Archaic and Classical Greek Art

by Robin Osborne

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192842022
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	11/19/1998
Series:	Oxford History of Art
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	450,555
Product dimensions:	9.32(w) x 6.70(h) x 0.63(d)

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

Editorial Reviews

Traditionally, art books follow a chronological sequence that tracks developing styles in a particular period of art. When influences are mentioned, it is usually in the context of which artist influenced which. Yet just as art does not exist in a vacuum, neither does the artist, and the artist's relationship to his customer's needs and the changing demands of the marketplace are central. Osborne (ancient history, Oxford) breaks with tradition to study simultaneously the art of ancient Greece and the world in which it was produced. Artists working in the Greek city-states were inspired by trade goods from throughout the Mediterranean as well as by their rich literary tradition. Osborne discusses the development of art forms and art's role in defining humankind's relationship with itself, others, nature, and the gods. Roman art is usually thought of as beginning during the early republic and continuing through the third century A.D. to the reign of Constantine, the first Christian emperor. Elsner, a lecturer at the Courtauld Institute, takes a slightly different tack, combining the art of the late Roman Empire with that of the early Christian period. Rather than merely cataloging artifacts, Elsner, like Osborne, studies "how art both reflected and contributed to the social construction." These two entries in the "Oxford History of Art" series are, as usual, good, solid introductions to their topics. With a reasonable price, compact format, good maps and time lines, and uniformly clear illustrations, they will be standard texts for their subjects. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.--Mary Morgan Smith, Northland P. L., Pittsburgh

Library Journal

"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

From the Publisher