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The Nature of Art: Pliny the Elder on materials

The Nature of Art: Pliny the Elder on materials

The Nature of Art: Pliny the Elder on materials

The Nature of Art: Pliny the Elder on materials

Overview

In his Natural History, Pliny the Elder organises his discussion of crafts according to the raw materials they utilize. However, scholarly literature has paid little attention to the aspect of materiality, preferring to focus on the biographies and achievements of ancient Greek artists. This collection instead addresses the presentation of artistic processes and their materials in the Natural History. This approach corresponds with current developments in the study of Greco-Roman art, wherein scientific analysis of artistic materials including stones, pigments, and metal alloys, as well as a deeper understanding of workshop practices, has imposed profound changes on the methods used in the study of ancient artefacts.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9782503591179
Publisher: Brepols Publishers
Publication date: 07/22/2021
Series: Art and Materiality: Textual and Visual Experiences , #1
Pages: 372
Product dimensions: 7.32(w) x 10.63(h) x 1.02(d)

Table of Contents

Editorial note and abbreviations 8

Introduction 10

Nature and Culture in the Natural History Anna Anguissola Andreas Grüner 11

Properties 22

Parasite, Infused: Pliny on Leeches Courtney Roby 23

Silver and Obsidian: Shine and Reflection Annette Haug 35

Pliny on the Sensory Qualities of Tin Julian Schreyer 42

Beeswax: The Natural History of an Archetypal Medium Verity Platt 51

Caeruleum and the Pigments of Greek Painting: A Comedy of Mistaken Identity Nadia J. Koch 65

74 The Renaissance Reception of Pliny's Atramentum Simona Rinaldi 74

Processes 90

Wood and Architecture: Pliny's Legacy in the Treatises of Alberti and Cataneo Giovan Battista Fidanza 91

Ganosis and Kosmesis in Pliny's Natural History. On the Polishing of Marble Sculptures with Wax Clarissa Blume-Jung 100

Pliny the Elder in the Workshop of Zenodorus and the Materiality of Facture in the Natural History Emily Margaret Cook 112

Material Substitutions. The Second Life of the Aphrodite anadyomene Elena Calandra 126

The Materiality of Creation. Integrity, Deception, and the Process of Art Anna Anguissola 132

Gypsum, the Invention of Bronze Casting, and the Triumph of Form Felix Henke 145

Parian Marble and «Quella che si fa per forza di levare» Maria Luisa Catoni 157

«Ex uno lapide» and the Meaning of Monolithic Sculpture in the Natural History Nikolaus Dietrich 171

Values 180

Pretia and auctoritas rerum. Evaluation of Materials and Artefacts in Books 33-37 Massimiliano Papini 181

Grading for Colour: Pliny's Hierarchy of Pigment Quality Hilary Becker 194

Plinian Monocbromy in Renaissance Italy Mathilde Bert 201

Corinthian Bronzes and Vases from Pliny the Elder to Pliny the Younger (In the Light of a Passage by Cicero) Stefano Rocchi 217

Gilding. Art and Technique, Vision and Morals Lucia Faedo 224

Pliny, Stones in the Natural History, and their Re-use in the Trattato of Antonio Averlino, called Filarete (1462-1465) Paolo Coen 236

Factitious Gems and the Matter of Facts in Pliny's Natural History Patrick R. Crowley 246

Semantics 260

«Veritas repraesentata»? Zeuxis, Parrhasius, and the Nature of Pictorial Representation in Pliny's Natural History Michael Squire 261

Purple Stones. Pliny on Amethysts Jörn Lang 277

Agate: Fortunes and Misfortunes Maria Elisa Micheli 288

Skin and Bone. Lala of Cyzicus and the Softness of Ivory Alexander Heinemann 298

Flawless Transparency: On Rock Crystal and its Fortune in the Middle Ages Carlo Berardi 319

Postface 330

Pliny's History of Materials and its Readers: From «ex uno lapide» to Bernini's figura serpentinata Irving Lavin 331

Plates 334

Indices 362

Index of passages from the Natural History 363

Index of Greek and Latin sources 367

Index of relevant names and places 370

List of contributors 372

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