How does 'decoration' work? What are the relations between 'figurative' and 'ornamental' modes? And how do such modern western distinctions relate to other critical traditions? While these questions have been much debated among art historians, our book offers an ancient visual cultural perspective. On the one hand, we argue, Greek and Roman materials have proved instrumental in shaping modern assumptions. On the other hand, those ideologies are fundamentally removed from ancient ideas: an ancient perspective can therefore shed light on larger aesthetic debates about what images are – or indeed what they should be.
This anthology of specially commissioned essays explores a variety of case studies (both literary and art historical alike): it discusses materials from across the ancient Mediterranean, and from Geometric art all the way through to late antiquity; the book also tackles questions of 'figure' and 'ornament' in relation to different media – including painting, free-standing statues, relief sculpture, mosaics and architecture. A particular feature of the volume lies in bringing together different national academic traditions, building a bridge between formalist approaches and broader cultural historical perspectives.

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Yes, you can access Ornament and Figure in Graeco-Roman Art by Nikolaus Dietrich, Michael Squire, Nikolaus Dietrich, Michael Squire in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Art & History of Ancient Art. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher

De Gruyter

Year

2018

ISBN

9783110469578

Edition

Topic

Art

Subtopic

History of Ancient Art

Contents
Acknowledgements
Notes on contributors
‘To haunt, to startle, and way-lay’: Approaching ornament and figure in Graeco-Roman art
Figürlicher Schmuck in der griechischen Architektur zwischen Dekor und Repräsentation
Ornamental and formulaic patterns: The semantic significance of form in early Greek vase-painting and Homeric epic
Ornament und Design: Attisch geometrische Figuralgefäße und Gefäße mit plastischem Dekor
Armure et ornement dans l’imagerie attique
Beneath the handles of Attic vases
Order and contingency in Archaic Greek ornament and figure
Ornament, incipience and narrative: Geometric to Classical
Of sponges and stones: Matter and ornament in Roman painting
Esteemed ornament: An overlooked value for approaching Roman visual culture
Delectari varietate: Zur Erklärung der repetitiven Darstellung auf dem ‚Puteal Tegel‘
Figure and ornament, death and transformation in the Tomb of the Haterii
Ornament, figure and mise en abyme on Roman sarcophagi
Aus der Perspektive der römischen Bodenmosaiken: Ornamentalisierte Figuren oder figuralisierte Ornamente?