New Viewpoints and New Discoveries: A Renewed Revival of Ancient Greek and Roman Culture

12 important questions on New Viewpoints and New Discoveries: A Renewed Revival of Ancient Greek and Roman Culture

According to Seymour Howard, how was the art of antiquity viewed from 1400 on?

As an unequalled epitome and the "Age of Beauty", that had to be followed and restorend as it functioned as an example for generations to come.

According to Seymour Howard, what exactly do we know about antiquity?

What people from ages before ours thought about it, especially in regards to how the Christian Church tried to bring down culture, and not really about what it was like per se. It was more about what people imagined and wanted it to be like, because that was the perfect world to them.

Strictly speaking, how does Seymour Howard define Classical Antiquities?

The Classical period of Greek art, between 480 and 300 BC.
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Why is Seymour Howard's strict definition for Classical Antiquities problematic?

Because only in 1750 people started differentiating Greek and Roman art from each other. Before, all Greek and Roman art was considered to be from classical antiquity.

Even though Seymour Howard's strict definition is problematic, why and how does he defend it?

Because the art from between 480 and 300 BC was considered the standard for all subsequent works.

According to Seymour Howard, how was art restored between the 16th and 18th century?

Artists did not feel obliged to bring back the art to its original state, and instead felt like they knew better than the original artists and basically ended up in a contest with other contemporary artists to create what they felt was the best possible artwork. They improvised.

According to Seymour Howard, how was art restored in the 18th century?

With the help of ancient sources and science, artists tried to recreate the art in such a way that it was supposed to look like it did before, during Antiquity.

According to Seymour Howard, how were restored artworks viewed during the 19th century?

As less authentic than the original work, even if it was totally in pieces. Those pieces had more meaning.

According to Seymour Howard, why are artworks mainly restored nowadays?

To try and keep them in sufficient condition for them not to further detoriate. That's mainly all that matters. All the same, the art is often copied so that the original doesn't need to be moved.

  • Enlightenment
  • Abstract ideas turned into figures (like Justice)
  • Recreating the art of the masters
  • Using the ancient Greek and Roman style


To what art movement do these characteristics belong?

Neoclassicism.

With what does Seymour Howard associate Antiquity?

Mainly with naturalism.

How, according to Seymour Howard, does the restorer honour the original creator?

He shows that the work is worth restoring because of its beauty and by restoring the object he allows it to be re-viewed.

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