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.

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