The Art of Painting in Ancient Greece

This new and richly illustrated overview of Greek painting combines a fresh scholarly approach to visual arts with the most complete survey to date of the painted monuments of classical antiquity. The Art of Painting in Ancient Greece covers a wide chronological and geographical span, from the Bronze Age murals of Knossos, Santorini and Mycenae to the opulent villas of the Roman Empire, from Anatolia and Egypt in the East to Campania and Etruria in the West. Surveying the techniques, materials, and works produced, as well as ancient literary accounts, the book engages in five main lines of inquiry: Why did the Greeks cover the walls of their sanctuaries, agoras, palaces, homes, and even their tombs with painted images? What topics, real or imaginary, did they choose to depict? How were those images created? What were the techniques employed and the materials used? Who painted those images? And how does the spectacular phenomenon of Greek monumental painting compare with other branches of Greek art, from mosaics and vase painting to sculpture?