Personal Styles in Greek Sculpture

The aim of this book is to identify and evaluate the distinctive styles of five important ancient Greek sculptors whose work is discussed by ancient writers. Its underlying assumption is that the history of Greek sculpture was not simply governed by impersonal, evolutionary forces but that, like the sculpture of later periods, it was shaped by the intuitions, predilections and innovations of particular individuals. The international group of authors whose essays appear here recognize that the problematical and fragmentary nature of the surviving evidence makes their task a difficult one. Nevertheless, by drawing upon the evidence of recent archaeological finds and by re-evaluating both the ancient literary sources and earlier scholarly literature, they expand our understanding of the role of personal styles in ancient Greek art.