A Handbook of Greek Art

The study of Greek art may be said to have begun in the Renaissance, the time of the revival of interest in Greek and Roman culture. It was then, however, chiefly based on the aesthetic appreciation of the single monuments that happened to be unearthed on Italian soil. Only gradually, as the material grew, were these monuments viewed as parts of a larger whole. The history of Greek art, therefore, as we know it today, is the work of scholars from the early eighteenth century onwards. Winckelmann (1717-68) and

E. Q. Visconti (1751-1818) are among the earliest who tried to put order into a heterogeneous study. Excavations, first at Herculaneum and Pompeii, then all over Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, South Russia, North Africa, and Spain, brought to light more and more material of every kind. Private collections and museums were formed not only in the countries in which the objects were found, but throughout the civilized world. From this enrichment of our common patrimony grew the modern science of archaeology, that is, the logos of archaia, the study of things ancient. Inscriptions and the statements of ancient writers (especially Pausanias, Pliny, Quintilian, Philostratos, Lucian, and Vitruvius) have helped to clarify our studies, and the use of photography has lent them accuracy. This intensive research, in which scholars of all nations have participated, has resulted in the reconstruction of a consecutive history of Greek art. We can now view its unparalleled development from primitive beginnings through its manifold stages, each unfolding a new aspect of the Greek genius; we can differentiate the styles of some of the chief personalities in Greek art; and we can relate the succession of styles to historical events. Though the work still continues and every decade, every year almost, brings new discoveries that either establish or modify former conclusions, a reasonably reliable structure has by now been built. It is the aim of this book to tell this intricate story i