Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This fascinating new account of what happened in Greece from c.800 to 323 bc shows how sculptors and painters responded to the challenges they faced in the extremely formidable and ambitious world of the Greek city-state. The numerous symbols and images employed by their eastern Mediterranean neighbours on the one hand, and the explorations of what it was to be human embodied in the narratives with which Greek poets worked on the other, helped produce the rich diversity of forms apparent in Greek art. The drawings and sculptures of this period 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. The importance of what occurred still affects the way we see today. Ranging widely over the fields of sculpture, vase painting and the minor arts, this book provides a clear introduction to the art of archaic and classical Greece. By looking closely at the context in which and for which sculptures and paintings were produced, Robin Osborne demonstrates how artistic developments were both a product of, and contributed to, the intensely competitive life of the Greek city. '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 'brings all that is best in the 'new' Classical art history to this exciting interpretation . . . No reader of Osborne's stimulating and engaging book will come away with their vision of Greek art unchanged' Jeremy Tanner, Institute of Archaeology, University of London

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• 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

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Robin Osborne is a Professor of Ancient History in the University of Oxford and Fellow and Tutor of Corpus Christi College.