Greek Art and Art Historiography: Definitions

This volume stems from two sources. One is my teaching Greek art and architecture to undergraduate and postgraduate students, both in face to face mode and in online mode, at the Australian National University. The other is my work in the field of Greek and Roman art historiography focused on the writings on the arts by Vitruvius, Pliny the Elder, Philostratus the Elder, Philostratus the Younger and Callistratus. The main perspective adopted in the analysis of Greek art in this volume is that of observing Greek art taking into consideration some of the postulates voiced out by the art historiographers of antiquity, the Roman writers Vitruvius and Pliny the Elder. These postulates include a definition of Greek art in contrast to the art practices of other contemporaneous cultures (discussed in Chapter II), the construct of man as the measure of all things (Chapter III), the constructs of art and order and art in environment (Chapter IV), those of symmetry, harmony and rhythm as manifest in the Classical art in Athens (Chapter V), as well as the constructs of orientalism and globalisation (Chapter VI). The chapter titled The art of observing Greek art (Chapter I) is an introductory chapter into the manner in which the Greek art of antiquity can be observed. These postulates are analysed on the examples of many iconic images of proto-Greek and Greek art created between approximately 3,000BC to approximately the first century AD. However, within such an analysis some other relevant comparative imagery throughout art history has also been used. The relevant bibliography, a note about the author and a word from the referees are also included. This volume is accompanied by another volume, the Roman art and art historiography: definitions. Another useful companion to this text is the book The art of observing art, both by the same author. The cover imagery of this volume is most appropriate for its content as the imagery reproduced demonstrates a long existing tradition of depicting symposia in Greek art. These dinner parties were the gatherings where various topics including philosophy constructs were discussed, as described in Symposion, one of Plato’s dialogues where the construct of the arts is also discussed. Although such symposia are largely understood as exclusively men’s gatherings, the 6cBC vase on the cover of this volume representing this scene also includes a depiction of a woman, Iole, conversing with the guests. What was the topic of the conversation depicted here? Let us imagine that it was a discussion on the definitions and postulates of Greek art