Greek Sculpture: The Archaic Period

World of Art

by John Boardman

"Authoritative and brilliantly illustrated. . . . The book recommends itself not only for its synthesis of existing knowledge, but also for its original ideas." ― The Daily Telegraph For most people there is no more satisfying expression of Greek art than its sculpture. It was the first, the only ancient art to break free from conceptual conventions for representing men and animals, and to explore consciously how art might imitate or even improve upon it. The first stages of this discovery, from the semi-abstract beginnings in the eighth century BC to the more representational art of the early fifth century, are explored and illustrated in this handbook.

Genres: Art, History, Nonfiction, Art History, Archaeology, Greece

Paperback

First published January 1, 1978

Reviews

[AC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Authoritative and informative, and very heavily illustrated. But it *really* is as dry as bones, this book.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

The standard work on the subject. Read the best before you read the rest.

[Fie (eventyrlaeseren)]

Read for sculpture course at uni

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

better after seeing most of them

[Kafkasfriend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good descriptions of the arts displayed but one thing that Boardman never explains is why the Greeks moved to displaying human figures and located them at the expense of earlier more imaginative art and theological representations.

[Theodore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunetly I had an old (1978) edition of this book which had text in one part and plates in another. So while reading I needed to flip back and forth and it made it very difficult to stay focused on the text. If this wasn't the case I would have given it another star.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goes in depth into archaic sculpture, all styles and periods. Better than any other text for beyond the archaic smile and surface observations like that.