Hellenistic and Roman Ideal Sculpture
The Allure of the Classical

This book is an illuminating analysis showing the power and allure of Greek Classical past in Hellenistic and Roman art.

Rachel Meredith Kousser (Author)

9781107699700, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 September 2014

223 pages
25.4 x 17.8 x 1.1 cm, 0.55 kg

'This book is an in-depth examination of a widespread visual motif in ancient art, most famously represented by the Capua Venus and the Victory of Brescia. Kousser presents many intelligent and thought-provoking interpretations of individual works.' Classical Journal Online

In this book, Rachel Kousser draws on contemporary reception theory to present an approach to Hellenistic and Roman ideal sculpture. She analyzes the Romans' preference for retrospective, classicizing statuary based on Greek models as opposed to the innovative creations prized by modern scholars. Using a case study of a particular sculptural type, a forceful yet erotic image of Venus, Kousser argues that the Romans self-consciously employed such sculptures to represent their ties to the past in a rapidly evolving world. Kousser presents Hellenistic and Roman ideal sculpture as an example of a highly effective artistic tradition that was, by modern standards, extraordinarily conservative. At the same time, the Romans' flexible and opportunistic use of past forms also had important implications for the future: it constituted the origins of classicism in Western art.

1. Creating the past: the origins of classicism in Hellenistic sculpture
2. From Greece to Rome: retrospective sculpture in the early empire
3. From metropolis to empire: retrospective sculpture in the high empire
4. From Roman to Christian: retrospection and transformation in late antique art.

Subject Areas: Classical Greek & Roman archaeology [HDDK], Architecture [AM], Art & design styles: Classicism [ACQH], History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG]