750-900 words essay

AHVS300A Summer 2021 Notebook #5 Historical Authority and Traditions I’ve attached below a short reading about the construction of a sculptural canon in relationship to the rediscovered works of classical Greece and Rome (Haskell and Penny, Taste and the Antique, Yale University Press, 1981: 1-13.) A very few of these ancient statues had been important over the preceding centuries, but it was Renaissance reverence for the classical world that firmly established the reputation of these works for most of the next four centuries. A similar admiration was given to ancient painting, but with the added complication that no examples of classical painting had survived – not in the way that the Renaissance recognized or defined painting. So, while we see examples of classically-inspired, decorative detailing in the Vatican loggia, artists did not feel bound to copy or imitate ancient examples in the same way they did sculpture. Even Botticelli’s Calumny of Apelles (inspired by Apelles’ painting Calumny), while considered a re- creation, was working from a written description and not from visual. The result was that painters had fewer limitations placed upon their works. The standard they were held to was actually one they created themselves; they imagined what classical paintings had looked like, and so their idea of classical painting was what they imagined. Sculpture too, might be restored or re-created to fit pre-existing ideas. And certain truths took a long time to emerge (such as the fact that most ancient works are marble copies of lost bronze originals, or that most marble statues were originally painted). But the forms themselves were tangible, immutable, and believed to be the highest pinnacle of what art could achieve. If you were a sculptor, this art was your template. The point here isn’t to argue whether the classical tradition is good or bad. The reality is that it existed; and the reading is to establish that for those who haven’t encountered it before. But the broader issue is to think about the strong hold of historical authority. It is a clichéd phrase (and I don’t even remember the source) that “You get the classical world you deserve” – which means we make our understanding of the past what we want it to be and to serve our own purposes. Note also that while this assignment focusses on European classical history, similar is true about many cultures: any time there is a flourishing period with art that serves as an inspiration and model in later periods you’ll encounter the same situation. With that phrase in mind: Choose one sculpture from the following list and look at its life after the 16th century. How was it regarded? Did that remain consistent? Find a later work of art that uses the sculpture for a reference. Why did the artist choose it? What were they trying to say about it? About their own work? The broader cultural context they were making their work for? Works to choose from: Apollo Belvedere, Medici Venus, Laocoon, Capitoline Wolf, Discobolus, Dying Gaul, Borghese Gladiator, Cleopatra/Ariadne (from the Belvedere). Please see the general criteria posted with Notebook #1 and the course outline for more details on notebook entries, due dates and submission guidelines.