of this new series by focusing on the social and political context of Greek art...a different approach suggesting new perspectives and original connections....Eye-opening and thought-provoking."--Professor François Lissarrague, Ecoles des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris
Review
"Brilliantly illustrates the purpose of this new series by focusing on the social and political context of Greek art...a different approach suggesting new perspectives and original connections....Eye-opening and thought-provoking."--Professor Francois Lissarrague, Ecoles des Hautes Etudes en
Sciences Sociales, Paris
About the Author
Robin Osborne is a Professor of Ancient History in the University of Oxford and Fellow and Tutor of Corpus Christi College.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. A History of Art Without Artists
The lost history of Greek art
The history of art at work
The status of art in classical Athens
Art and private life
Chapter 2. From Praying to Playing: Art in the Eighth Century BC
Modelling horses
Modelling men
The figure as a decorative element
Stories and statements
Tensions
Chapter 3. Reflections in an Eastern Mirror
A fabulous invasion
Heads, bodies, and gods
Chapter 4. Myth as Measure
Myth and pathos: The Mykonos pithos
See myth and die: the Polyphemos amphora
Myth and ritual: the Hyperborean maidens
A revolution effected
Chapter 5. Life Enlarged
The art of revelation
Revealing gods, reviewing men, offering women
Chapter 6. Marketing an Image
Transforming a formula
The creation of the contemplative viewer
Colourful dramas outside Athens
Pot shapes
Chapter 7. Enter Politics
Politics enters the sanctuary
Death, politics, and the gymnasium
Chapter 8. Gay Abandon
Role-play and the body at the symposion
The invention of the red-figure technique
Bodies and flesh
Games with names
Virtuoso exhibits
The isolated image
Sex, drink, and the gods
Chapter 9. Cult, Politics, and Imperialism
From dissent to totalitarianism
Sexuality and the standing male
The body of private imagery
Opening the body's story
Closing the body's story
The violence of representation
Chapter 10. The Claims of the Dead
Grave offerings
Putting the dead body in its place
Art and the afterlife
Chapter 11. Individuals Within and Without the City
Breaking the classical mould
Facing suffering
Life stories
Portraits and power
Chapter 12. The Sensation of Art
Body language
The sensational artist
Chapter 13. Looking. Backwards
The agenda of revolution
The power of the Greek image
List of Illustrations
Bibliographic Essay
Timeline
Index