The Ancient View Of Greek Art

The thesis is divided into two major parts. The first part studies the books of Pollitt, and introduces the ways of Greek Art critic. Chapter 1 accounts for the naturalistic and idealistic ways of understanding of Greek Art. Both of the traditions can be traced back to the Renaissance. It is important to restore the ancient view of Greek Art based on documents. Chapter 2 introduces two traditions of ancient documentation, one by the Elder Pliny and the other by Cicero-Quintilian. The thesis then lays out the studies of documentation by modern scholars. Chapter 3 sets out four kinds of Art Criticism in Antiquity: Professional Criticism, Art Criticism in Greek Philosophy, Rhetorical and Literary Criticism and Popular Criticism. Chapter 4 introduces the most important critical terms of Greek Art, dividing them into six groups: Design and Detail, Reality and Representation, Perception and Inspiration, Perspective and Shading, Line and Color, Style and Styles. The thesis tries to restore meanings of the terms in original context. The second part of the thesis offers interpretations of ancient documents according to the unabridged the Ancient View of Greek Art: Criticism History and Terminology and the Art of Ancient Greece: Sources and Documents. This should support the arguments in the first part.