Competing (in) Art. Rivalry Among Greek Artists and its Reception in the Imperial Age

Abstract

Rivalry played an important role in the development of ancient Greek art and art criticism. Polemics, rivalry, competitions and friendship represented for artists an important moment in defying their own identity and the principles of their art, in establishing their own style and founding their ‘schools’, in choosing or finding out the best techniques, in expressing their own conception of art, and in determining the aims of art, the political and ethical function of artwork and the social role of artists. Moreover, these disputes became famous biographical episodes in the lives and careers of ancient Greek artists. In this contribution, I focus on the presence of artistic disputes in technical treatises written by Greek artists. I also investigate their reception in ancient art criticism and, more in general, in literature from the Imperial Age. In this respect, I consider their anecdotic nature and evolution as ethical examples. The cases of the friendship between Apelles and Protogenes, the rivalry between Euphranor and Parrhasius, the controversy between Zeuxis and Agatharchus, and Nichomachus’s appreciation of Zeuxis art offer the opportunity to address these issues.