The nature of art : Pliny the Elder on materials / edited by Anna Anguissola and Andreas Grüner.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Anguissola, Anna, editor.

Grüner, Andreas, editor.

Lawrence H. Herring Memorial Fund.

Series:

Materiality ; 1.

Materiality ; 1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Artists' materials.

History.

Pliny, the Elder. Naturalis historia.

Pliny.

Artists' materials--History.

Art, Greco-Roman.

Pliny, the Elder.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

372 pages : illustrations (chiefly color), portraits ; 27 cm.

Other Title:

Pliny the Elder on materials

Place of Publication:

Turnhout, Belgium : Brepols, [2020]

Summary:

This volume addresses the presentation of artistic processes and their materials in the 'Natural History' and focuses on the issues that lie at the root of Pliny's work: his account of the technological, economical, ideological, and aesthetic aspects of materials. In his 'Natural History', Pliny the Elder organises his discussion of crafts according to the raw materials they utilize. However, scholarly literature has paid little attention to the aspect of materiality, preferring to focus on the biographies and achievements of ancient Greek artists. This collection instead addresses the presentation of artistic processes and their materials in the 'Natural History'. This approach corresponds with current developments in the study of Greco-Roman art, wherein scientific analysis of artistic materials including stones, pigments, and metal alloys, as well as a deeper understanding of workshop practices, has imposed profound changes on the methods used in the study of ancient artefacts.

Contents:

Nature and Culture in the Natural History p. 11 / Anna Anguissola and Andreas Grüner

Parasite, Infused: Pliny on Leeches p. 23 / Courtney Roby

Silver and Obsidian: Shine and Reflection p. 35 / Annette Haug

Pliny on the Sensory Qualities of Tin p. 42 / Julian Schreyer

Beeswax: The Natural History of an Archetypal Medium p. 51 / Verity Platt

Caeruleum and the Pigments of Greek Painting: A Comedy of Mistaken Identity p. 65 / Nadia J. Koch

74 The Renaissance Reception of Pliny's Atramentum p. 74 / Simona Rinaldi

Processes p. 90

Wood and Architecture: Pliny's Legacy in the Treatises of Alberti and Cataneo p. 91 / Giovan Battista Fidanza

Ganosis and Kosmesis in Pliny's Natural History. On the Polishing of Marble Sculptures with Wax p. 100 / Clarissa Blume-Jung

Pliny the Elder in the Workshop of Zenodorus and the Materiality of Facture in the Natural History p. 112 / Emily Margaret Cook

Material Substitutions. The Second Life of the Aphrodite anadyomene p. 126 / Elena Calandra

The Materiality of Creation. Integrity, Deception, and the Process of Art p. 132 / Anna Anguissola

Gypsum, the Invention of Bronze Casting, and the Triumph of Form p. 145 / Felix Henke

Parian Marble and "Quella che si fa per forza di levare" p. 157 / Maria Luisa Catoni

"Ex uno lapide" and the Meaning of Monolithic Sculpture in the Natural History p. 171 / Nikolaus Dietrich

Values p. 180

Pretia and auctoritas rerum. Evaluation of Materials and Artefacts in Books 33-37 p. 181 / Massimiliano Papini

Grading for Colour: Pliny's Hierarchy of Pigment Quality p. 194 / Hilary Becker

Plinian Monocbromy in Renaissance Italy p. 201 / Mathilde Bert

Corinthian Bronzes and Vases from Pliny the Elder to Pliny the Younger (In the Light of a Passage by Cicero) p. 217 / Stefano Rocchi

Gilding. Art and Technique, Vision and Morals p. 224 / Lucia Faedo

Pliny, Stones in the Natural History, and their Re-use in the Trattato of Antonio Averlino, called Filarete (1462-1465) p. 236 / Paolo Coen

Factitious Gems and the Matter of Facts in Pliny's Natural History p. 246 / Patrick R. Crowley

Semantics p. 260

"Veritas repraesentata"? Zeuxis, Parrhasius, and the Nature of Pictorial Representation in Pliny's Natural History p. 261 / Michael Squire

Purple Stones. Pliny on Amethysts p. 277 / Jörn Lang

Agate: Fortunes and Misfortunes p. 288 / Maria Elisa Micheli

Skin and Bone. Lala of Cyzicus and the Softness of Ivory p. 298 / Alexander Heinemann

Flawless Transparency: On Rock Crystal and its Fortune in the Middle Ages p. 319 / Carlo Berardi

Pliny's History of Materials and its Readers: From "ex uno lapide" to Bernini's figura serpentinata p. 331 / Irving Lavin.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Lawrence H. Herring Memorial Fund.

ISBN:

9782503591179

2503591175

OCLC:

1238085512