Descriptions

by Callistratus, Philostratus of Lemnos, Arthur Fairbanks (Translator)

This volume presents kindred works important for evidence relating to late Greek art. They are attributed to two men each known as Philostratus and to a third man called Callistratus, otherwise unknown. To an elder Philostratus, the Lemnian, born ca. 190 CE, junior kinsman of the Philostratus who wrote the "Life of Apollonius of Tyana" and "Lives of the Sophists," is attributed the series of 65 'Eikones' or 'Imagines', descriptions (in two books) ostensibly of paintings in a gallery at Naples. A younger Philostratus, apparently his grandson, is credited with 17 similar descriptions. The 14 'Ekphraseis' attributed to Callistratus are descriptions of statues in stone or bronze, written probably in the fourth century CE. It is not known to what extent the descriptions are of real works of art, but they show how artists treated their subjects, and are written with some artistic knowledge. Yet rhetorical skill dominates: these pieces were written to display the writers' powers of description.

Genres: Philosophy

462 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1931

Reviews

[C. de L.]

De Calístrato:

“No sólo las artes de poetas y prosistas son favorecidas por la inspiración de los dioses, que sopla sobre sus lenguas. También las manos de los escultores reciben los divinos alientos a la hora de crear sus obras, dictadas por el entusiasmo”.

[John Cairns]

Interesting because different: stories made from the subjects of paintings and sculptures whether being viewed or imagined. It has to give one some idea of art and elitist appreciation of it as well as the pervasiveness of rhetoric even in the late empire when anything other than panegyric was scarcely warranted - okay, proselytising Xians would also use it.

[Christopher Stevenson]

If you enjoy ekphrasis, in that super old school sort of way, Imagenes is very vivid. It's also interesting to read, to get some insight on the progression of art criticism.